Humanities taught me some valuable lessons and I was able to learn more about myself

throughout the philosophical April challenge and service project that I will be able to apply to

my life even after I’m finished with this course. Aspects of these projects weren’t always easy,

and even took me by surprise, but i’m grateful I had the opportunity to do them all the same.

When I was brainstorming ideas for the philosophical April, I was having a tough time

deciding what to do. I knew there were a lot of things or habits in my life that I could improve on

or change, but I couldn’t do everything. I went back and forth between choosing having a daily

journal, having a sugar free diet, practicing meditation, fixing my sleep schedule, and going

makeup free. After a long period of indecision, I decided to focus to try one week of the month

sugar free. I have a major sweet tooth, so I knew it was important that I try to control this bad

eating habit. For the next three weeks of April, I decided to go makeup free because I wear

makeup every day. I would have done this challenge the entire month, but I had to wear stage

makeup for the school’s dance concert.

The first week of the philosophical April was the hardest for me. Although I only

eliminated foods like candy, soda, sugary cereals, and other similar junk foods, I struggled with

the restrictions more than I thought. I constantly craved these foods (especially nutella) and

almost caved several times. Coincidentally this same week I was offered so many cookies,

donuts and ice cream at school and work, so it was even harder to continue the challenge. I

realized how bad my problem with sugar is and now understand why it’s important that I have

balanced diet. It’s never good to have too much of something, so I’m trying to make a habit of

eating less artificial sugar in my life. Because it’s still very important to implement certain sugars

in you diet, I didn’t count natural sugars like fruit in the challenge.
 For the next three weeks I wanted to go makeup free because I wear makeup all the time.

I’ve struggled with bad acne since elementary school and began wearing makeup at a pretty early

age to help cover it up and build my confidence. My confidence got better later on in my life,

and my skin even got really clear for the first time in years, but I still put on makeup nearly every

out of habit. I also enjoyed putting makeup on when I had the time because it was therapeutic

and fun to see how makeup could enhance your features. A lot of the time though, I would wake

up earlier than I wanted so I would have time to put it on and it would get tedious. Sometimes if I

slept in late and didn’t have time to put makeup on, throughout the day I would get remarks like

“you look tired” and that didn’t help prove the fact that I didn’t need makeup. That’s why I knew

it was important to try this challenge because I wanted to prove to myself that makeup wasn’t a

necessity in my life and to be honest, it wasn’t as hard as I thought. The first week I was makeup

free, I went on a vacation with my family, so I didn’t bring makeup with me at all. Wearing no

makeup on vacation was a game changer because I spending more quality time with my family

or relaxing when I would have normally spent the same time putting my makeup on. The long

days in the sun did wonders for my skin, but made me more oily, so I was grateful I didn’t have

to worry about smudged or uncomfortable makeup throughout the day. When I came home from

my vacation, my skin looked better than it had in years, and I had started a new habit of wearing

no makeup, so I felt completely comfortable with this challenge at school. Overall, my mornings

became so much easier, and I felt great in my own skin, so I’m very grateful that I had the

opportunity to try the philosophical April.

For my service project, I partnered up with my friend Emma Mcfadden and reached out

to a man named Alton Thacker, founder of Tiny Tim’s Foundation for Kids. He makes
handmade toys and items for children and families in need. At the time I spoke to him, he needed

blankets/breastfeeding covers sewn so he could send them to Zimbabwe for mothers in need of

them for their babies. Along with sewing the blankets, I also hand embroidered faces on teddy

bears so he could donate them to children in need. I love this organization because it’s non profit

and Thacker uses his own money to rent out the space to make the toys and operate the business.

This project made me realize the value in serving the community and how much it can impact a

single person. Many children don’t get toys or blankets, so taking a little bit of time or money out

of our lives to help is the least we can do.

The philosophical April and service project changed my perspective on many aspects of

my life and allowed me to reflect on things I can change in my life to make it more meaningful,

serving, and to improve my well being. Some things weren’t easy, but it showed my that

persistence pays off.