In this course, being mindful about my learning has shown me that you should think of things differently and from all perspectives. You also have to know that not all problems can be solved. In fact, there are many problems that can’t be solved. Wicked problems are a part of our everyday lives and everything we do. It is very easy to get distracted from the now, the present. During this course I have learned how to stay present most of the time, even when I don’t think it matters. You can miss so much just from not being in the moment and you don’t realize it. There are a lot of people who worry about the past or think about the future instead of being mindful of what is going on in the present. It can be a dangerous thing to be honest. You get sucked down a rabbit hole of things that are not real, things your mind makes up. This I know from experience can effect your mental health, school, work, physical and mental wellbeing, and sometimes others around you. When you get into these rabbit holes in your mind, it can be very hard to get out. You feel trapped. Once you do get out, it’s not all that great either because now you have to process how being away the present has actually affected it. Sometimes it can seem worse than the situation before. I got lost in my head and wasn’t present for a while and it greatly and deeply affected my mental and physical health, social life, job, and worst of all school. It didn’t seem like the most important thing at the time and I would often forget it was a thing. There was a whole week where I didn’t get out of bed for whatever reason I still don’t know. That one little week put me so far behind, I couldn’t catch up for some things. I didn’t turn in a project, an essay, missed 2 homeworks, and 2 quizzes. I have tried very hard to get caught back up and am still trying even now. The adjustment to coming here was rough. I’ve always had others to take care of and be responsible for, but now it’s just me, by myself. I felt really alone and didn’t ever know what to do. I was always busy going somewhere, taking care of my siblings, going to work and school. When I got here, I spent the first week before classes started just in my room. When classes did start, I was doing really good at first and then that one week, something just happened out of nowhere and it destroyed everything I was doing right. Now that everything is so messed up I’ve been so stressed trying to figure out everyway to make it better. In all honesty, when this class started, that’s when things started to get better. I was not expecting that when I walked into the classroom for the first time. All was thinking in my head was that this was another class I was going to  mess up in. I was wrong. This short little class might be what saves me in this semester. It has changed the way I think about how I should take care of myself, be in the present and not to let it get too far away again. This class has also changed how I think about my field. I never considered all the things that go into it that could be related to wicked problems. There are a lot of different things that affect the environment, people’s jobs, housing and income. We use certain things that could be bad for the environment and don’t think twice about it and that’s not how things should be. We need to change our way of thinking and be mindful about problems such as these things. For as long as I have wanted to be an interior designer, problems of other people never crossed my mind that it could be related. Personally, I don’t want to be like that. I want to work in my field while also considering other issues. I really do want to do this, but the problem is that these are wicked problems. They can’t be solved so how are we supposed to help? If we shopped locally from small businesses it would help the community give a few people some jobs, help with their economy, help give them enough to live and get housing. But what about what it would do to the other businesses? If you shop from certain people then other people lose jobs, income, housing. It’s sad to me that nobody cares enough to try to meet half way. Maybe if we at least gave that a try, then it would be better than some people doing great and others struggling. The global housing crisis is a huge devastation to many people who can’t afford housing because the prices are going up, and their income is staying the same. But it also affects people going into my career and others like it. If people can’t afford housing, we don’t have jobs. Some others associated with our field might not either. Contractors, construction workers, other trades like pluming, HVAC, electric, architects, relators. It’s crazy how one little thing can affect so many different lives. I guess that’s why it’s called a wicked problem though. It’s fitting and self explanatory. I know that I, as one person, cannot make a huge change or impact. But I do know that in the future I will try to do everything I can to whatever I can, no matter how little it might seem, to make things better and consider others and the environment as well. I’m sure a lot of people say this, and I’m sure they mean well, but the reality is that we can only do so much. Not enough people think they, as one person, can make a change and that circles around to being the entire issue. If everyone one person thinks that, then there’s not enough numbers to attempt to make a change. One person wanting to help, along with another and another builds numbers and that is the very thing this world needs. People standing together and trying.