As a Capstone Scholar I am required to attend one social event, one cinema, and one conversation as well as complete a personal challenge and do community service. I have already talked greatly in detail about my service-learning at Hand Middle School which counts for my community service points. I will discuss now the four other requirements.
The first requirement is to attend a social event. Mainly these are either Hot Cookie Fridays or Everyones Birthday Party, both of which occur on Fridays at 2 pm. Thankfully, I was able to attend the first social event before school really got under way because I have a Biology Lab at 2 pm on Fridays that prevents me from attending these events. I attended the Hot Cookie Friday and would say it was nice. I tried a cookie and it was good, but you really cannot go wrong with Toll House cookies that are precut and made and all you have to do is stick in the oven. I met a few people that lived on my floor that I still talk to now and again but would not say we are close friends. Overall, the event was nice but not too exciting that it would be something I greatly look forward to each friday it is held.
Moving on to the second requirement which is to attend a Captsone sponsored cinema. I attended the cinema on "Darius Goes West". This cinema really intrigued me because over the summer I saw the movie at the YMCA during our training sessions for our special needs program. I really loved the movie and was excited to see Darius in real life. I thought the cinema was great! They showed bits and pieces of the movie that they enjoyed best and spoke on each part and how it was most memorable to them. I really got to understand the true background to the entire movie and how connected they all were. I felt the cinema was one of the best to choose to attend because I was able to really connect with the movie by having the director and main actor there guiding the audience through the movie bit by bit.
The third requirement is to attend a Capstone Conversation. My conversation had to do with the book, The Naked Roommate. The author, Harlan Cohen, came to speak about the book and his personal experience. He spoke about how we as freshman can succeed in college with any obstacle we may face. We may not necessarily have a crazy roommate but we will have issues that will need to be dealt with. We will have difficult teachers and classes that will take all our effort to succeed in but we can do it if we try hard enough and have the right mind set. He was a very funny speaker and really engaged the audience to want to listen and hear more. I thought the conversation was great and very enjoyable. I learned a lot about how I should not stress over little things and understand that everyone makes mistakes in their grades but mainly these mistakes are building blocks to do better. You have to start somewhere and if you start down the only way to go is up!
The final requirement, besides the community service point, is to overcome a personal challenge. I really struggled the first few weeks of trying to find a challenge a use. I wanted to do something that would really push me for more than one time but I also wanted to make sure I did something I knew I could reasonably succeed. I finally decided on taking the stairs every day and only using the elevator once a day to get to my room on the fifth floor of Capstone. This challenge really pushed me to use the stairs and be forced to walk up them. I already walk everywhere and go to the gym once a day and my challenge was just an added push to my physical well-being. I succeeded in only taking the elevator once a day and eventually got to the point where I never took the elevator. I found that taking the stairs was sometimes a lot quicker than waiting for an elevator to come and it was more beneficial physically and mentally.
Monday, November 29, 2010
End of Service-Learning
It has been an entire semester of my service-learning experience, wow does not seem like it was that long to me. Many aspects of my service-learning were good and bad. Looking back it is hard to distinguish which was the best experience overall. I would mostly have to say talking with my mentee and just enjoying the time together was the best experience overall. I know that helping her with homework and staying organized was important, but I think building a relationship was even more important. Listening to what she liked to do and staying engaged within her life was really important for her to trust me. I think this trust will be far more beneficial in future visits then if we just sat there going through what was required and leaving without connecting at all.
I feel overall that my time spent at Hand Middle School was beneficial. It allowed me to venture outside USC's campus and help someone. I think I gained knowledge of how to be a mentor and help other people just from helping my mentee. I feel well equipped to get through my freshman year by incorporating some of the ideas I helped my mentee cover.
Thankfully, I do continue to mentor at Hand Middle School on Fridays. I believe continuing the mentoring will only help my mentee further by having a constant force to help her with her homework or listen to her problems. It will help her gain the trust that someone will be able to support and encourage her at school when she needs it most. I look forward to making great progress with my mentee next semester and just watch how mentoring changes her in a positive way from where she was at the beginning of the year.
