Medical Miracle

Hello Bloggers,

This will be my last post for the class of iQuest 2013-2014. It's crazy to think it's all over. I think my favorite things about this class was the fact that I was able to get workplace experience in a hospital. Without Mrs. B's help, I would have never obtained my internship. Junior year I talked to Mrs. Grimm about volunteering and she had said it was impossible because I was too old and they only chose Sophomores or younger so I was blessed to have gotten the opportunity to volunteer at the San Ramon Regional Medical Center.

There was never a time that I was more productive than other times. I think for the most part I was pretty consistent with the work and effort I had put in. I never missed volunteering with the exception of two days during my 8 months of volunteering.

I learned that Nursing is not my passion. It is a fun internship, but I cannot see myself working as a nurse as a career. There is not enough respect for the nurses and they work far too hard without any recognition for it. There have been two times I've experienced gratuity towards the nursing staff after 8 month of volunteering.

After my internship, I realized that I need a career with a high status. I want people to work below me. That's one of the biggest reasons why the Maritime Academy stood out for me. Although I grew to understand nursing was not the life long career for me, my internship helped me find a career and college that would better fit me.

I don't wish that I had done anything different. I think I was a good volunteer and I'm glad I got to volunteer at the hospital. It was a great way to build connections, see a new environment, and expand my knowledge. Even though nursing isn't for me, it was fascinating being in that environment. 

I think I put a 8/10 effort in my interest area. I had put a lot of time into my iQuest interest. Since October, I was there every Wednesday for about 3 hours on top of school, taking care of my brother, and at one point I was working 2 different jobs. I made sure to always be on time and every day I came in smiling (which is a big part about working at a hospital). 

The beginning of my internship was a little rough only because I was so quiet that it took me a while to learn about my mentor, Julie Olimpia. About 2 or 3 weeks after my internship had started, I tried making a conscious effort to ask her questions or talk more frequently which greatly helped our relationship. 

This experience informs me about how important it is to have an internship. I chose the Maritime Academy partially because internships are actually mandatory in the school during Junior year. The school helps the students find an internship as well, which made the Maritime Academy so appealing. That will impact the next 4 years of my life and after graduating, I'll be hired quicker than those who have never interned anywhere before, which will impact my future career.

I would recommend this program to those who really have an interest in a topic that they want to spend more time on. They also must be good with time management because a big portion of this class is utilizing class time so you have more time to work on something else. The class time given to go to the computer lab is extremely impertinent because if someone just focuses for about 20 minutes, they're guaranteed an A for that blog. Whoever wants to take this class must also be very open minded because a lot of the times I didn't understand why we were doing an activity but I later realized why.  

Technology

I already know how to use many of the microsoft programs like word, powerpoint, and excel. I learned how to use these three programs on a higher level because I took a computer class my freshman year to better understand these programs to help me in my academic and work life. I'm really glad I did that because it helped me through pre calc, english classes, and economic class, just to name a few. 

I should learn to (il)legally download music, books, and other documents. I know this sounds ridiculous, but downloading such documents could truly help me save money  in college because maybe I don't have to buy all my books which add up quickly. My boyfriend was telling me that he's saved so much money on books due to downloading books. Plus I'll probably be on my computer very often anyways, so it would always be with me which would save me the time to haul the books around. 

Happiness is the Best Medicine

There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate. ~Robert Brault

I like this quote by Robert Brault because its completely true that we can choose how to react to situations. If you are a positive person, you can take any bad situation and find something worth smiling about in it. However, if you are a negative person, you might look at good situations as ephemeral or not to your standards. Its very important to have a good outlook in life because bad things can happen everyday, but if you're able to take something good out of it, you can grow as a person. That type of characteristic is infectious and eventually, the people around you will be able to feel the positivity emulating from you. Scientifically, if you surround yourself with positive people and you are an optimistic person, you live longer and are more successful as well.

Opportunity 

Social Issue

The social issue I've chosen is rape. Like most people, I believe that rape is wrong and immoral. The truth is the pleasure given to those who commit rape is caused by a lack of power and love from their own childhood rather than the common misconception of the sexual desire.  According to https://www.rainn.org 1 out of 6 American women have been the victim of an attempted or will have been raped (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape). As for men, the number is 1 out of 33.

