Thinking and Language Project
By: Darby Blagg
What is my concept/prototype of college?
My concept/prototype of college is that it is a fun place where you will make friends for life and get to try new things. Furthermore, it will provide the opportunity to learn to balance between socializing and working on your education. I think it is the first part of your life where you start to really learn self-dicipline and start taking care of yourself without the security of parental guidance. College should provide new challenges while also providing new great experiences.
How will Trial and Error help me?
Trial and Error will help me with deciding what I want to do as a career when I graduate college. Taking a variety of classes to see which ones I am interested in and not interested in is how I plan to find something I am passionate about enough to do for the rest of my life. I believe the wide array of classes offered at Texas State should ignite at least one of my many interests. My first years at Texas State will be focusing on the basic core curriculum and will give me a wide variety of experiences.
How can using algorithms help me?
I will approach the decision of choosing housing options at Texas State by using algorithms, a logical step by step process to guarantee the best results. First I will look at all the options and layouts on the website of what kind of dorms are offered for incoming freshman. After this step I will make a list of all the amenities I would prefer to have in my housing. Following this step I will compare prices to find the best option for me with as many preferred amenities in my list as possible and then narrow it down to my final decision.
Applying heuristics to my future
I used a very simple thinking strategy that allowed me to make an easy shortcut process of choosing Texas State as the college I will be attending. There was never any competition of any other colleges for me personally. Although I had never seen the college up until very recently for many many years Texas State University has always been where I wanted to go simply because when I was 10 my dad told me it was the biggest party school in Texas. This made a major shortcut in my life making it an easy desicion as the college for me.
How insight played a role in my life
Insight has played a huge role in my life by giving me a direction for my life. During my sophomore year I realized I had a strong passion for helping those in need. I suddenly had insight to join the Peace Corps so I could travel the world to 3rd world countries and help those people in need. Not only does it involve traveling which I love but it also involves helping people who struggle through everyday life and are less fortunate.
How has confirmation bias effected me
Confirmation Bias is defined as the tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence. This has effected me because I have only ever looked at the good things about Texas State never the cons. For example the location, the size of the school, and the fact that it is in Texas are all the good things I have looked at. I have also not taken trips to any other colleges to do comparing.
Fixation/Mental Set
I have always been fixated on going to Texas State so I did no research on other viable universities. Although there are other options for colleges that would be closer to home and therefore less expensive, I have always had to the my mind set on not living so close to home that I depend on my family while attending college. I have always been infatuated with the positive aspects of Texas State, such as the many outdoor activities and the great location.
Tubing
floating down the beautiful Guadeloupe river
Hiking
Getting to see the beautiful nature that surrounds us
Shopping
With its great location of San Marcos and not too far from the big city of Austin, opportunities are endless
My intuitions about my future
I have always had the strong belief that every person is put on this planet for a reason. If I could change one persons life for the better than I feel like my purpose for being here would be fulfilled. I not only want to make a difference in peoples lives but I have also always wanted to make a difference in this planet we are on and make it better. When I am having a problem making a decision, it is my small voice that I listen to first.
Representative Heuristic
is defined as to judge the likelihood of things in terms of how well they represent particular prototypes(schemas or concepts). This has played a role in my future because when I think of joining the Peace Corps I have an idea that wherever they send me, there will be people struggling with diseases that need help. This is what makes me want to major in nursing so that I can treat and help and inform those people.
Availability Heuristic
has influenced my decision to take self defense classes and carry pepper spray in the future when I am in college. I made this decision based on portrayals of young women in college being raped or kidnapped in the media (i.e.,news reports, television, and movies). This is an availability heuristic because it is vivid in my mind that these terrible things happen to young women in college and so because of this I plan on being proactive before going into college.
Overconfidence
has influenced my sisters belief that I will flunk out of college from partying too hard. Although I have overconfidence that based on evidence from high school I will take my grades seriously and not flunk out. I recognize that it is common and my sister may have a point in the possibility of flunking out my first year, but I am very confident I won't.
How has Belief Perseverance effected me
Belief Perseverance has been a key role in getting me into college. After being told by educators that my SAT scores were too low to be accepted into Texas State I remained determined. Because of this I took intensive SAT classes for weeks and retook my SAT's to get a better score. After doing this I applied to Texas State with my improved scores and was accepted. It was because of my belief perseverance and clinging to the initial dream of going to Texas State that I was subsequently accepted.
Compensations when choosing schools
There were not many compensations I made when choosing/applying to a school. The only requirement that could be considered a compensation was that the college I chose must be in a public school in Texas for my parents Texas Tomorrow college fund. This was never really a problem as Texas has alway been home to me and where I wanted to go.
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