I feel overall that my time spent at Hand Middle School was beneficial. It allowed me to venture outside USC's campus and help someone. I think I gained knowledge of how to be a mentor and help other people just from helping my mentee. I feel well equipped to get through my freshman year by incorporating some of the ideas I helped my mentee cover.
Thankfully, I do continue to mentor at Hand Middle School on Fridays. I believe continuing the mentoring will only help my mentee further by having a constant force to help her with her homework or listen to her problems. It will help her gain the trust that someone will be able to support and encourage her at school when she needs it most. I look forward to making great progress with my mentee next semester and just watch how mentoring changes her in a positive way from where she was at the beginning of the year.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thanksgiving!
Tomorrow I leave home for Thanksgiving! If you cannot tell I am really excited! It has been well over a month since fall break which means it has been well over a month since I have been home. I have only seen my parents once since then and am excited to see them. My brother will also be home from school and I am excited to see him since I have not see him since I moved here in August. This year Thanksgiving will be at our house which means I get to see the rest of my family too. By the time I arrive home on Tuesday everyone except my cousin should already have arrived. So needless to say when I walk into my house there will be a big welcoming party. This will be nice because after being gone from family for so long it will be nice to have everyone there and I don't have to travel any further than I already have to in order to get home.
Over Thanksgiving my family is going to do what every other family will most likely be doing. We will have a big Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and just sit around enjoying each other's company. On Friday all the women in the family will go shopping while the men do whatever they would like to do. I am excited for shopping so I can get all my Christmas presents for my friends here at school and so I can get some own personal things. Saturday is another big day for my family because Virginia Tech plays Virginia at home. Everyone is excited for this game because Virginia Tech has already secured a spot in the ACC Championship game and now we can go undefeated in the ACC if we beat Virginia. Another incentive to beat Virginia is because they are our rival and noone wants to lose to their rival. Overall, I think this break will be really fun and relaxing at the same time!
Over Thanksgiving my family is going to do what every other family will most likely be doing. We will have a big Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and just sit around enjoying each other's company. On Friday all the women in the family will go shopping while the men do whatever they would like to do. I am excited for shopping so I can get all my Christmas presents for my friends here at school and so I can get some own personal things. Saturday is another big day for my family because Virginia Tech plays Virginia at home. Everyone is excited for this game because Virginia Tech has already secured a spot in the ACC Championship game and now we can go undefeated in the ACC if we beat Virginia. Another incentive to beat Virginia is because they are our rival and noone wants to lose to their rival. Overall, I think this break will be really fun and relaxing at the same time!
Sustainability
For class today we got to plant trees on campus. Typically, I am not excited by gardening or landscaping, but it was to support a good idea so I was all for it. We were planting trees to offset our carbon emission on campus. To be honest, this was the best way to get rid of this emission because many people, including myself, are not aware of everything they do and how they are affecting the earth.
I admit, I am not a tree-hugging, let's save the whales individual. I use energy and I typically do not use it wisely. However, my parents are very concerned with saving water and energy so as not to run up our utilities bill. Some of these ideas have carried over to college with me. For instance, I take quick showers because I am so used to taking quick showers so as not to waste water at home. This habit grew on me my sophomore year of high school when we had a drought in Raleigh and everyone was finding ways to conserve water. Another habit I have is to not run the heat unless necessary. Thankfully, I am typically a person that does not enjoy heat in the winter because I like to be cold as opposed to hot so the heat is never on in my dorm room. We do however run a mini-fan at night to add some air to the room because even though we aren't running the heat, it is circulating throughout the dorm and naturally making our room hotter than we would like.
Although I am proud of these two contributions I have to supporting sustainability there is more that I could be doing. Typically, I turn the lights on when coming into the room regardless of the time of day. I could help conserve energy by only turning the lights on when it is dark or rainy and absolutely necessary. During the day, turning the light on is not necessary and a habit I should stop. If I only turned the light on when necessary, there is so much energy I could be saving.
