PSYC2090:
On Death & Dying
For my third experience, I took a seminar entitled On Death and Dying. Although these types of topics may not appeal to all audiences, this caught my eye because I've always wanted to take an ethics-related class that really makes me think. Click the link below for an outline of course content from the UC website.
Reflecting
When I walked into class for the first day, my professor had a photo of leaves changing color projected up on the board. She then asked us to think about what significance this could have in relation to our course. The answer turned out to be very simple: the changing of leaves is a part of nature, just as death is a part of life. Although it was only used as an introduction, for me this was a powerful analogy that I kept finding myself remembering throughout the semester.
Taking this course gave me the opportunity to learn the different perceptions of death and traditions held by various cultures and religions around the world. I really valued this portion of the lesson plan because it allowed me to explore a wide variety of perspectives from other countries, as well as my fellow peers at the University of Cincinnati. I was raised Roman Catholic, and my views on life and death are drawn primarily from my faith. Growing up in the church, we are not taught to fear death, but rather see it as a stepping stone to an eternal life in Heaven. Researching other ideologies strengthened my attitude towards death and reinforced my outlook on life as a whole.
Although it’s a common phrase, this course really did help me realize that life goes by fast. Holding on to fear of death can actually hinder one’s ability to live in the moment and experience life the way it was intended. At the end of the semester, I felt much more comfortable with the way I perceive the inevitable reality of dying, but it’s not something I live in fear of, nor is it something I dread. My own beliefs, combined with the many meaningful discussions we had throughout the course, created the understanding that while I may not have control over when I die, I do have control over my choices until then. I intend to live the rest of my life to the fullest doing what I love, and hope to inspire others to do so as well.
Grief & Mourning
A main component of this course was thoroughly researching one of the overarching topics of discussion and sharing our findings with the class. Featured below is a presentation of a classmate and mine relating to the ideas of grief and mourning. We took it a step farther and qualified it to how COVID-19 impacted the mindsets and attitudes of essential workers during the pandemic.
Eulogy, Obituary, & Epitaph
What made the course feel especially applicable to real life is that, as college students, we each had the experience of writing our own will, obituary, and eulogy. Featured below is a document containing my eulogy, obituary, and epitaph, along with some reasoning for why I chose certain quotes and language.