Week 6 Reflection and Conclusion

A couple of weeks have passed since my last blog post, but my project is finally coming to an end.

It did not take the direction I had initially planned for it; I was certain I'd be able to squeeze more science and proof into just how much pets affect us. However, after trying to tackle the project firsthand, I realized this is not something you can justify with numbers or facts. We have to experience life with pets in order to know what it feels like and how it will impact us.

Therese Robert. "Taylor and Paxton". 2016.

Pets are so incredibly unique. They all have their different markings, different fur, different little paws, and different personalities. They are one of a kind, each and every one of them. I have 12 pets: 6 dogs and 6 cats. I have 3 huskies, 2 pugs, 1 lab, and 6 diverse cats, including a hairless sphynx. I love each one of them like they are family, which they are.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

I took this week to reflect on some of the most difficult times in my life and I tried to remember how my pets made me feel during those times of crisis. I suffer with anxiety and depression and in the past I have experienced suicidal thoughts. I used to believe my struggles were harder than the fight I had in me and there were days where I did not think I could keep going. I would wake up feeling hopeless, afraid, tired, and I did not want to be around anymore. In moments where it felt like my life was complete chaos, there was one thing that remained consistent... the love of my pets. They are ALWAYS there and they ALWAYS provide me with comfort and love. They can pull me out of my darkest moments with the vibration of a purr, the touch of a paw, or a slobbery puppy kiss. They are truly amazing creatures and I really do not believe I would be here without them.

Therese Robert. "Taylor and Niam". 2017

Reflecting on things like this makes me believe that I chose the perfect project for myself. I am passionate about animals, I love my pets more than life itself, and though this is not a project that can be measured or evaluated with an end result, the progress can be felt. This is a personal project, and I felt myself grow week to week in my quest to see how my pets were impacting my days. I learned that even on my toughest days, they pick me up. When I am sad, angry, anxious, my pets bring out the best in me. They have taught me responsibility, compassion, and unconditional love. I have learned that I am a better version of myself when pets are around and I hope that my project encourages others to value their pets more. We take them for granted, but in reality, they are saving us from ourselves. I think a lot of people can agree when I say that we owe a lot of our sanity to the pets we have.

Therese Robert. "Taylor and Paxton Relaxing". 2017

I hope that you have enjoyed my posts and that you have felt the energy and love I have put into this project from week to week. Although it cannot be measured with a final tangible result, this was an adventure of self-discovery and I believe it was a worthwhile genius hour project.

Fini.

Week 5 Reflection

LAST WEEK:

I have so much downtime with reading week and flex week, but I know I will be spending most of it with my pets.

What I've noticed is that this project is very person-specific; how I feel around animals isn't necessarily how somebody else is going to feel. I was at the dog park today and I was speaking with a friend about her experience with pets. She never had animals growing up, but decided to get a dog in her late 20's. She said it was LIFE CHANGING. She cannot remember a time where she didn't have a dog... Then it led her to get cats. Again, she said she cannot remember a life without them. She talks about how much they calm her down, having moderate anxiety herself. The pets have been crucial to helping her calm down during panic attacks.

It is INCREDIBLE just how much people light up when they talk about their pets. They aren't just animals... they are family.

WHAT'S NEXT?

This week I am hoping to focus on my TED talk and explain what my project is really about. It's such an emotion based project so I am very concerned that my research and progress will not shine through the way I want it to. I haven't focused on the science part of everything as much as I am focusing on the emotional side of it. I don't think everyone experiences this the same way, so I am trying to approach it in an open-ended way so that it encourages others to do the same. Science might give us facts, but science can't make you feel the love of a pet.

This week I had an anxiety attack and the first thing I was able to focus on besides the "impending doom" was the purring of one of my cats. It was incredible just how fast I was able to change my breathing and calm down.

Let's face it... It's hard to be miserable when you are completely engulfed in kitty love.

Taylor Simons. "Herd of cats". 2017.

Week 4 Reflection

LAST WEEK

I visited with my aunt and uncle (as I mentioned I would last week) and decided to get fancy with the pugs! Can you say, "Spiffy"?

Taylor Simons. "Percy and Paxton with bowties". 2017.

