Film and Story, a narrative filmmaking class, was one where I was likely the most inexperienced filmmaker in a class with quite a few talented and passionate artists. I quickly found, though, that my lack of experience brought a fresh perspective to the class, and it was wonderful to work with my peers and learn from them (while they learned from me a bit too!).

Alexander the Great was the class in which I finally grasped the importance of learning history. Often in history, we approach a certain place, time period, culture, or at least theme, but in Alexander the Great everything we learned and discussed ultimately connected back to Alexander himself. Over the course of the class I ended up seeing Alexander and the people in his life not just as figures but as actual people with strengths and flaws. It seems obvious but the realization that people living over 2000 years ago were just as human as you are is a very humbling and also humanizing experience. It makes you understand that you are part of a much larger story that does not start and end with you.

While I enjoy science I would not consider it to be one of my stronger subjects, so after taking physics junior year, I was looking to take a different look at science my senior year. Being able to take a more philosophical approach to science was a very enlightening experience and challenged what I thought science fundamentally was and could be. We debated whether schools and governments mandating vaccines was moral, questioned the principles of cloning animals and even humans, and discussed the history of racism within healthcare. I found myself not only examining the present state of science but thinking about my own future, and how I might incorporate this way of thinking into my role in society.