Starting Over

  “It's painful and it's messy. But sometimes you just have to make the break and start again.”  -Tony Parsons

As January is ending,
I am beginning all over again. Finding inconveniences in my original senior project topic, I am now doing my senior project on International Business. Just thinking about it makes me panic a little bit inside. But I know it's for the best. I am going to work a lot harder than I have been and redo a lot of things     that I work so hard to complete in the first place. But I know it's for the best.

I have already started on my research and interviewed a potential mentor for my first and second interview. I learned that she is currently unemployed, but I am still meeting with my aunt who works for Nitto Tires as the director of global strategic planning. I was also considering going back to the American Red Cross and continuing my volunteering there. As a volunteer, they had me organize paperwork for shipments and transactions to other Red Cross locations in the United States. I was working with the transactions coordinator and because my aunt lives a bit far, I may be able to use her as my mentor to go more hours in. Writing this post, I realize that I am also going to have to edit some things on my blog. 

I really hope that in the end, I am happy of my final product and the extra work is worth. All I can do now is my best towards something I can be proud of as my final project at I-Poly. 

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

“There are people who have the capacity to imagine themselves as someone else, there are people who have no such capacity (when the lack is extreme, we call them psychopaths), and there are people who have the capacity but choose not to exercise it.” 

― J.M. Coetzee

Expecting to interview a professional psychiatrist from Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center.

1. What most influences whether a psychopath is beneficial or detrimental to society?
2. How can genetics influence how a psychopath grows up in society?
3. What is your opinion on the nature vs. nurture debate in relation to psychopaths?
4. If we had a successful psychopath, what do you believe could trigger that person to become dangerous?
5. Supposing that psychopaths are created based on nature(genetics), what are the chances of one or both parents also having psychopathic traits? Chances of one or both parents not having psychopathic traits?
6. If a psychopath is most commonly labeled as dangerous, how is it that certain people seem to function safely in society and qualify as a psychopath?
7. Supposing that psychopaths are created based on nurture(environment), what are some situations in which it would result in this outcome?
8. Can you share an experience in which a you encountered someone with a mental or personality disorder? Did they developed the disorder from genetics or their environment
9. For my final senior presentation, it is required that I have two activities that get the audience involved and continues to educate them on my topic. Do you have any examples of activities I could use in my presentation?
10. My senior topic is psychopathy. Are there any professionals that you can refer me to in order to gain more information on my topic?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

"Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced." -Albert Einstein 

1. It still is not my stable mentorship, but I did not want to waste my time. I decided to contact my aunt who works with the L.A.P.D. and asked her if I could sit in on a few courts sessions she needed to attend. There are not many that are available for me to go to because they are private or on weekday mornings.
2.   Irma Velazquez 
3.   15 hours, not including my summer hours. Including my summer hours, 26 hours 20 minutes. 
4.   I went to court with my aunt. It is not directly tied with my topic, in some aspect it is important for me to learn the official process of the law once criminals, including psychopaths, are brought to justice.

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

"Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction." -Anne Frank

1.  Over winter break, I was somewhat resourceful. To be honest, not as resourceful as I would have liked, though. I did, however, contact several people that I was referred to by my second interviewee, Felicia Thomas. Most of them were fellow professors in the psychology department. I also made a trip to Barnes and Noble and buy some rather interesting books based on my topic. They were more specific to certain cases and criminals, but it gave a fun intrigue to an otherwise academic read, which is why I chose to purchase them and barrow them from the library.

2.  The most important thing I learned was that psychology is a very hard topic to gain hours for. I may have contacted several people, but very few replied, and even less were able to give me any information that was of use to me. I understand that it was around the holidays, but I am still pushing to find more contacts. I also learned that although we are doing research for our project, it is vital to find a way to make it interesting for yourself. How else do you expect for someone to sit and listen during your presentation if you don't even have interest in what you are saying.

3.  I believe I would interview Laurie Roades, a psychology professor at Cal Poly. She has contacted me over break and given me various referrals and still continues to check in to see if I have made progress. I plan on meeting with her to see if I can do some mentorship hours with her. 

Books on my topic I actually like reading: