The Phase 1 of IS101 was full of surprises. The entire course feels nothing like any of the classes I have taken before, and I mean it in a good way. I think I did alright—I have always been mediocre—I did not become a part of the 'failing' group that needs to catch up, but I was not a part of the group that excels either. What I need to do differently is definitely manage my time better, and of course, strengthen my mental stability. I can't always just stay in my comfort zone because things feel overwhelming. I need to toughen up and push through. I want to stand out and excel like the others, because that is what's going to help me succeed in this class and in the future outside of it.
I picked 4.2.2 - The Clipboard. This is very useful for me, as I am someone who loves to use the em dash (—), as you can see in the paragraph above. The problem is, I don't see the em dash anywhere on my laptop keyboard. So I decided to use the clipboard for storing symbols that I cannot find anywhere on my keyboard in the pinned section. This is especially useful for students who need citations and references while doing their research papers, saving links of articles, names, and blocks of texts, instead of having to rewrite everything themselves.
To prepare for the upcoming MO-110 Word certification exam, I took the advice of my awesome seatmate, Kevin. He seems to be one of the best students in class. He told me to just keep redoing everything that I have been getting wrong in the practice tests, and eventually it'll stick.
Something to share with the World Wide Web is the fact that all of us are too distracted by social media trends, government problems, old men's wars fought by and sacrificed for by the youth or younger adults, and our own problems as we try our best to survive this chaotic world. We don't even notice or know about the more important news anymore: There's a LOT of bizarre things happening to our planet Earth, the North Pole's magnetic field changing rapidly being one of them. And I wish people would unite to help figure it out and remedy our planet's issues before it's too late for all of us.
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A little note to explain what the title means: It is an analogy of improvement.
"In biology, exuviae (singular: exuvia) refers to the shed exoskeleton or outer covering of an arthropod (like insects, crustaceans, and spiders) after molting. Essentially, it’s the ‘skin’ they leave behind after growing."Danielson, Bill. “Speaking of Nature: Ever Heard of an Exuvia? A Triumphant Use of Unexpected Science Vocabulary.” The Greenfield Recorder, 29 July 2025.
Hi Chae, I like the title of your post because the idea of shedding an exuvia is actually a really good analogy for growth. Sometimes learning something new feels uncomfortable at first, but it’s part of improving and leaving old habits behind. I also relate to what you said about being somewhere in the middle of the class, not failing but not exactly excelling either. Honestly, that’s where a lot of us are while we’re still figuring things out.
ReplyDeleteYour idea of using the clipboard to store symbols like the em dash is actually clever. Small tools like that can save a lot of time when writing papers. And I’m glad my suggestion about repeating the practice tests helped you a little, because that’s usually how things stick for me too.
About what you said regarding distractions, I have to admit I’m one of those people. When I get burnt out from Word assignments, LabSim, or when my accounting professor starts talking about debits and credits like it’s the end of the world, I need something funny to survive the day. I usually watch memes or random TikTok videos just to laugh for a few minutes. Otherwise my natural personality is basically either emotionally sad or slightly angry most of the time, so comedy is kind of my emergency medicine.
Glad to hear you see the surprises in Phase 1 of IS101 in a good way, Chae :-)
ReplyDeleteI like using the em dash (—) too. Pinning symbols that are not available on the keyboard in the pinned section of your clipboard is an excellent idea!
Taking advice from a seatmate that seems to be doing well is smart ^_^
I agree that many people are distracted by the abundance of information and agendas from the World Wide Web. I think people will see through the smoke and noise and come together when it matters to them.
Thank you for introducing me to the term "exuvia". The spell checker feature in Microsoft Word and Notepad does not recognize "exuvia" (singular) but does recognize "exuviae" (plural). Strange...