I admit, I am not a tree-hugging, let's save the whales individual. I use energy and I typically do not use it wisely. However, my parents are very concerned with saving water and energy so as not to run up our utilities bill. Some of these ideas have carried over to college with me. For instance, I take quick showers because I am so used to taking quick showers so as not to waste water at home. This habit grew on me my sophomore year of high school when we had a drought in Raleigh and everyone was finding ways to conserve water. Another habit I have is to not run the heat unless necessary. Thankfully, I am typically a person that does not enjoy heat in the winter because I like to be cold as opposed to hot so the heat is never on in my dorm room. We do however run a mini-fan at night to add some air to the room because even though we aren't running the heat, it is circulating throughout the dorm and naturally making our room hotter than we would like.
Although I am proud of these two contributions I have to supporting sustainability there is more that I could be doing. Typically, I turn the lights on when coming into the room regardless of the time of day. I could help conserve energy by only turning the lights on when it is dark or rainy and absolutely necessary. During the day, turning the light on is not necessary and a habit I should stop. If I only turned the light on when necessary, there is so much energy I could be saving.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Careers and Fun
Next week is one of America's most iconic holidays, Thanksgiving. A holiday surrounded by food and family, what could be much better? To me, not having school and getting to go home is a pretty great bonus as well. Being at school for so long and only having been home once, I am looking forward to a relaxing holiday. This year, my family gets to host Thanksgiving which means we do not have to travel anywhere. That means I get to sit at home and enjoy being with family and at my house which I have not seen in a long time. Besides eating and bonding I will participate in the annual Black Friday shopping excursion to get clothes and other on sale items this time of year. I cannot wait to go home and just relax and not worry about classes! (Well attending class, I definitely have homework over Thanksgiving break).
In other exciting news, class today was at the University's Career Center. Basically this presentation outlined the resources the Career Center offered, the importance of searching for a career path now, and the importance of networking early and getting plugged in for future job opportunities. Thankfully, my parents have been drilling in my brain the importance of knowing what career I want to be involved in and researching the in's and out's of the career before coming to college so I do not have to change it, at least not change it a lot. I spent a majority of my senior year researching all about Pharmacy and the necessary schooling I would need and how exactly to get into Pharmacy Colleges. By the time I came to USC I had already made a list of every graduate program I was going to apply too, what extra credits I would need, what GPA I would need, and what PCAT percentile I would need. This way, I am already aware of how I need to be doing in my classes and staying on top of my goals. I think I can confidently say that I plan to be a Pharmacist when I grow up, (granted I get into a graduate program).
One of the main goals I set for myself at the beginning of this year was to find an internship opportunity by the end of this year for the summer. I knew that in order to get into Pharmacy College having an internship was necessary, and also a great way for me to determine if I am in the right career path. My dad is very well connected with many pharmacists in many different areas of the job so he is helping me a lot with finding internships. I plan to contact these different pharmacists over Thanksgiving to set up interviews while I am home in December. I need to start now in order to have an intership by this summer.
Ironically, one of the main points I remember from the Career Center presentation is to get an internship. Internships help you network and help you picture yourself in the career path and let you know if you could really see yourself in that field of work. This idea really helped reassure me that my search for internships now is a great advantage I will have over my peers later on when I apply to Pharmacy College. If there is one thing I tuned in well to in the presentation, it was the information on interships.
In other exciting news, class today was at the University's Career Center. Basically this presentation outlined the resources the Career Center offered, the importance of searching for a career path now, and the importance of networking early and getting plugged in for future job opportunities. Thankfully, my parents have been drilling in my brain the importance of knowing what career I want to be involved in and researching the in's and out's of the career before coming to college so I do not have to change it, at least not change it a lot. I spent a majority of my senior year researching all about Pharmacy and the necessary schooling I would need and how exactly to get into Pharmacy Colleges. By the time I came to USC I had already made a list of every graduate program I was going to apply too, what extra credits I would need, what GPA I would need, and what PCAT percentile I would need. This way, I am already aware of how I need to be doing in my classes and staying on top of my goals. I think I can confidently say that I plan to be a Pharmacist when I grow up, (granted I get into a graduate program).
One of the main goals I set for myself at the beginning of this year was to find an internship opportunity by the end of this year for the summer. I knew that in order to get into Pharmacy College having an internship was necessary, and also a great way for me to determine if I am in the right career path. My dad is very well connected with many pharmacists in many different areas of the job so he is helping me a lot with finding internships. I plan to contact these different pharmacists over Thanksgiving to set up interviews while I am home in December. I need to start now in order to have an intership by this summer.
