I hadn't heard of Dweck prior to this assignment, but I am encouraged by her focus on what is to come. I think that in high school, I certainly had a fixed-mindset. My sole goal was to get perfect grades, be valedictorian, and get into the school of my dreams. However, I did those things and was unhappy still. It wasn't until I came to OU and began focusing on the opportunities out there, both in school and out of school, that I realized there is so much more to life than perfectly understanding everything. If I knew how everything worked and was never challenged, how boring would that be?
I would be lying to say that I'm thrilled that I don't understand everything in my classes, that fact still scares me sometimes, but I've been working on myself to be excited about what I don't know. Just yesterday, I sat through the introduction of my Animal Development lab and grew overwhelmingly concerned as they explained that throughout the semester each group would pick a gene of focus in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) and try to figure out what it's purpose is. The catch is, most of these genes have never been studied before. As I sat in panic for a bit, I realized the opportunity that is there. By working with something I've never done, and possibly nobody has, I am going to learn so much more about biology than just doing a fixed lab every week where I could easily google what's going to happen. After watching these videos with Dweck, I grew even more intrigued as I thought about the possibility. It is likely that I will be overwhelmingly challenged this semester in that lab, but I will learn and the possibilities are endless.
(A meme that I hope to embody this semester! Web source)
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