Reflections: Weeks 13-14 and Overall Course

For the last portion of the semester, I really enjoyed the different things we did outside of class and in class.

WEEK 13
This week, we finished up our last week of our SMART goals. To remind you, mine was to spend at least 50% of my grocery bill on organic items. I finished strong by going over my goal by 3%. Even though this doesn't seem like a lot, it still felt pretty great especially since I felt like it came so naturally this time without much thought.
For the advocacy project, we wrote our letters to the representatives and made a fact sheet for our topic. This was very beneficial since I will likely have to/want to do this in the future about a topic I'm very passionate about changing.
We also went to Goodwill Industries to take a tour and learn about the company. It was awesome to see all of the hard work and effort the company puts out in all aspects from their employees to their products. They go above and beyond other non-profit organizations and they even help the environment in the process. It was really great and I learned a lot. I even found my item for the junking project.

WEEK 14
It's our last week! I can't believe it's over already. We wrapped things up by showing off all of our junking projects. I made a lamp (shown in the pictures) for my bedroom back home that I am currently revamping for when I move back in this month. I got the lamp from Goodwill and only paid about $2.00 for it. I had to buy the lamp shade and jewels but that wasn't very expensive. I loved seeing everyone's projects. Everyone seemed to work really hard and it was great to see how some of the "junk" was turned into "treasure" so creatively without being wasted.

Before I fixed it up....Not too attractive

And after! The purple behind the lamp is the new color of my room. I think it goes pretty well.

We also finished our advocacy projects by creating an online learning activity for our group members to participate in and report on. I learned a lot from everyone's activities. I became astonishingly aware of how man harmful problems there are currently that need to be fixed. I learned a lot about the topics and they will definitely be something I will keep in mind for the future to make my own changes.

OVERALL COURSE REFLECTION
I think this was hands down my favorite course I took during my undergrad (and trust me, human anatomy is a tough one to beat out of first place). I felt like I took so much from this course that I will apply to my every day living. I've learned out to think about where a product comes from, how it was made, what it is made with, and how to determine if something is safe. I've also learned how to live more simply and to teach others to do so as well. The other day, I literally walked into the gas station convinced I was thirsty, walked to the coolers, looked at all of the bottles, decided it wasn't worth my money, and walked away. Talk about a life-changing class. I feel like this class should be a lib ed. Even though we are health ed. majors, I think everyone could benefit from a class like this. I know I'll continue to advocate to my friends and family about helping the environment and I hope everyone else does too!