My aunt and uncle have been struggling for a while with the loss of my cousin, Scott. Whenever I bring the pugs around, they seem to light up. Their focus is momentarily displaced from the grief and is turned towards the adorable, snorting, bundles of wrinkles you see above. My aunt LOVES to spoil them with treats and toys whenever I bring them over, so I knew this visit would be great for both them and the pugs.

It was CLEAR that the pugs positively affected my aunt and uncle. As soon as I walked in, the house was quiet except for the sound of the TV on low volume in the living room. However, as soon as the pugs were introduced into the situation, the room filled with smiles and laughter.

Here were a few comments overheard that I jotted down:

• "Don, we should get a pug. They're so precious."
• "I feel like I can breathe again. I just love them."
• "Can we babysit them?"
• "Look at the little sweeties. I haven't been this happy in a long time."
• "She hasn't smiled all week. Thank you."

Even in the hardest times, pets can conquer grief and fill people will love and happiness.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Going into flex week and reading week, I want to take as much time as possible to personally reflect on my genius hour question.

Pets really do impact our lives in such extraordinary ways. I think we take them for granted most of the time and are never fully aware of just how much we change in their presence. I am going to keep track of my mood from day to day over the next two weeks and see how much it fluctuates when I am with my pets.

I have been struggling with advancing my project recently because it is such a personal and emotion based idea. This is not something that can be measured in numbers or explained in words, as hard as I try. It is purely emotional, and the progress I make on my project can only be felt. This is a difficult genius hour project, but I am trying my best to articulate my thoughts and feelings. Hopefully my finished product will be able to express just how much of an impact my pets have had on my life.

Week 3 reflection

LAST WEEK:

I spoke with many dog owners at the dog park this past week about how their dogs make them feel. Here are some of the most common words said:

• Happy
• Loved
• Excited
• Stressed
• Important

A dozen different people seemed to say the same things about how their pets make them feel and it just solidifies that the presence of pets in our lives affects how we are, how we feel, and the over quality of our day.

Taylor Simons. "Pugs Sleeping". 2017.

This week's focus was on how pets physically and mentally affect the body. I have been observing through my own personal experiences at the dog park just how much a dog's presence can affect a person. But to what extent is their presence really impacting people's lives? How deep does it go?

I decided to do some research into the science behind pets and the human mind/body. There are an endless amount of websites that support the notion that animals reduce stress levels. Everybody deals with stress, whether it stems from work, school, family, or relationships. We are all burdened. What makes animals so special in all of this? Well studies show that pets:

• can increase levels of the stress-reducing hormone oxytocin and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol 
• “Dogs Help Humans Reduce Stress.” Dogs Help Reduce Stress, animalsmart.org/species/dogs/dogs-help-reduce-stress

AND

• lower blood pressure response to mental stress 
• Allen, Karen, et al. “Pet Ownership, but Not ACE Inhibitor Therapy, Blunts Home Blood Pressure Responses to Mental Stress.” Hypertension, vol. 38, no. 4, Oct. 2001, hyper.ahajournals.org/content/38/4/815.full.

Speaking from personal experience, I can attest to the physical and mental support pets give humans. I suffer with anxiety and depression, both of which can be incapacitating at the best of times. However, I find I am more capable of working through an episode of anxiety if I have a pet present. Petting a cat or a dog helps me narrow my focus, it allows me to gain back control of my own breathing, and the repetitive nature of interacting with pets through stroking them is soothing.

Since it is evident that pets have health benefits, does this make it more appealing to own one? Or perhaps does this motivate current pet owners to seek how their pets might be useful in the community for people who are not capable of owning their own pets or do not have access to any?

There are programs that exist that utilize the benefits of pets as therapy animals and they take these certified fur-babies into schools, universities, libraries, hospitals, and nursing homes. There is one program I looked into that is called Therapeutic Paws of Canada, and they are entirely volunteer-based. The program has the volunteers and their pets visit spaces and communities that could benefit from the presence of therapy animals. The program itself is geared towards facilitating a calm, stress-free environment and stimulating a happy and engaging time for all.