Due to rape culture, men and women feel too ashamed to report these sexual assaults and rapes. Therefore, only 60% are reported and only 3% (https://www.rainn.org) actually spend any time in jail. Those who are raped are usually assaulted with questions like, "what were you wearing?" and "did you provoke the rapist at all?". Instead of having empathy for victims, people usually shame them into thinking they are the cause for the assault. 

To solve this social issue, schools, parents, and media should be teaching the youth to respect one another and look at men, women, gays, lesbians, and others as equals. The cultures and practices of individual peoples should be embraced rather than singled out and taught separately. In doing so, people would look each other as equivalents. That would solve a portion of the power aspect.

Also, education in general can resolve the problem of rape. Having an education, and then a decent income, makes a person far less likely to commit crimes in general. Improving the education system and offering a lot of assistance to those who want to pursue more is the solution to rape. Studies show in Canada that for every dollar invested in early childhood education, it yields $1.50 later on.

Rape, as an inhumane act, flabbergasts me as how it is committed in this day and age. I cannot wrap my mind around the concept of intentionally causing harm and mishaps to others. Once someone is raped or sexually assaulted, it causes the victim to be permanently scarred. Many victims turn to self medication like the use of alcohol, drugs, diets, etc to try and cope with what has happened to them. In addition, many stereotypes are created and used against innocent individuals. In all, rape does not benefit society as a whole and instills fear in the youth, women, and people of lesser power.  

Premed Planning

Hi Bloggers,
Three and a half years years later and here I am, sitting in this class called iQuest, reflecting on my years at Cal High. Last semester I had spent my iQuest time at the San Ramon Regional Hospital. Julie, the charge nurse there for the Diablo Unit (post operation) is also my preceptor. I have learned a lot under her wing, as you can tell from my previous blog posts. Some of which include bed meetings, how the medical binders work, and even how the medicine dispense machine works.

When I reflect even before iQuest, all the way to freshman year, I can say that I've learned quite a lot as well. A lot of people say that high school is supposed to be used to learn so you can get into a good college and get a good job. I think thats completely wrong. You spend your 13's-18's wondering who you are as a person and what you are meant to do. High school is basically a time for you to be allowed a certain amount of freedom to make more choices, whether they are right or wrong is up to you. Either way, there are consequences for said actions, and with that comes a lesson or understanding. In my opinion, high school is just a stepping stone for you to understand the value of action and make smart choices to benefit yourself and others. If I had to think back to my years of high school, I'd say that making smart choices and learning lessons is the purpose of high school.

Another thing I've learned is that nothing is permanent, which may seem like a silly thought at first. As a freshman, somehow everyone manages to stress out about stupid things like being asked to homecoming, friend problems, boys/girls, trivial things like that, and things might seem really bad for a week or two, but its not permanent. If one keeps an open mind during situations, knowing it'll soon pass over, life will be easier for that person. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems, or as good. Saying that, you should cherish the happiness when it comes, and know that the sadness will all blow over soon.

Lastly, I've learned that its crucial to surround yourself with people you truly enjoy having in your life. Starting freshman year, I had a group of about 20 or so "close" friends and about 5 best friends. Senior year, I have a couple close friends that are dear to my heart and one best friend that I know I will continue to talk to, even after high school. Freshman through Junior year were years that I feel I wasted my potential and time. I was friends with people who were always involved with drama or really immature, which caused unnecessary stress on me. Now, I keep to myself, stay out of drama, spend time with people who actually matter and I've never been happier. People fill their lives with fluff: things that make their life MUCH harder than it actually needs to be. I guess this is the most important lesson I've learned in my life so far. Its so much better to share success with people that genuinely are rooting for you and be able to rely on the same people when you're failing. When you surround yourself with fake people, your happiness is fake.

Now looking into the future, I can see what I want to do very clearly. 2nd semester is going to be important for me to work diligently to save money for college. In addition, I want to make sure I don't get any grades lower than a B because I don't like giving up when it comes to education. The colleges I've applied to include the Maritime Academy*, Long Beach State, San Francisco State, San Jose State, and the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville). I need to ask one of my former teachers to write me a recommendation for U of A, and after that, I'm completely done with college applications. If I get accepted into the Maritime Academy, I will go into Marine Transportation and either join the Navy, Coastguard, or work for private ship companies. If I don't get accepted into CMA, I will go to U of A for nursing.

