Thoughts on Bio Honors 12-9-16

          Honestly, that yesterday test was super hard. It was especially hard for me because I had a hard time focusing since I had just used most of my brain power on the test that I had had the previous period. The test that I had in math was a long test that was challenging, so I had put a ton of focus and effort into it. When I went into your class, I felt like my brain needed a break. It was so so so hard to focus, and I feel like I made at least a few stupid mistakes on that test.

          With the stress of finals starting to build, this test really didn't help at all. I was hoping that it would be an easier test so that I could have a better grade going into finals, but it was really quite the opposite. Although I have learned a ton of Biology in your class, it would be nice to get an A in your class, especially because it is an honors class, but that hope that I have been working for all semester is slowly drifting away. 

          I wish that I could just not care about my grades, and want to go to school to gain knowledge. I enjoy learning, because most of what I learn is fascinating, but the need to get good grades is always lingering in my brain, and I do not know what to do about it. Colleges look at grades, and it has be embedded in my brain that I need to get into a good college to be successful, and that thought is not going away any time soon. 

          What really frustrates me is the kids who can get good grades without working for them. Not to call anybody out, but there are some kids who do not even need to study and can get good grades without even trying. I train for sports 3 hours a day, and usually do homework or study until midnight, and then I get up at 6 every day, just to start it all over again. It is so unfortunate that grades have become what my generation strives for, but it is not going to change, I guarantee you that.

          Once again, thanks for giving me the opportunity to write these entries for extra credit. Thanks for helping me look deeper into myself. Thanks Mr. Wong!

Thoughts on Bio Honors 12-8-16

          In Bio today, you gave us a final lecture regarding cell respiration. You touched on Glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle, and you went in depth into the Electron Transport system. You also counted the amount of energy that cell respiration gets from food, and you proved to us that our bodies are super efficient in getting energy out off the food that we eat. Although we are super efficient, we could be even more efficient because some energy escapes as head, contributing to energy becoming more and more disorganized.

                                           Here are the notes that I took during class today.

          It continues to blow my mind that we know what happens inside these tiny cells. It is still incredible to me.

Thoughts On Bio Honors 12-6-16

          Today you taught me something bigger than Biology. Bigger than me. People must respect each other, or else they do not get along. To me, this theme goes right along with racism. The theme that we cannot get along due to disrespect or judging somebody by the color of their skin in my opinion is super similar. In both situations, this not getting along turns into something more, depriving others or success. With racism one act leads to the lack of confidence of one person, this leads to the lack of confidence in the people around them. These emotions spread contagiously to everybody around this person, ultimately leading to the deprivation of success for others. In our class, one students lack of respect almost turned into the entire class getting screwed over of the test and the extra credit.
          Although, I did learn one other thing, perhaps more important. If you are a man, and stand up for your actions, you can not only benefit yourself but others. I learned something huge today: we all mess up. Everyone does it. Famous men throughout history mess up. But you can always fix it if you stand up for it and show that you are owning up to it.

Mr. Wong, that lesson is so important to me. Thanks so much for teaching me. I'm not trying to kiss up to you right now, I promise, but you are the most influential teacher I have ever had. You have made me want to be a lawyer to fight for the rights of the people. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I started doing these blog posts thinking that it would be some nice extra credit, but it has actually helped me look into myself.

Thoughts On Bio Honors 12-5-16

          The stuff that we learned today was super interesting. The fact that all of this stuff can go on inside a tiny cell continues to blow my mind on a daily basis. Millions of reactions every second, energy going into molecules and coming out of molecules. Every single day I am more and more interested. I love it.
          When you went more into depth into the Krebs Cycle, I realized for the first time, that whatever I put into my body has a real affect on how I feel, all the way down to a molecule approach. Every day, I have some junk food that lacks the elements that I literally need to survive and make get the energy that is essential to my daily functions.
          One question that I would have is what happens to the stuff that is in food that is not the stuff that goes into cellular respiration. Or does everything go in? How is it broken down and transported? I will ask this in class, but it was on my mind.
          I cannot say how much this still blows my mind. Literally I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that a little thing called an enzyme can put in energy into a bond and put an element onto a molecule. It is actually absolutely incredible. Most kids learn this stuff and they just look at it as more stuff. When I learn it, I think of it as a miracle from God, giving us life. One more time. incredible.

Thought On Bio Honors 12-2-16

           On Friday, we addressed an extremely important subject: racism. At Bellarmine, we can say as much as we want about the diversity of our community, but at the end of the day, we do go to a private high school and we are privileged. Sometimes, when you are privileged, especially white men, you forget to take a step back and look at the different ethnicities of the other people around you and appreciate their culture.You just think about the false stereotypes that aren't even true. This continuous judging of people creates a constant separation between people. The question that comes to my mind, and makes me curious is, "Can we heal that separation? Or will it always be there, always lingering and depriving the people of the tight brotherhood we all crave?"
          After we had this discussion, which I value and think is essential that teenage privileged boys understand, I started thinking. Has my generation of white people come to the conclusion that we don't need Blacks, we don't need Latinos, we don't need Asians. They think that they can be successful without those groups of people. This is completely and utterly sad to me because I believe in a world where everybody uses one another's strengths and weaknesses to accomplish common goals. A world where everybody has mutual respect and love for one another. Although, you proved in class that this world is only a dream, because of the way that the children of tomorrow are being raised.