As we enter the fourth week back as a college student the assignments, projects and exams start to creep closer. The dates that seem so far during syllabus week are closer now causing stress. This week I had a major project due. I experienced a lot of stress and anxiety about finishing on time and the quality of work I was turning in. This caused my apple watch to buzz and tell me to breath quite frequently as I worked on the project. As a result I used the breathing app on my watch to help me meditate. This week we were challenged to mediate or practice mindfulness for 10 min a day. This was longer than the time last week however I broke mine down to 5min in the morning and 5 min before I went to bed. I like meditating at night better as it allows me to put my mind to rest allowing me to fall asleep quicker. When I meditate I stop thinking about the things worrying me and I am focused on my breathing. I found using the breathing on my app helpful as I focused on the icon. The icon would get bigger as you inhale, and the size would decrease, as you would exhale. Also as you inhale it vibrates your wrist. I realize some may find this distracting. However I found it helpful as it allows me to focus on long deep breaths in. The app when you’re done with the duration of your breaths tells you your heart rate. I found this interesting as a relaxed heart rate is typically between 60 -100 BPM. A heart rate above 90 is typically considered high. It allowed me to realize the difference in my heart rates depending on the activity I was doing and if it was causing me stress. 

This week in Wicked Problems we explored two readings. One reading explored the idea of fashion and how human desires/demands have negative impacts on our planet. These impacts mentioned in the reading conflict with sustainable living ideas. It expressed the constant need for humans to have the latest and greatest materials such as technology, clothing, houses, cars, and other materialistic items. The second reading we explored discussed poverty’s impact of the degradation of the global environment. I was assigned to read the no part of this argument. I agreed with this argument being made. I thought it had good samples of policies and plans in order to help the poverty while also helping the health of the planet. These policies included ideas such as developing technology to benefit the poor. These technological advances could be cleaner ways to recycle or ways to clean our water for these individuals. In class I participated in the debate by talking with my team and pulling out the information we found most useful and helpful when defending our case. A major takeaway from this past week’s topic was that it isn’t a certain group of people affecting the planets health. It’s each individual combined. If each individual did something even as small as recycle all plastic and paper they use it would have a major impact on the planet as a whole. If individuals learned to appreciate the things we have beyond materialistic items the world could be a healthier place for all groups including animals.