Ironically, one of the main points I remember from the Career Center presentation is to get an internship. Internships help you network and help you picture yourself in the career path and let you know if you could really see yourself in that field of work. This idea really helped reassure me that my search for internships now is a great advantage I will have over my peers later on when I apply to Pharmacy College. If there is one thing I tuned in well to in the presentation, it was the information on interships.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Financial Responsibility
Growing up with two CPA's (Certified Public Accountant's) as your parents makes one a little financially sound. I know my way around saving money and how to invest it in order to get the best possible return on my investment. My father always has CNBC on to check the latest updates on the Stock Market and takes the updates to make stock changes if something good or bad happens. He has made sure that I am not loose with my money but that I have a stable understanding on how I am spending it and if the expense is necessary. I believe I am financially responsible because I am very aware of how I spend my money. I check my bank statements often and keep up with what I purchase and what I can refrain from purchasing for awhile. In order for me to not spend all on my money I have my dad transfer it to other bank accounts that I cannot personally access which makes me think I have less to spend then I actually do. In this way what I see as spending money is significantly less than what I have, but it is all I have to spend so I have to be smart with it.
In order to achieve goals with my money I set up budgets. Currently, I do not have a budget of saving money to buy something, but I do have a savings budget in order to create a high amount of interest. Putting money in CD accounts helps me to earn a lot of interest on money that I do not need immediately and would otherwise sit in a savings account earning minimal amounts of interest.
Since I am very concerned with saving my money I hope that when I graduate I have enough saved up to live comfortably on. I do not want to be overwhelmed with many expenses and not a lot to pay them off. I hope that my savings will pay off and I will have enough to buy a car and rent an apartment while I am starting off in my career. By investing money in CD accounts and not spending a lot of the money I do have open to spend, I plan on saving a lot in order to accomplish my goals.
In order to achieve goals with my money I set up budgets. Currently, I do not have a budget of saving money to buy something, but I do have a savings budget in order to create a high amount of interest. Putting money in CD accounts helps me to earn a lot of interest on money that I do not need immediately and would otherwise sit in a savings account earning minimal amounts of interest.
Since I am very concerned with saving my money I hope that when I graduate I have enough saved up to live comfortably on. I do not want to be overwhelmed with many expenses and not a lot to pay them off. I hope that my savings will pay off and I will have enough to buy a car and rent an apartment while I am starting off in my career. By investing money in CD accounts and not spending a lot of the money I do have open to spend, I plan on saving a lot in order to accomplish my goals.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Stress
Stress. Everyone gets stressed, everyone overcomes stressed. Sometimes I feel like some people are more susceptible to stress than others. Each person has a unique situation which may make them more stressed out or less stressed out. I know for me personally my major stresses me out. Having to plan everything around Pharmacy College admittance and what I want to do for the future can be hectic. Many times in a week I feel overwhelmed with everything I need to be doing to prepare for my future and accomplishing my goal. This is all on top of my many classes and work I need to do in order to get good grades and stay ahead.
With all this stress going on in my life it is a wonder I am ever sane anymore. For me, without my daily exercise and constant need to earn at least 8 hours of sleep each night, I would be dead. I would not be able to function properly and overall ruin my grade and any hope of my future. Sleeping helps my body relax so every time I wake up I feel less stressed then when I went to sleep and have a better perspective on how I plan to accomplish everything I need to do. Exercise helps me release any anger that stress builds in me or any anxiety I have. Working this out of my body helps me be able to focus better for what is more important.
On top of my classes and work and thinking about the future, I also have to make time each week for my service site. Thankfully my service site is not very stressful. Many times being at the service site helps me forget everything else I have to do and relax. The only stressful part is walking to Hand Middle School but I would much rather do that then study for a test or do homework.
With all this stress going on in my life it is a wonder I am ever sane anymore. For me, without my daily exercise and constant need to earn at least 8 hours of sleep each night, I would be dead. I would not be able to function properly and overall ruin my grade and any hope of my future. Sleeping helps my body relax so every time I wake up I feel less stressed then when I went to sleep and have a better perspective on how I plan to accomplish everything I need to do. Exercise helps me release any anger that stress builds in me or any anxiety I have. Working this out of my body helps me be able to focus better for what is more important.
