David Ju's Blog

The recent surge in COVID cases is annoying me. Excluding those who have some preexisting conditions, there are countless healthy people who are unwilling to get vaccinated. Why? Probably because of some dumb myth or story they saw in the media. I get that this country emphasizes freedom of speech and having our own opinions, but there are some things that should not be debatable, such as the earth being round, climate change, COVID19, vaccinations, and so on. At the heart of many of these problems is misinformation, and the digital age has exacerbated these problems because only controversial headlines will get views. My recent investment proposal for AMDP made me aware of something called Certified B Corporations. Essentially it is a stamp of approval for companies that have exceptional social and environmental performance. I think the whole world needs to adopt something similar on an individual level. It could be a stamp of approval from a certified organization that examines the c...

Non-major Classes that I Enjoyed in College The first one would be Classic and Medieval Western Philosophy. This class took me by surprise. Although a good portion of the material was somewhat annoying because it was difficult to decipher, I did learn a lot regarding the many ways of approaching life. There were two concepts that were quite memorable. One was Epicetetus' approach to managing stress. He stated that it was important for us to identify what we can and can't control. This is a lot easier said than done. We should then focus our efforts only on things we can control to mitigate stress and unnecessary negative emotions. Another concept was from Epicurus' Hedonism. He believed that life should be aimed at freeing ourselves from physical and mental pain. I believe these concepts were memorable because of my situation. When I was taking this class, I had been alone in America for 3 months because of the pandemic.  The second class would be Theatre Improv. This class...

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat was an interesting read and it made me think about how much anti-fat bias there is in this world. Throughout the book, there were a number of anecdotes that showed how unfavorable many everyday experiences can be for fat people. For example, going to work is such a daunting task. There are countless judgemental stares. If they're unlucky, they'll meet an angry, unreasonable person that'll harass them relentlessly. Also, I don't understand how some people have the audacity to dictate what others should eat. I was shocked when the elderly woman removed the melon from the author's grocery cart because it was too high in sugar. This book also made me realize how much our culture can influence the desirability of a certain body shape. In different eras, certain body shapes were desirable based on the meaning we gave to them. For example, there was a period of time where fat bodies were desirable because they meant prosp...

 What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat I thought it would be interesting to see the perspective of a fat activist because I have never heard of such a thing. Audrey Gordon talks briefly in the beginning about how her message is much different from the body acceptance movement. In the body acceptance movement, it's more focused on our mentality, but her focus is on how society and institutions have marginalized fat people. When I was reading this book, I thought about how different cultures affect people's attitudes towards fat people. East Asian culture greatly emphasizes being skinny as a beauty standard. Even my own parents were constantly urging me to diet and exercise after I gained 15 pounds during freshman year.  I think she makes a great point regarding healthism. A lot of people don't consider the resources needed when they tell others to lose weight and be healthy. Losing weight requires a healthy diet that can be quite expensive at times. Simply not ...

TO:                   Clark Hansen, CEO FROM:              David Ju, Research and Development SUBJECT:      Investment Proposal- JUST Water DATE:              July 9, 2021 I've completed your research request and propose that our company invests in JUST Water. Below is a brief summary of our company's standards and how JUST Water satisfies them.  AMDP Standards                                                                                                                         ...

With the Lakers being out, I hope that the Milwaukee Bucks will win the playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks is alright. I enjoy Giannis' playstyle and think he's a great person. The main reason I want them to win is that I don't want the other teams to win. I am most concerned about the Clippers winning because it'll likely affect my safety. I was in Los Angeles when the Lakers won, and the whole city treated COVID as if it didn't exist. People were outside parading together, ignoring the social distancing guidelines. With the contagious delta variant on the rise, I hope the Clippers will lose so that there will be no celebratory event.  I also don't want the Hawks to win because of Trae Young's playstyle. His foul-drawing playstyle truly hurts me. He is a fantastic player, but I don't understand why he has to resort to such tactics. Yes, it might allow him to score more points but has he considered the pain he has brought upon the countless NBA fans. Every si...