A Gritty Hodgepodge

 

1. What's something you wanted to do this summer that you never got around to doing? I haven't been to the local veggie stand. There is a man who brings fruits and veggies to a local church on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I've purchased produce from him for years . . .and haven't been a single time this year. I also haven't been to the neighborhood pool as much as I wanted to go!

2. Were you the student who sat in the front row or hid in the back of the class? If you could go back and take one high school class again just for fun, which would it be? Give me a front row seat! My kids and husband laugh at me because if I were in an actual classroom rather than a virtual student, I would be on the front row now with my hand raised to participate!

3. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher (this can be applied to anyone who teaches, not just classroom teachers)? I think teachers need to be authentic. I think they need to have a love of people and a love of teaching. I think they need to be kind - they can be stern or strict when needed, but still need to be kind. Some of my professors have been encouragers - I think that is important, too.

4.  September 2nd is National Grits Day. Have you ever eaten grits? Are you a fan? If so how do you like yours? Would people describe you as 'having grit'? We love grits at our house. Please do not serve runny grits to my husband. He wants his spoon to be able to stand at attention in the grits. He definitely loves butter in his grits. We also like cheese grits as a side dish with many different entrees. We personally think it is an abomination to put sugar in grits :-). 

I don't know if I would be described as "having grit" or not . . .I made it through some tough times when I was young. We made it through our house burning and a year (plus 10 days) of rebuilding. I'm a college student at 68 years old . . .maybe I do have grit.

not one . . .but 2 pans of cheese grits!

shrimp and grits

These are jalapeno popper shrimp on top of grits!

shrimp and grits

This was the homemade version of

a dish that one of our local BBQ restaurants

serves - grits, and greens, and BBQ

You can tell we like grits. I literally opened google photos and typed in "grits" and it pulled even more pictures than I've posted haha!

5. What's something you're never too old or too young to enjoy? You are never too young or too old to enjoy laughter! Technically, a baby doesn't laugh until he or she is about 3 months old . . .so I guess you could be too young. There is nothing like hearing a baby laugh. Thinking about that sound makes me smile. I hope I'm laughing until I take my last breath. Also, I guess we are never too young or too old to enjoy good music. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. One of my classes this semester is Research Methods. We had to turn in our proposal for our research. Here is what I turned in:

Proposal Topic

The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Loneliness Among Young

Professionals Ages 22–35

For my research proposal, I plan to examine the relationship between social media use and the increasing concern about loneliness that is being experienced by young professionals in the age range of 22-35 years old. I think this is a particularly interesting topic because I work directly with this age group every week. They are connected to their phones but seem incredibly lonely. They want to make connections with people but often have their eyes glued to their phones. This fits within behavioral research because social media use can be measured, as well as loneliness. Researching this could show whether social media use is associated with increased loneliness or whether it allows these young professionals to make actual connections. I can see how this topic would allow for development into a research question, hypothesis, and research design for the final research proposal.

It was approved! Here are the comments from my professor:

Lisa, this is a strong topic. You have already narrowed the population, identified two measurable variables, and resisted assuming that social media necessarily increases loneliness. That gives you room to follow the research wherever it leads.

Your next step will be to decide what you mean by “social media use.” You might examine time spent on social media, particular platforms, or the difference between actively interacting with others and passively scrolling. That distinction could make this an especially interesting study.