Salutations! 

My name’s Stephanie Austin, a freshman, and a lover of people and all their complexities. It’s for this reason that I was genuinely excited to take Psych 101! I didn’t have time to take the subject during high school—blame the Colorado school system—so I’m very thankful for the opportunity. Even if it’s intimidating, I’m planning on having a great semester!

When I think of the word psychology, I think of mental illness. Clinical psychologists. Lounge sofas. Freud. All the basics. I also think of my grandfather, who studies psychology in his retirement with a particular interest in the junction between philosophical inquiry and neuroscience.

He finds a way to bring up the brain every time we talk.

A question I’d like answered: why do we have personalities? What makes us us?

As an extrapolation, I find the concepts of personality, intelligence, and social roles/conformity the most interesting. The first because I’m an explorer, and part of that exploration should naturally include myself. I’m looking forward to learning about why we are who we are on a personal level as well as taking quizzes and assessing their accuracy. Included in this curiosity is the theory of intelligence. What types of intelligence are there? How can and should we measure it? What kind of “intelligent” am I? Isn’t it all relative? Social roles and conformity appeals to me since I’m an eclectic person who tends to stray from her family’s preconceived “norm.” On a personal level as well as on a larger scale, I’ll be thrilled to hear this topic. It doesn’t get too much limelight in high school.

As for least interesting, my forte is most defiantly not anything regarding research. I like being in the field, but learning things like “research methods” and “experimental design” are just the nitty gritty parts of a science class you just sort of have to get through. Ah, and then the ubiquitous scientific method. Again, it feels like a bit of a rehash. Of course, I can’t know for certain if it’s not different in psychology.

A fun aside: my hobbies include doodling, music, wikipedia surfing, and rollerskating. I’m a very social person most days, and I love the sound of my own voice… So—please—call me out if I’m being irrelevant or annoying! My favorite domestic animals are cats, and my favorite color is—in general—a nice peacock blue-green. I have a dormant passion for acting; my party trick is doing the perfect little kid’s voice; I sign my name with a heart at the end; and I almost got put in a special school for figure skating way back when.

Anyways, thank you for reading! I know it’s long! Here’s to a great semester!