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Taking Responsible Risks.

March 3rd 2010

A recent chemistry project has shown me an important concept. Risks don't always have to come in the form of using knives, jumping off cliffs, and setting things on fire. Sometimes a "risk" simply is doing something with an element of unknown, stepping out to try something when you aren't sure of the outcome. Risks come in all shapes and forms, and responsible risks are the kind that we should not only be unafraid to take, but open to take. Working with another member of my chemistry class, I spent the majority of last week in class conducting my our own experiment. We were to fashion this procedure with our own minds rather than following a preset protocol. While deciding between possible ideas to explore in our experiment, me and my partner reached a fork in the road. We could choose an experiment that we largely knew the results for, and thus would have an "easier" time dealing with the results, or we could choose an experiment more complicated in procedure and not completely predictable in result. This was a risk- obviously to my GPA if we didn't think the process over carfully, and also simply because we didn't exactly know what would happen.

We chose the less predictable, more "risky" experiment. And honestly, I found myself enjoying the experiment much more, as there was a degree of uncertainty. Though this event is relatively small, it indicates a much more important concept. Throughout life, having an element of surprise and doing things out of your comfort zone often rewards you with a wealth of experiences. I struggle with taking risks. I am a very cautious person in nature, and tend to shy away from anything that may risk what I've been working for. Though caution is an admirable trait, there are times to step away from our normal protocol.

I can try to improve myself in this area through many strategies. Speaking strictly in terms of chemistry, I could continue to attempt experiments that I'm not very familiar with. Outside of the classroom, it could be anything from going on a theme park ride that I'm hesitant about, to taking a class in college that sounds difficult. Either way, taking responsible risks is something I need to build a comfort to do.

Pasted above is a link to the resulting lab report from this experiment, which in the end, was a relative success.

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