Celia Pyburn
Bio
Welcome, friends! I write everything from fiction to opinion pieces to political essays, so there's almost certainly something here for you. Feel free to stay as long as you like!
Stories (9)
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Maple Syrup Urine Disease: The Rare Disease I Guarantee You've Never Heard Of
With Rare Disease Day just around the corner (mark your calendars for 2/28!), I wanted to share some important information about an illness that I have to live with every day: Maple Syrup Urine Disease. Most people have never heard of MSUD before, including the nurses at my university's student health center. However, considering that it is extremely rare, I can't say that I blame anyone for not being educated on the topic. And that's why I'm here, to educate. Below you'll find a list of questions that I have been asked about my disorder, as well as questions that I myself have asked. That being said, we don't know everything there is to know about MSUD, but it is still important to learn what you can, so read on if you want to learn something new about a disease that impacts about 0.00054% of live births.
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Longevity
The Standards Movement is Garbage
I’m starting nursing school in the fall of 2022, but in the meantime I’m working on completing a minor in psychology, which has been my favorite subject for as long as I can remember. To me, the way the human mind develops over the course of the lifespan is absolutely fascinating, and, although I don’t yet have my degree, from what I’ve learned so far about human development, I know that kindergartners are simply not developmentally ready for standardized testing. “But, Celia,” you might say, “everyone knows that about kindergartners.” Well, friend, that’s what I thought too, so you can imagine my shock when I learned that, until recently, and maybe even still, kindergarten students were, in fact, being evaluated via standardized testing. Clearly, the people in charge don’t care that “the results of a standardized test at the kindergarten level have only a 50-50 chance of being accurate,” as it seems that they just want to test the kids (Miller & Almon, 2009). However, I do not place the blame on the schools. Every teacher I’ve had the pleasure of knowing is, at best, dissatisfied with the current state of the education system. I believe the party at fault to be none other than the standards movement.
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Education
Why Banning Abortion is Unconstitutional
In the face of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, otherwise known as the Mississippi abortion ban case, pro-choice advocates all across the nation have doubled down on their arguments for protecting the right to a safe abortion. A myriad of strong, valid arguments have been presented, with everything from protecting bodily autonomy to a fair question of when life truly begins. Unfortunately, though, it seems that many of these arguments fail to truly reach the ears of the other side, the side calling for an end to Roe v. Wade. However, one thing that both sides of the aisle value greatly is the Constitution, which grants American citizens the rights we hold so dear. Neither side wants to see an unconstitutional bill turn into a law because no one wants their rights to be violated and disregarded. The thing with abortion bans, though, is that they do directly violate the Constitution and some of America’s founding principles. Here’s just a few ways in which they do so.
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Viva
Genie: Valuable Lessons from Tragic Circumstances
Most everyone in the psychology world knows the name Genie and is at least somewhat familiar with the unique case behind it. Genie’s story is one of tragedy, triumph, and immense growth, but the execution of the research surrounding it was nowhere close to perfect, and it’s important to question this execution in case the opportunity to repeat this study were to arise. What could the researchers have done differently, and where did their priorities lie? Additionally, it’s worthwhile to consider questions both answered and raised by Genie’s case, such as what does this case teach people about language learning, and how does it support Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition and the behaviorist view of language learning?
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Psyche
Why Felons Should Not Lose The Right To Vote
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Tennessee is one of a number of states that remove a felon’s right to vote until after the completion of their sentence (NCSL), and, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State website, a felon can only regain the right to vote after “the restoration of voting rights form [is] used to restore an individual’s voting rights for a felony conviction on or after May 18, 1981” (Tennessee Secretary of State). In other words, if a person is convicted of a felony, regardless of what they did or how harmless the offense is, they will lose their right to vote, and it can be exceptionally hard to get it back.
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Criminal
The Effect of Recess on Children's Academic and Social Performance
It is common knowledge that children love to play. From playing pretend, playing sports, playing outside, or playing inside, if it has to do with playing, kids probably love to do it. This is good news, too, because it is very important that children get adequate amounts of exercise and physical activity each day, with the recommended amount of time being 60 minutes. With their seemingly endless supply of energy, it should be easy for children to get 60 minutes of exercise each day, right? Well, unfortunately, the truth is that many children don’t. One possible reason for this lack of exercise could be the fact that a lot of schools only give their students a very small amount of time for recess, if they give them any time at all, and studies show that this does have a negative effect on kids’ performances and experiences at school. This essay will address two of these studies, both of which describe ways that recess has been proven to improve children’s overall experiences and performances in the classroom.
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Education
Treat People Like They're People.
When considering my own ethicality, the first thing I consider is the way I treat others, and there are many questions that this class has led me to ask myself. I feel that four of those questions are extremely important, those questions being whether or not it is ethical to treat others as tools, if it is ethical to use violence, if it is ethical to use violence against an oppressor, and whether it is more important to evaluate the ends or the means when making an ethical decision. Each person probably has a unique answer to these questions, and everyone has to live according to what they believe is ethical. However, I think that most people would agree that it is not ethical to objectify others and treat them as objects rather than as human beings, and this idea strongly influences the way I answer the questions above.
By Celia Pyburn4 years ago in Humans
Here's Why ADHD Patients Have Such Different Experiences
According to a 2016 CDC survey, around 6.1 million or 9.4% of children have been diagnosed with ADHD, which may not seem like much compared to the general population, but is definitely more than we might expect (CDC). Almost everyone knows at least one person with ADHD, and interestingly enough, each of these people has experiences and symptoms that are unique to them. For example, one person with ADHD may struggle with paying attention during class, another person may struggle more with tics and excessive talking, and yet another patient may have issues with all of the above. But why, you might wonder, do these differences occur? Studies have shown that there are many reasons why the ADHD experience may be different for each patient, including the different types of ADHD, a genetic predisposition for certain symptoms, comorbidities that may go along with ADHD, and traumatic events experienced during key times of brain development.
By Celia Pyburn5 years ago in Psyche
