post 4 : senses and stuff

 the sense i chose was smell. i found an interesting article about a study that found a strong link between certain smells and a persons attractiveness and success. the study also found that men have a weaker smell when in relationships, suggesting scent helps attract a partner. smells also affect how our other senses take in information; someone may look visually unappealing if they smell bad. researchers think that the ability to identify small differences in smell may help doctors predict health issues and help people evaluate each other on a conscious level. i thought this study was interesting, and i wonder how i smell to other people.

https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-021-00311-3

post 3 : bioheroes

 My birthday is March 23, so my brain part is the hypothalamus and my neurotransmitter is Substance P. The hypothalamus manages homeostasis and Substance P adjusts pain reception. 

My superhero is The Regulator. He was subjected to painful human experimentation that caused him so much pain his pain receptors completely turned off because of Substance P. His hypothalamus was working overtime to keep him stable, and once the experiment stopped, it kept going. He has become a superhuman, unable to be fazed even by the most extreme pain or conditions. He uses his ability to help others maintain homeostasis and avoid pain by taking some of their suffering onto himself, since he cannot feel it. 

post 2 : my life story

My life began in Houston Methodist Hospital on March 23, 2007. I was the first child of my parents, Julie and Tristan Ibarra, and for the first two years of my life I lived with my parents, grandparents, and uncles in my mom's parents' house. Surrounded by a variety of people who encouraged my learning, I quickly began to explore the world. Though I don't quite remember this time of my life, I know from stories that I learned to talk very quickly and my first word was "uh-oh." My mother and grandmother both worked in elementary schools, so I learned the basics of reading by the time I was two. Around this time, my sister was born, and my parents moved our growing family to a house in Meadows Place where we still live. I continued to learn and read as much as I could as I entered elementary school, and my knowledge expanded almost as quickly as my family did; by the time I reached middle school, I had four younger siblings, and by the time I started high school, I was the oldest of six children. 

 

As I reached puberty, my aptitude for academics began to slow down. I started to ask bigger questions that my teachers couldn't answer, and I went to an academy where my excellence became average. I didn't understand the world around me, and I hated not knowing things. I didn't like what was going on with my body, and that discontent continued through my early teens until freshman year. I realized I was transgender, and that marked a turning point in my development. I grew into the boy I always was, and began to explore a new side of myself I hadn't realized was there.

Now that I am nearing adulthood, I am making preparations for the future of my development as a functioning adult. I aim to graduate in 2025 and major in biology at a college that offers the most financial aid so that I don't start off with a lot of debt. From there, I just want a job that pays decently and that I don't despise. After that, I will just go wherever life takes me. Maybe that means marriage and kids, maybe not. If I do have children, I don't want a lot of them, since I've already had enough of that in my childhood. I hope to retire comfortably, and after that, I want to continue to learn new things until I die. I don't know when I will die, but I hope it isn't painful.