Explorations of Purpose & Passion: Classes with Life Applications
Honors 397: Buddhist Biology
(Autumn 2013) At various times throughout college I've been fortunate enough to have the kind of classes that one walks out of and never stops thinking about. As with the other classes on this page, Buddhist Biology was absolutely one of those classes. Even after class had ended and I would leave to continue on with my day, the ideas and questions we had raised would continue to proliferate through my thoughts. This class was a small seminar of Honors students in which we read and discussed the ideas our professor had written in his book analyzing the interconnections between Biology and Buddhism. I found Buddhism interesting for its deep foundation in life philosophy, and that was also my take away from the class. The class emphasized the idea, for me, that there is likely no inherent purpose in life, that life just is. But as humans, we have the capability of defining a purpose. The purpose we have in life is the purpose we make for ourselves. |
An excerpt of the manuscript we read in class that resonated with me and what I took away from the class to incorporate into my own life
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PB AF 403: Professional Leadership
(Winter 2015) Professional Leadership has been without doubt the most impactful and applicable class I have taken all throughout college. Throughout the quarter the class explored topics of leadership through class discussions based on readings and through guest speakers who shared their personal experiences and the leadership lessons that had made an impact in their own lives.
The insights I gained about myself and my passions in this class have taken me forward and helped me come to a decision of how I want to contribute to the world and the impact I want to have. At the same time, it helped me gain the confidence to believe that I can pursue the goals in life and in leadership that I want. Leadership has become a hugely important aspect of how I view and approach life, and this class helped me think meaningfully about how to demonstrate leadership and act through leadership such that I can be proud to identify as a leader and claim it as a critical part of who I am. |