Final Assignment... :D

Andy's class. Some of my friends from the senior class if 2008 told me "whatever you do take Andy's class". So I signed up for it and the first day of class was a living hell. I didn't like anything about the class and dreading it for the whole semester. I made sure I did my work but not to the fullest extent that I should have because I thought this class was useless. Andy and I would go back and forth arguing over minor things that didn't even matter but did it just to get our point across. As the second semester began to kick in I realized that what I needed to do was step my game up in this class or summer school it was for me. I learned how to put thoughts aside and just cope with what Andy was saying. I started to work hard in this class like never before and share a few thoughts here and there to show that I participated. I must say this class was a challenge for me and it was a good one . I learned a lot in each unit we did and I had different perspectives on the American Way of Life.

The first unit was Constitution and this was the hardest unit for me. I never really read the amendments before or knew what the preamble was. This unit also consisted capitalism and insights on economics. This was really hard for me to grasp because I didn't really understand it and on top of that I struggled with reading and understanding the text. I tried hard to pass quizzes but failed at the end. I learned a lot about the Constitution and all our rights as American citizens. Even though this was difficult for me

Our next unit was American Way of Birth. I was excited for this because I have always said I am going to have a big family and this unit gave me insights to what I am going to go through in the future. At first I didn't understand why we would do this unit because I felt like it was random but I must say that this was the best unit. It amazed me how I only saw that birth was a beautiful thing and yes it is but there are many faults in hospitals now. Many doctors only think about the money rather than the woman's health. Doctors just want to take the fast way out. Some rather go through 5 C-sections then have 2 women doing natural birth. Most women don't know what doctors are doing or what a certain medicine or shot is but rather just let the doctor be in control. They let the doctors do what they want even if they were really set on having a natural birth. We as a class learned the pros and cons of the American way of birth and how they will affect us in the long run. I learned a lot from what an epidural was to how to break the birth norm.

Units such as poverty and health caught my attention because we as Americans only worry about ourselves and what we have. This unit opened me up and showed me how I take this for granted. I take going to the doctor for granted and what I have in my life. This unit showed me what health care we have in the United States and how there are many areas that need to be fixed up. Places like France and Canada have free health care. It even goes beyond that. Childcare can be provided if you need it also. It amazing me how different parts of the world have different standards and criteria some being better than others.

I particularly liked the food unit because I love to eat. I never really thought about what I eat until this unit was taught. Every time I go to the doctor she always tells me I need to eat more vegetables and drink more water. When she tells me things like that it goes through one ear and out the other. I get really tense when I hear it but its only for my health and what is best for me so she is only doing me a favor. After seeing a few clips of what goes on in the meat district and what is not seen I started to think twice before stuffng my face. I feel like we shouldn't eat meat because the way they are treating these animals which makes me want to become a a vegetarian. It would be hard to change my eating habits because of how I have been eating my whole life.

In conclusion, I am thankful for this class because not only did I learn a lot of new material but also was able to share my feelings and reactions. It was a great class because it was more like discusions and debates rather than textbook work. Even though in the beginning I despised this class I achieved my goal by learning new materials. All the units put together showed us different perspectives rather than what we have been told. They all relate and bring together what we call the "American way of Life". I look forward to this class next year.