Pranav Sreejayan Week #16: The end
Pranav Sreejayan
Ms. Benedetti
Blog 16: The END.
And so it all ends. This long journey of APENG 11 culminates in just a few short weeks. To say I will miss the workload is a complete and utter lie, and my course load was something I loved this year, was also a lie. Yet, I found myself wondering if there were good times, if at all, during this course. And more importantly, if there were, why didn’t I remember them.
Turns out I was a victim of my own evolutionary psychology. A study found in 2007 found that you were simply more likely to remember bad memories than good ones. Scientists found that negative emotions like fear and sadness led to more activity in the parts of the brain that make memories, and upon thought this does make sense. After all, in the end your brain’s final interest is to keep you alive and remembering things like what is dangerous and what to keep away from is a good way to do this.
Furthermore, not only are you more likely to remember them, but you're also more likely to ponder on these bad memories. Studies have shown that losing an amount of money leaves a larger impression than gaining the same amount of money. People who have shared numerous memories both pleasant and unpleasant are more likely to discuss the negative ones. After all, evolutionarily of course we’d share with our peers what the dangerous things to do were, and think of the dangers that we faced.
So what? I hear you ask, “Why do I care?”. Well that's simple. The happy memories probably are there, but as all of what I’ve written today tells you, your mind is fighting against you on finding it. It is there, waiting to be found, simply just hidden a little deeper in the recesses of your mind thanks to a physiology that is from a time where your focuses were more on whether you were alive than if you were happy.
APENG might have been a massive workload, but my group was admittedly the highlight of the class (except you, dear Tiffany who can read this). The class really fostered the bond between me and the three people I’ve sat with all year (sorry Ms. Benedetti I don’t want to socialize with people). Whether I like to admit it or not, the class definitely taught me a thing or two about time management and about essay writing. So all in all, the class was definitely worth taking, and I will miss all of you (except you Tiffany) after the school year ends.
P.S.
I discovered only last week that clicking "Paste and match style" stops the blog from overflowing if you copy paste it from a doc where you wrote it. :/
Works cited:
https://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20070829/bad-memories-easier-to-remember#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20suggests%20that,the%20brain%20linked%20to%20memories.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/your-money/why-people-remember-negative-events-more-than-positive-ones.html
Hey Pranav! I agree, junior year was definitely a blur, especially APENG. I remember cramming in my GALE Essay and POAS Essay last minute like it was just yesterday. But you’re right, it is interesting to see how I remember more negatives than positives from this year. More specifically, I’ve noticed this pattern whenever I take a test. I usually walk away with a bad feeling because of my doubts on one or two questions. I completely ignore the fact that I most probably got most of the questions right. While this is obviously a milder example, I thought that it was interesting to see how this mindset invades almost every aspect of our lives. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav! This year seriously went by so fast, I feel like spring break was almost just last week or so. I definitely do remember more negative moments or thoughts associated with this year though, as I have said to my parents that I've had several mid-life crises in one year (and it's not even the middle of my life yet). It makes complete sense that our evolutionary psychology is like this, but somehow it's still so interesting to think of we're essentially hardwired to have a negativity bias.
ReplyDeletePranav, what an interesting blog to read about and gain some revelation about our minds as we complete the school year. I definitely agree with your introductory statement that I will not miss the APENG workload; however, I know the first week of summer break there will be a voice in the back of my mind telling me to complete the Monday survey and turn in the blog or comments of that week. Another thing I agree with is that yes I do remember more bad than good; it is nice to have an explanation as to why that is. Whenever I turn in any assignment or essay, I always ponder on the bad, what mistakes did I make and how can I make this better, instead of thinking yes this was good and this was written well. It is sad that the bad stays more prevalent in our minds rather than good. Hopefully we can shift that mentality.
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav, I'm not trying to defy science here, but personally I feel like my overall memory of a certain thing depends on whether the good memories outweigh the bad. For APENG, unfortunately, the bad memories of so many nights staying up way too late working on assignments far outweigh the fun times in class. For other things though, I often associate it with happy memories, because I had more fun and enjoyment than suffering. Either way, I think I will still miss this class, especially you Pranav just how you will miss me!
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav! I literally made the same face as you when I found out that the school year was ending. I am going to miss all the fun and talented people that I met and all the assignments that challenged my capabilities as a writer. There were times when I strongly disliked APENG when I had to spend my entire weekend writing an essay, but overall it is a positive experience for me to look back upon. There were so many fun moments to APENG like when I received positive feedback from my teacher or received a score that exceeded my expectations. I am also happy that I ended up creating many works that I dedicated a significant amount of time to and feel proud of. I can not wait to reread these essays again in the future and look back on this amazing memory. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Pranav, it really is hard to imagine how in just a week or so, we are going to graduate and become seniors. Junior year was just a messy amalgamation of homework, sports activities, and fun times with friends and classmates. I do remember complaining about APENG throughout the year, but for some reason, I can’t seem to remember the specific projects and tests work I have complained about; I probably blocked it out of my memory from how traumatizing those assignments were. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pranav, after reading your blog I considered recalling memories I have from English this year and my immediate thoughts are not so enjoyable but as I continue to consider, I remember having our unit about The Great Gatsby. I remember how fun it was to dress up in 1920s attire and to go to the library to just relax and have fun. I hope this memory and others like it will become the first things I think about when I recall our English class in the future. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Pranav, this year of APENG truly created a sense of love and admiration for the class while also creating a sense of resentment. I truly appreciated the length APENG has built my English writing skills; the differences between an essay I wrote a year ago compared to essays I have written in this class are truly phenomenal. I will be forever in debt to this amazing class, and just how much it has expanded my writing skills. However, at the same time, I also feel a sense of resentment, as the class was consistently the major workload of my school year. Out of all the weeks we had spent in APENG, there was probably a total of one or two weeks where I can realistically say we had an easy workload. Nonetheless, the skills this class has taught me are ones I will hold for the rest of my life.
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