On top of my classes and work and thinking about the future, I also have to make time each week for my service site. Thankfully my service site is not very stressful. Many times being at the service site helps me forget everything else I have to do and relax. The only stressful part is walking to Hand Middle School but I would much rather do that then study for a test or do homework.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Timing is everything
As a college student I am constantly wrapped up with school, hanging out with friends, and various club meetings. It is a wonder I ever have time for myself or any way to keep myself sane. Thankfully, I have balanced my classes well enough to get homework done between and after, while still managing to make it to the gym and all my club meetings on a regular basis.
As a triathlete staying in-shape during the off-season is very important in order to be able to stay fit and ready to train when the season starts again. For me to stay fit I must work in daily workouts at the gym and stay active even on days where I do not have time to workout (which honestly never really happens). I make sure to schedule these workouts in time slots within my day where I have time to make it to the gym and back to the dorm in time to make it to my next class or meeting. So far I have done a pretty good job of keeping up with this scheduling.
Not only am I concerned about staying in-shape, but I am also concerned with keeping up in my classes and making good grades. That is why I typically do my homework on in a timely manner (2-3 days before it is due) in order to not get stressed out or overwhelmed. This time management has helped me always stay ahead in my classes and do my best on each assignment given to me.
The final major part of my college career is staying involved in various organizations. Being in pre-pharmacy I am always thinking about the next thing in order for me to get ahead of my peers and look that much better to the admissions advisors for pharmacy college. On top of my classes and working out I still manage to make it to all the meetings of the various organizations I am involved in.
The only thing I really wish I had more time for is to be able to hang out with my friends more often. Being so busy leaves little room for hanging out with friends and having fun. Many times when I am able to hang out I am really tired from that day's activities or am preparing for the next day that I just am not able too. I think if I start hanging out with friends at a certain time each week I can make it more of a habit and not lose the friendships I have gained. Hopefully adding in having fun to my schedule will allow me the time to be with my friends.
As a triathlete staying in-shape during the off-season is very important in order to be able to stay fit and ready to train when the season starts again. For me to stay fit I must work in daily workouts at the gym and stay active even on days where I do not have time to workout (which honestly never really happens). I make sure to schedule these workouts in time slots within my day where I have time to make it to the gym and back to the dorm in time to make it to my next class or meeting. So far I have done a pretty good job of keeping up with this scheduling.
Not only am I concerned about staying in-shape, but I am also concerned with keeping up in my classes and making good grades. That is why I typically do my homework on in a timely manner (2-3 days before it is due) in order to not get stressed out or overwhelmed. This time management has helped me always stay ahead in my classes and do my best on each assignment given to me.
The final major part of my college career is staying involved in various organizations. Being in pre-pharmacy I am always thinking about the next thing in order for me to get ahead of my peers and look that much better to the admissions advisors for pharmacy college. On top of my classes and working out I still manage to make it to all the meetings of the various organizations I am involved in.
The only thing I really wish I had more time for is to be able to hang out with my friends more often. Being so busy leaves little room for hanging out with friends and having fun. Many times when I am able to hang out I am really tired from that day's activities or am preparing for the next day that I just am not able too. I think if I start hanging out with friends at a certain time each week I can make it more of a habit and not lose the friendships I have gained. Hopefully adding in having fun to my schedule will allow me the time to be with my friends.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Healthy Time!
Many issues facing college students these days centers around each student's health and wellness. As obesity and laziness grows in America, it is becoming more and more necessary to get the younger population up and moving to prevent an obesity trend later in life. For me personally I have grown up in a very athletic family where noone is overweight. It is typical for everyone in my family to go to the gym together or workout together in some way. I have grown up with a daily exercise regimen as a participant on my high school's cross country and track team. I kept my exercise strong by becoming involved in triathlons throughout the years. I still participate in triathlons now and continue to exercise daily to keep my stamina and strength for racing. I maintain a pretty healthy diet trying to balance my diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables regularly. I keep up with daily hygiene and avoid getting sick as much as possible by taking my vitamins and staying away from sharing food or drinks. Overall I would say I am a very healthy person and very concious of my lifestyle.
