LAKES REU

On relearning things

In school I’ve learned how to cram what seems like an impossible amount of information into my head, how to predict test questions, and how to write an essay really, really fast.  It’s easy when you’re in school to get wrapped up in deadlines and GPA’s.  The irony in this is that while I’m pushing myself to learn as much as possible, it’s at these times where I lose sight of the bigger picture of why education matters so much.  I could easily rattle off facts from my study guides, but actually applying the things that I’ve learned over the past few years is completely different.  The opportunity to actually apply these concepts to an issue that interest me is the thing that I value most about this project.

                                                                                               Photo of calf borrowed from internet

This past week planning my project with Dr. Ferguson I’ve come to better understand and appreciate both the utility and the complexity of the things I’ve been studying.  Thinking back to tangents my professors have gone on which I previously brushed aside as being something that wouldn’t matter for the class, I now finally understand what my professors were trying to get at.  My greatest hope for myself this summer is to understand economics through the eyes of someone other than a student. By actually carrying out research and closely studying a real problem, I hope to gain a better idea of what working as an economist as opposed actually implies,          
and whether this is a field that I seriously want to pursue. 

            
What else have I learned? I’ve learned that healthy soil smells earthy, about rotational grazing, that cheese curds beat mozzarella sticks, and that on rare occasions the Northern Lights can be seen from Wisconsin.

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