Reflecting on 2021
As my first semester back to school comes to an end, I've taken the time to reflect on my learnings that I've encountered so far in 2021. My standard weekday routine consisted of waking up, getting dressed, going to work, start homework, find the motivation to workout, do some more homework, and then going onto bed and repeat the next day. Then on most weekends I usually had to hop on a plane and travel for work or family. Although I haven't had much of a social life this year -so far, I was able discover new things about myself in terms of mindset and new interests. And as I kept busy during this semester, I encountered a few readings with ideas that I will forever keep for the betterment of myself and my future.
My Encountered Readings
Bresnan, Patrick S. Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. 6th ed., Routledge, 2018.
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| Book Cover Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought Patrick S. Bresnan |
- Bresnan is a retired professor of history and philosophy. His book provides an extensive overview of Eastern Asian religions, traditions, and philosophies while making connections between their ancient origin and modern thought. The text primarily focuses on India, China, and Japan with a clear historical timeline as you read. I found this book rather interesting because it engages you with different ideas such as reincarnation, karma, self-awareness, yin and yang, and many more. The reading shares these ideas and connects it with other religions or traditions by explaining their interpretations with reason and historical stories.
Hawley, Jack. The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners. New World Library, 2011.
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| Book Cover The Bhagavad Gita Jack Hawley |
- Hawley is a consultant and writer whose studied in India about spiritual energies within everyday life. His book is based during the 2nd century BCE, on a Hinduism Sanskrit scripture of a universal love song. He creates an enjoyable read with a clear interpretation of the story of Prince Arjuna, who is accompanied to war by an old 'friend' Krishna, to help guide him into the right path. I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a new perspective outlook in life, as it is filled with poems and secrets of enlightenment to help one become successful in their own daily life. It will also teach you that the more you learn and evolve your knowledge, the more positive energy you will find around you.
Rausch, Andrew J. Turning Points in Film History. Citadel, 2004.
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| Book Cover Turning Points in Film History Andrew J. Rausch |
- Rausch is a film critic, author, and interviewer, as well as an actor, film producer, and screenwriter. His book presents significant points in film history that helped revolutionize the way movies and films are produced today. Providing historical facts based on film historians and filmmakers, while casing their ideas with an influential event that can be identified within today's modern films. This book was a required reading for my film history class this semester, and I found it enjoyable to read because it mentions countless inventors, such as Thomas Edison, who I had no idea made such a huge impact on what we know about movies.
My Learnings of the Environment
During the mid to end of this semester, I was assigned a group project with a couple of my fellow classmates about a themed topic we've chosen at the beginning of this class. Our theme was How Should the Environment be treated? At first we were a little worried with there only being three of us, while other theme groups had multiples of maybe four, five, or six.. but that didn't stop us from wanting to produce the best PowerPoint we can. I've decided to take the initiative role and become our group's project manager and editor, while also assisting as graphics designer. My favorite part of the project was being able to collaborate my ideas and perspectives with my groupmates. At times there would be differences but being able to understand one another and have an open mind was the best part because isn't that what humanities is all about? Although I took a huge load this semester with a new job and being a full-time student, I was able to accomplish about 26 hours on this project between group meetings, individual work, and advising.
Looking Back at Asian Humanities 320
For almost all my life my mom has always tried to encourage me to find a religion of my own, and be able to have someone (or something) I can talk to in times in need. When I first enrolled into this class, my expectation was to find a religion I can incorporate into my daily life while also being able to knockout another class requirement. As class started, I expected it to be an easy breeze. All I had to do was do the required readings and write the discussions posts or blog entries. My goal was to do just that while finding a religion for my personal use and complete the class with an A. Unfortunately I didn't accomplish any of those goals except one. I was able to find a religion I can use within my daily life.
What interested me most about the class was writing blog entries. I found writing blog entries to be such a fun way of expressing my learnings with photos and researching, while also having the opportunity to edit the appearance of my posts. It's something I wish we did more of rather than discussion posts and only once a chapter. One of my favorite takeaways from the class was learning the different interpretations of reincarnation between religions. Because death is the biggest question of humanity right? We're always wondering what happens exactly after death. And although I already knew the universal definition of reincarnation, I learned that Mahayana Buddhist have a different idea to it and they refer to it as samsara, the cycling of existence.
Overall I found this class to be a very enjoyable learning experience that I will continue to take with me as I evolve as a human being in this world.
Work Cited
Hoden, Vernerable, director. What Is The Difference Between Reincarnation and Rebirth? - Zen Buddhism. YouTube, Dharma Gate Zen, 7 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW5WlEkFszw.
“Reincarnation.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/reincarnation.