Some events I'm looking forward to this year are the big pillow fight in San Francisco on Valentine's Day, getting my acceptance letters/emails from colleges, graduating (!!!!), Grad Night, my best friend's birthday, living by myself for a month during the summer, going on my senior trip, and visiting Korea for a couple of weeks during the summer. This year is going to be a year full of change, but using the lessons I've learned from my past three and a half years of high school, I'm going embrace the changes and make the best of every situation I can.

Kicking The Bed Pan

So for those of you who do not know what a bed pan is, it is "an object used for the toileting of a bedridden patient in a health care facility, usually made of a metal, glass, or plastic receptacle." (wikipedia) A little bit somber, I know, however lets move on to the fun part! My bucket, or bed pan, list consist of the following:

• travel the world (this is the most important thing on my list)
• continue to donate to charities (hopefully I'll be able to give money to charities when I start my career)
• go to EDC & Coachella & Burning Man 
• have a Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars movie watching marathon
• be successful in my career
• start oil painting 
• pay to take my family out to a really nice dinner
• give my brother advice that will stick with him throughout the rest of high school 
• be healthy (eating and exercising right)
• look amazing when I come to my high school reunion
• go to the gay pride festival in SF in 2014
• I know it sounds super cheesy, but find someone who loves me. I don't need to marry the guy, but I want to be with just one person for the rest of my life and not divorce or split up. It doesn't mean I'm only going to date one person, but when I feel like I'm ready for a life long commitment, I truly want it to be life long
• be able to wear atleast 3 inch heels for hours at a time and not feel uncomfortable
• dance until I can't feel my legs anymore or wake up unable to walk
• run a marathon
• stop biting my nails
• get my teeth professionally whitened
• pay to take my parents on a cruise
• change someone's life for the greater good
• see something magical 
• go to the city, Berkeley or San Francisco, and pass out "I think you're very attractive" cards

Thats all I can think of at the moment. I hope you all have a good week before Winter Break!

Surviving The Extremes

Hi bloggers,
For the book iQuest have to read, I chose Surviving the Extremes by Kenneth Kamler, M.D.. He decided to travel the world to 6 very different and extreme parts of the world to test what would happen to the human body in each extremes. Not only does he talk about the human body, but the techniques and medicine used by people who live in underdeveloped or rural parts of the world. The book is a very interesting and unique read, so I will be able to finish it very easily. I plan to read one chapter every 2 weeks. There are only 6 chapters in the entire book, so I will be able to finish it within the allotted time (January 28th).

In the first chapter, the environment is in the jungle in the Amazon. He talks about how both dangerous but necessary for survival it is in the Amazon. Yes, the Amazon causes heat stroke, is a home for poisonous and dangerous animals, and more, yet it also is a natural pharmacy and has certain poisons needed for hunting. The Amazon is a natural paradox. People in this environment need to keep a constant lookout for the anopheles mosquito (malaria), black caiman, anaconda, venomous snakes, poisonous frogs and caterpillars, schisto worm (liver parasite), stingray, electric eel and a most interesting creature called the candiru. The candiru is a very tiny catfish which looks for a source of salt. When someone or thing urinates in the water, the candiru will follow the stream of urine and lodge itself in the animal’s urethra. Surgery is required to remove it. Another interesting part of the first chapter is how he talks about performing surgery on the leader's son who accidentally cut his own arm with a machete. The human body is remarkable and can block the sensors for pain in nerves so one can get to safety if badly hurt without being hindered with the overwhelming feeling of pain. Once the boy starts getting help from Dr. Kamler, he begins to feel pain once again, and begins screaming in agony. Kamler begins to perform surgery and sews back the nerve together. The boy regains the ability to use his arm shortly after.

In the second chapter, he doesn't put himself in the situation of being stranded in the ocean, but instead talks about how a couple of people were able to survive in the open sea. The world record of someone surviving in the open sea is 130 days without any supplies. The world record winner's name is Poon Lim. To survive, he collected rain, caught fish, and kept moving to prevent bed sores. Methods thought up by other survivors include using improvised solar-powered stoves to distill seawater. The physiology of salt intake, dehydration and starvation are presented along with some cases of on cannibalism at sea.

 The point of the book is to inform the audience about the differences of medicine and technique in different countries of the world and also let the audience know what happens to the body in 6 different extremes. I really enjoy the book because its medical and scientific, yet easy to understand. Readers can be both young or old and still appreciate the content. Also, its interesting to learn about the different extremes in the world.