When coming here to USC I knew it would be a challenge to continue staying healthy with my exercise regimen and eating habits but I have found a good group of friends who share the same interests as me in staying healthy. We workout together and have meals on a regular basis. We always enjoy each other's company and never feel inferior or uncomfortable around each other. This comfortableness really helps me feel as if I can share anything I am struggling with with them and they can help me in the best way. They support me in my classes and know when I get stressed and just need some motivation and I do the exact same. We know each other's schedules and help each other study and understand concepts when we are confused and the other person can help. We always support each other and strive to help each other succeed in whatever it is.
When coming here to USC I knew it would be a challenge to continue staying healthy with my exercise regimen and eating habits but I have found a good group of friends who share the same interests as me in staying healthy. We workout together and have meals on a regular basis. We always enjoy each other's company and never feel inferior or uncomfortable around each other. This comfortableness really helps me feel as if I can share anything I am struggling with with them and they can help me in the best way. They support me in my classes and know when I get stressed and just need some motivation and I do the exact same. We know each other's schedules and help each other study and understand concepts when we are confused and the other person can help. We always support each other and strive to help each other succeed in whatever it is.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Religion
Religion and spirituality are two main topics most people try to avoid in any conversation. Both ideas never lead to a common understanding unless you are discussing them with someone you know feels exactly the same as you. Otherwise, the discussion of both topics can lead and typically does lead to a heated discussion where one person tries to dominate the other person's beliefs. Yesterday in University 101 we had this discussion. We mostly focused on the similarities between religion, spirituality, and faith. The common understanding we came to as a class and that I believe is that spirituality is something you believe and feel, while religion is something you practice. Religion and spirituality can be interchangeable based on what is is you are practicing, but both I believe depend on faith. Faith gives you the trust and belief in what you know, whether it is the faith in your religion or the faith within your spirituality, whatever that may be for you.
For me, I have a strong faith in my religion. I believe strongly as a Christian that Jesus died for my sins and is my savior. I trust wholeheartedly in whatever God has in store for my life and rely on his love to know that whatever occurs in my life is all apart of his greater plan. I would say I have more religion in my life than spirituality although I cannot define a clear line between the two. Religion is the organized idea that I believe in, while spirituality is the overall understanding and feeling I have towards this idea. Both are supported my faith and strong belief.
Coming down south for college it is evident that more people are open to sharing about their faith and it seems a lot more prevalent. More people in the south seem to be believers in Christ and press the importance of religion and faith. Spirituality outside of religion is not as openly discussed because many people see their spirituality based on their religion. I do believe that the south and USC has a larger Christian population than I first expected, but personally I am extremely happy of this fact. I love the idea that a majority of the people I encounter on campus have a relationship with God in some way and typically are open to having a one-on-one discussion about their faith in him. The south as a whole seems to reflect more of a Christian atmosphere with an importance to religion and faith-based spirituality, which is what I strive to do in my own personal life.
For me, I have a strong faith in my religion. I believe strongly as a Christian that Jesus died for my sins and is my savior. I trust wholeheartedly in whatever God has in store for my life and rely on his love to know that whatever occurs in my life is all apart of his greater plan. I would say I have more religion in my life than spirituality although I cannot define a clear line between the two. Religion is the organized idea that I believe in, while spirituality is the overall understanding and feeling I have towards this idea. Both are supported my faith and strong belief.
Coming down south for college it is evident that more people are open to sharing about their faith and it seems a lot more prevalent. More people in the south seem to be believers in Christ and press the importance of religion and faith. Spirituality outside of religion is not as openly discussed because many people see their spirituality based on their religion. I do believe that the south and USC has a larger Christian population than I first expected, but personally I am extremely happy of this fact. I love the idea that a majority of the people I encounter on campus have a relationship with God in some way and typically are open to having a one-on-one discussion about their faith in him. The south as a whole seems to reflect more of a Christian atmosphere with an importance to religion and faith-based spirituality, which is what I strive to do in my own personal life.
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