This is one of the many ways pets are used to better the lives of people who are battling with illness, diseases, disabilities, and just poor mental health in general. The very existence of these programs proves that pets are indeed an impacting factor on a person's everyday life.

WHAT'S NEXT?

For this week, I want to put all of this information to the test.

My Aunt and Uncle lost one of their sons last year, my cousin Scott, in a tragic accident. It has not been easy for any of my family as we were all very close with him. Both my aunt and uncle are retired and have been spending a lot of time at home, but it is clear that they are really struggling mentally and emotionally with the loss of Scott. They do not own any animals, but since I do, I asked if I could bring two of my dogs over to their house so that they could participate in my Genius Hour Project. I am going to be observing, recording, and reflecting on the experience:

• Pictures
• Video
• Before feelings
• After feelings
• General comments from both my aunt and uncle about how the dogs being there makes them feel

This project is very personal to me, and my aunt and uncle are one of the main reasons I wanted to look into just how much of an impact pets can have on our lives. Bring on the puppies!

Taylor Simons. "Paxton Sleeping". 2016.

Week 2 reflection

WHERE TO START?

Since I am exploring lives with/without pets, I decided to take my search to social media (Facebook, Twitter). I started to look at how many people actually own pets. It turns out that majority of the people I interact with on a daily basis have at least one pet. I am not surprised.

As part of my project, I want to talk with pet owners and find out a few things:

1. Why did you get a pet?
2. How does it impact your everyday routine?
3. How does it affect your mood?

This will explore life with pets at a very basic level as most pet owners have pets because they want to and because they can.

WHAT'S NEXT?

My next step will be to explore life with pets that have a purpose. This could entail service pets, or people who have gotten a pet because of a special reason (like anxiety or depression that doesn't require a service animal). I will ask the same questions as I asked the other pet owners and see what the similarities and differences are.

I think this is such a unique topic. Most people don't even think twice about the presence of an animal, but when you come home after a stressful day of work or classes, your pets can change your entire mood. They're such wonderful creatures and I think using my Genius Hour project to talk about their impact on people's lives could benefit many. Maybe current pet owners will grow to appreciate their furbabies even more, and maybe people who don't own pets will see the benefits of one and finally take the step of welcoming a new addition into the family.

Taylor Simons. "Bailey". 2017.

Genius Hour Question

Another week has come and gone, and I have struggled to find my footing with this project.

However, I made a breakthrough after digging deep into my own mind... pets. My pets are a part of every single day. They are in my face when I wake up, they are running towards the door when I come home, and they are snoring loudly beside me when I go to bed. They are a piece of me. So what better way to spend my Genius Hour time than to explore just how important pets are to us.

My Genius Hour question is:

How do pets affect a person's everyday life?

Copyrights: citing online content properly!

Everything on the internet is protected by copyright licenses in some way, shape, or form. After discovering which parts of the content are protected/available to the public or for public use, it is extremely important to cite the information of the original author, date created, and the link it was retrieved from. 

For our Digizen badge, we were asked to find 2 images and cite them properly.


I chose an image of a classroom and an image of the CN tower. (CANADA REPRESENT)

For each picture, I have given the screen name, date, description of image, and the url it was retrieved from. 

TIME TO SUBMIT FOR MY DIGIZEN BADGE!

WELCOME!

Good morning/afternoon/evening... good day!

This is my very first blog... Obviously I had no clue what to call it, so naturally I have embraced my inner Power Rangers morphing side and have named it "It's Genius Time!" (my way of morphing!) Seeing as this is my first blog, this also means this is my first post and you are my first audience... Amazing to share this experience with you!


Since this blog will tie into our Genius Hour projects, we must know exactly what Genius Hour is:

PASSION. PASSION. PASSION.

But with a purpose.

I never knew this existed until our first class. Setting aside time in an employee's workday, a student's school day, to explore a personal passion and to develop it into something creative, something worthwhile. Genius Hour allows students to tap into their creativity and to explore, develop, and share passion projects with the world around them. By allowing them to dive into something that interests them, their productivity levels skyrocket and their minds blossom.

I cannot wait to start my Genius Hour project and transform my passion into a tangible creation that I can share with the world.