Ashlee Brown

Saturday, I visited Forest Hill Nursing Home, where I played bingo with the residents. This experience allowed me to interact with older adults, spend time with them, and contribute to their happiness and social well-being. This connects to biology because social interaction and mental stimulation are important for brain health, especially as people age. Playing bingo encourages residents to use their memory, recognize numbers, pay attention, and make decisions, which engage different areas of the brain. Social activities can also help reduce feelings of loneliness and support emotional well-being. Through this experience, I learned that caring for people's health involves more than just meeting their physical needs. It also includes supporting their mental and emotional health. Overall, my visit helped me understand how biology connects to aging and the importance of social interaction in maintaining a person's quality of life.

Today, I returned to the food bank, where I helped put together bags containing pasta, peanut butter, and tomato sauce for individuals and families in need. This experience connected to biology because each of these foods provides nutrients that the human body needs to function properly. Pasta contains carbohydrates, which provide the body with energy for daily activities. Peanut butter contains protein, which helps build and repair tissues, as well as healthy fats that support cell function. Tomato sauce can provide vitamins and antioxidants that help protect the body's cells. By preparing these bags, I realized that providing food is about more than simply feeding people; it is also about helping them receive nutrients that support their overall health. This experience helped me understand how biology applies to everyday life and how access to nutritious food can contribute to healthier individuals and communities.

Yesterday, my experience at the food bank allowed me to see how important it is to help provide people with access to food and other essential resources. While helping distribute food to individuals and families, I realized that having access to nutritious meals plays an important role in maintaining overall health. The human body depends on nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals, to function properly. Without consistent access to nutritious food, individuals may experience malnutrition, weakened immune systems, and difficulty maintaining normal bodily functions. The experience also helped me understand how food insecurity can affect the body's ability to grow, repair cells, and fight off illnesses. Overall, volunteering at the food bank helped me recognize the connection between biology and everyday life by showing me how access to food directly impacts human health and well-being. It also reminded me that meeting people's basic needs is an important part of promoting healthier communities.