My Citizen 410 course was very unique compared to the other courses I have taken at Longwood. In case you didn’t know, every senior at Longwood has to take Citizen 410. And if you’re in the Cormier Honors College, you have to take an honors section. I really enjoyed this course especially because it was an honors section. I already knew the professor and most of the students in my class. This course was discussion based and I had a good feeling we would have rich discussions during each class period.

In this course, we discussed what it means to live a good life and read articles from Aristotle as well as modern philosophers. We discussed human tendencies, how ethical they are and so on. This course not only made me reflect on society but also on myself. In fact, self-reflection was a core aspect of this course. Each week, I had to take three, twenty minute walks, read leisurely for an hour and journal. I had never taken a course with requirements like this and was surprised at first. But I actually really enjoyed these practices. My professor called them contemplative practices. Meaning, they were thought provoking. These all had to be done individually too.

The link below is my virtue habituation report I completed in this course. Near the beginning of the semester, we had to choose a virtue we wanted to incorporate in our lives. I chose to be more industrious. Specifically, to create a better work and life balance. I mentioned in my report how this practice helped me be more aware of my actions throughout the semester. I definitely enjoyed the challenge.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15V-263YI58-288VygEV23K630z62hntOxrK1xmfV2Gs/edit?usp=sharing

Overall, this course made me reflect on how others act as well as myself. While reading philosophy does come with challenges, each reading had interesting viewpoints and was worth it. I left this course feeling more self aware and better able to improve my life and help others.