part 1: Please read and reply to Corrine and Hannah.

–>Hello Class, My name is Corinne and I’m a last semester senior at UB. I’m from New York City , working as a preschool teacher in Manhattan. My educational goals are to become a behavioral therapist working in a hospital setting. I’ve worked with kids my entire life whether it be babysitting or tutoring any age group; I feel that I’m ready to take on this next step and finally enter the career phase of my.,life. Super excited to start this course and take in as much information as I possibly can. Wishing everyone a wonderful semester.

This ted talk gave me a lot of information that I honestly didn’t think would even be true. It shows that we need to keep our eyes out for certain things that may not pay a bunch of attention too. . We know that the majority of these viruses that we know of today have originated from animals meaning that humans have gone a bit too far trying to figure out something new in an unsafe manner and that has led to us a new phase of needing to be careful with the way we handle new findings.

Watching this ted talk at the prime of Covid and compared to now I can say that this information is even more important now than ever. It shows that we personally need to step it up when it comes to sobering sanitary, and even handling things that require PPE handling and preparations. The hotspots for Covid in the United States of America are honestly the hotspots that you won’t think off the top of your head. NYC , California, aren’t even on the lists, it’s Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas being the main 3 right now with the highest cases of Covid. Are they taking high revaluation in their states? Probably not since it’s multiple counties within these states who are suffering from constant Covid cases. Methods that are being used to prevent the spread of Covid are mask wearing, sanitizing area constantly used, and staying away from these said hot spots even within your own state if not vaccinated. Currently with the way Covid has taken a way of tranquility we see that since high vaccination rates no one is really wearing masks anymore, people are back to raving and raging and others are just staying indoors like they were before.

–>My name is Hannah Barry and I’m a senior, majoring in Psychology. I’m a student athlete at the University of Bridgeport and am from West Hartford, Connecticut. My education goals include gaining more knowledge with my counseling skills class, in order to further my career in sports psychology.

Nathan Wolfe talks about how he has studied viral chatter which is the study of the viruses into the human populations, the movement of the agents into humans, and being able to catch the viruses early (Wolfe, Nathan. Ted Talk, The Jungle for Viruses). I think that studying viral chatter is a good idea because it will give people a better understanding as to how these viruses are being passed onto humans and ways we can decrease them from transmitting into the human population. While gathering information for the study, Nathan collects blood from other specimens, and looks at the diseases in both humans and animals which can increase the chance of catching the disease early. The individuals would get monitored on a normal timeline (Wolfe, Nathan. Ted Talk, The Jungle for Viruses). The blood is collected on filter paper and that allows for the unknown viruses from the exact animals to be identified, that are being hunted (Wolfe, Nathan. Ted Talk, The Jungle for Viruses). The animal’s blood can not be in contact with other animal’s blood because that can increase the chances of other viral diseases. Finding the source of the virus can help decrease the hot spots in the world because the virus will be caught early and tests will be done to show how this virus can be contained. The hot spots are high risk areas in the world for infection for a virus. Once you find the source you will find different ways to stop the problem from spreading. The studies being done with the blood and filter paper is a way to prevent hot spots from increasing around the world because that is finding the source of what viruses are in the animals. Then they can compare their specimen with others and that can show what is similar and different in those animals. Some current hot spots for COVID-19 are Loving County, Texas, Rowan, County KY, and Scott County, TN.

Part 2: Please read and write a response to Amanda and Bianca

Amanda: Personally, I see how Libby did mature and grow through her relationships and Dennis seemed like the best one because he was the most encouraging and supportive. The other three relationships before Dennis, were tough to read about. Tommy seemed unstable. It was like puppy-love that ended up becoming serious very fast, although it did get Libby to a new environment from her home life. Dale, as Libby said, reminded her of her grandmother. It was nice that Dale was caring and looking after her. The part of Dale I don’t like is that he was more interested in sex than Libby, which makes me question his intentions of getting close to Libby from the beginning. John to me was a fling, nothing serious, but Libby did know what she wanted and sought for it. Dennis seems like the only good individual, because they had a long friendship before going into something more romantic.

If I had to pick, I would have to pick Dennis because of his care and support for Libby to grow personally. Although I also do not feel as if I need a relationship for the personal growth and maturity that I want to seek, because those are things I need to do for myself. In a more intimate sense with a partner, the personal growth and maturity isn’t something that I feel that I need. Unlike Libby, I had a sexual education at school and relationships weren’t frowned upon in my family. Co-dependency isn’t something that I experienced and I am glad that my current relationship is more supportive.

—-> Bianca: Libby had experienced many different types of relationships. She had Tom who was dominant and desired control in his life so much that he did not care who he hurt. Dale who was married and wanted to have sex with beautiful woman, but had maturity and compassion that Tom did not have. John helped her become more responsive to sexual relations. And lastly, Dennis who cared for and helped her find what she enjoyed to experience. Dennis made her laugh again. He helped her open up to the world and to men again, giving her a sense that “sex is an important and freeing part of relationships.”

My hope would be to attract someone like Dennis. I would want someone that I shared interests with and could laugh with. I feel like laughing can be so grounding and truly gives an overwhelming feeling of happiness. Like Libby I would want someone that I could support and care for while receiving the same in return. It is comforting to know that the person you are sharing your body and being vulnerable with cares for you. I also think it is extremely important to have someone in your life that supports exploration and development whether it be sexual, personal, or educational. Dennis was teaching her to be free and to develop her own sense of sex. That is important that the person you are with does not want you to conform to what they like but instead wants to find a middle ground. Sex is better for both participants when the interest is shared. I would want to attract exactly that. A sense of safety is important for me and having someone like Dennis would give me that feeling. That is not to say that there were not times in my life where a little bit less connection, like her and john, was what I was searching for. It all depends on your life circumstances and your growth.