My take-aways from the reading assignments and group discussions was that poverty has more of an effect on the environment than I thought it did. The poor are forced to live on land that doesn’t already have an abundance of resources, so when they use their limited amount, they’re forced to migrate to another limited resource area. There are many different things we could be doing to “attack” poverty. Personally, I like the idea of employing poor people that could also teach them how to be more effective in the work force so that they can later on be granted a new job. This idea of training them as they go and maybe moving through different tiers of a certain position so that ultimately, they could get a better job once their job is complete.

Another take away from this week’s class is that fashion is not only something that is trendy or in style, but it’s also something that comes and goes, and is very fluid in this world. Fashion is something that won’t last a lifetime and it’s very disposable. On the flip side, fashion is something that is very creative and inventible. I wrote in my notes, “More exploration and innovations of options for materials means more finding and inventing new concepts, a true design feat.” I feel like as an artist this is the way I think. The more bold and innovative you are, the more of a true designer and artist that makes you. Fashion doesn’t have to be something disposable. We can change this definition to be something more sustainable and in turn be something that’s highly sought after and creative to it’s core.

In class I felt like I contributed to the class by re-evaluating what aesthetic obsolescence meant to my team. An example I contributed is if you get rid of one thing, the style becomes outdated and you have to restyle the whole room. That definition especially related to my field in Interior Design, and I’m sure that would help more people understand that aspect from the Interior Design perspective. This was in our reading, but I contributed more on the fact that if people living in poverty have a resource given to them like a plot of land, they’re more likely to take care of it and feel more valued. The more they’re treated like they’re a part of the community, the more work and effort they would put into the environment around them.

In terms of practicing mindfulness, I’ve been sleeping way better than I ever had in the past and remembering my dreams more often. Not only am I remembering my dreams better, but they’re more vivid, and never a nightmare. Usually I’ve woken up multiple times during the night and if I had dreams, they were mostly nightmares. I also practiced mindfulness for the first time when I was in the middle of being anxious, and at first it was difficult, but within minutes of being more present, I felt way better.