Jennella's ED271 Blog

Lewis Howes, the author of School of Greatness, penned that quote. I used that as my title for this week's blog post because I feel that sometimes we forget to keep an attitude of gratitude. As a college student learning the ropes of how to be an adult, I sometimes forget to take a step back and be grateful for everything that comes to my life. Even more so, I feel that many college students are in the same shoes as me. With trying to balance school, work, and a social life, we end up feeling consumed in it that it almost feels like we're drowning. Sometimes, the best thing anyone can do is to take a step back and be reminded of all the great things that has come into their life, whether big or small. It could be someone complimenting you on something you've done or passing a test, but either way, once we start to develop an attitude of gratitude, then the rest follows. That is why, for Spring Break, I am developing my attitude of gratitude. I am starting and ending each...

Today is the day. LAB PRACTICAL #1. Am I worried? You bet I am. Do I feel prepared? Not at all. This is my first practical so I literally have no idea what to expect. All I know is that it can cover anything from the first lab (learning how to navigate through Ancient Chamorro GPS) or identify and describe the tides. Although the class is allowed to bring a handwritten page length cheat sheet, I still worry that some concepts that I write won't be in the test. I am, however, soothed a bit by the fact that the professor for Marine Bio went over some tough concepts the class could not understand. The toughest one? How to identify the length and height of a wave, as well as the speed it is going at. Nonetheless, I have faith that the class (including myself) will get through this practical. Wish me luck!

My view halfway through the class  My Marine Biology class just finished a lecture on coral bleaching, so we went out to see it up close and personal. Over the past years,  corals have bleached faster than they have grown. Based off what I learned in class, corals bleach when they are under extreme amounts of the stress. The most common of them all is when the ocean's temperature suddenly spikes. The algae that photosynthesize for corals leave, causing the coral to "bleach".  When our class met at the lab site (Piti Fish Eye Park), the first thing I realized was how FAR we were swimming. Keeping in mind that I have not yet experienced snorkeling, I started to panic because I quickly realized I did not bring my gear. A great majority of my classmates were ill-prepared for this lab as well. But with determination, our class set out to see the coral nursery to see how corals are farmed. We walked out until we saw live corals, and from there, we started to swim to ...

This week for Marine Biology, we went to Talafofo to explore the estuary. When you search "estuary" on google, it'll state, "the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream." The class started around 1:20pm, and everyone had separated into pairs. Before heading to the water, Julie, our teacher assistant (TA), explained a few house rules. She explained how to row using the kayak as a safety precaution. As we strapped on our life jackets, each pair decided who would be the front and back paddler. Julie suggested that the back be the more experienced out of the pair since the back paddler is also the steerer of the kayak. The front merely sets the pace for the pair. By this time, I was extremely excited to just onto the kayak and see the river. My partner had more experience with a kayak so she was the navigator for the trip. Once our professor pushed his kayak out, the rest followed. It was easy to go up the river. The hard part was paddli...