Assignment 6: Olivia Klee

     If you ask me what interests me, you're signing up for an hour long conversation, but for the sake of this blog post I will list my top three.
   
1. Neuroplasticity: 
      Did you know that your brain is literally shaped by experience? Your brain fires tiny electrical signals from cell to cell. These cells, called neurons, actually organize themselves according to how they are used. For example, as you are reading this blog post, the neurons in your visual cortex are firing, reinforcing the connections that process sight. If you suddenly go blind, those unnecessary visual connections will be "pruned" and replaced by an enlarged sensory cortex, the part of the brain that processes touch.
     The brain's ability to adapt excites me because right now, an estimated 5.3 million people in America live with a disability stemming from a traumatic brain injury. They are cooped up in assisted living facilities, on ventilators, and in shelters, drooling and babbling, many by no fault of their own. And I'm hoping that by harnessing the brain's amazing ability to adapt, we can help these people.


2. Music:
    There are two types of people in this world; those who listen to music and those who really listen to music. When creating my "school work" playlist, I purposely limit myself to songs that are good, but not too good, because I can easily waste time engrossed in the harmonies of a Stevie Nicks song or the baselines of The Main Squeeze. For me, the intense complexity of a well-produced song is like cold lemonade in hell's kitchen.
     (And I just want to hug all those truly talented people that still strum their own licks and sing new harmonies because I feel like they are all dying out!)


3. Religion:
     The only thing that got me through AP World was religion. I could care less who ruled Rome in what time period, but something about Indian women throwing themselves into fire as an act of worship intrigued me. The fact that they died for their religion left me mind-boggled.
      Then history barged into the present like a wrecking ball when I learned that two exceptionally different religions, Christianity and Islam, actually worship the exact same god. I remember thinking "Wow. Many of my closest friends are Muslim, and I just now realized that?"
     Even my own religion was just a dainty routine until I started reading the Bible for myself. No matter how many seminars, leadership conferences, or team building activities I attended, nothing compared to reading The Word, attempting to figure out why I'm alive. And no, I haven't completely answered that tiny little question yet, but the study has made all the difference.