A Couple of My Classes

I am really enjoying the time I have spent here at Wartburg. I was worried when I first came here that I would have difficulty meeting people. Not many people are here from my high school, and the people that are here I never really talked to back in Ankeny. I am not worried anymore. I am meeting some wonderful people!

I really like the classes that I am taking. I am getting a lot of homework however, which is why I will be posting two blogs tonight, so that I can make sure that I get them both done for this week. My goal is to spread them out more over this coming week! I had never seen Jurassic Park before this class and I really liked it! It is interesting to me what Crichton imagined science could do and now being able to see what parts of that is true and what parts are not is fascinating to me. As I was watching the movie some falsities caught my attention. One in particular that stood out to me was the fact that the boy let go of the fence after he was shocked. First of all, there is no way that he should have been able to live through that high voltage shock. Second, his muscles should have contracted due to the electricity forcing him to hang on. At least that is what should happen if I am remembering 9th grade science correctly!

Another class that I am taking is Psychology of the Exceptional Learner. I am learning a lot about myself and my family in this class. Weird right? Not really. I have two little brothers, ages 11 and 16, and the 16 year old has spina bifida. This affects his ability to walk. I am learning a lot about the different programs in the schools that deal with special needs children. It is interesting to learn about some of the terms that I have heard growing up, like IEP and 504. It really helps having first hand experience because it puts the rest of the class into context. I am learning about myself as well. It is interesting to see what the authors of the book think that siblings of those with disabilities feel and go through. I do not feel like I was ignored or forgotten like the authors said some siblings feel. My parents were really good about trying to hold all of us to the same standards. I have discovered though, after some reflection, that one thing that bothers me is that often times, even though I am older, more people know my brother than me. Consequently, I often get referred to as "Andrew's sister." I understand why this happens. He is easier to pick out of a crowd than I am and he is more outgoing than I as well. I think that this has caused me to strive to succeed in what I do in order to make a name for myself. I excelled in school and in music. I believe that I would have done this even if Andrew did not have a disability, but I now wonder if I subconsciously did this as well so that I would stand out as Katie and not "Andrew's sister." That's one of the things that I like about college as well. It is a new start and I am able to make myself who I want to be and there are no already established labels. Please, don't get me wrong, I love both of my brothers a lot and would not trade them for the world. I have learned so much from Andrew and I almost feel badly saying that I felt I lived in his shadow to an extent. He lived in my shadow too, as he is following me in school. I suppose that this happens to every set of siblings in a way. Every case is just different.

I've learned a lot from my other brother, Matt, as well. Matt was adopted from South Korea. I love having such a diverse family. It is really interesting to watch Matt grow up and see how much is learned behavior opposed to genetics. He has the same sense of humor and compassion as my parents. Both of my brothers have shown me that the outside really does not matter at all and that it is the inside that really counts. I really appreciate that I have been given the opportunity to witness this within the people I love.