What's new?

I am going on my 9th week of school and the semester is already halfway over. At first I felt a little over loaded with the amount of work because I wasn't used to the transition for college. I also didn't know what to expect with tests and I always want everything to be done to the best of my ability. Now I am starting to have a really good feel for all of my classes and what is expected for each. I always spread out my reading and knock some out the weekend so I have time during the week if anything comes up unexpectedly. I have been doing really well in all of my classes and find them all very interesting. This week I had a total of three exams, so at times it can still get pretty stressful. In my anatomy class we have been using cadavers to identify different muscles. It is extremely fascinating and something I have never experienced before. I have been spending a lot of time focusing on my schoolwork and volunteering for CAVE. CAVE is a volunteer program at Chico that has many different places and things to volunteer for. It began in the last week of December and continues until the end of the semester. There are different sections of CAVE and I chose the tutorial program. It consists of tutoring kids from elementary through high school. I have tutored government, biology, and math so far. I love to help people and working with kids. The time for registering for spring classes is also near! I know what I want to take, but it all will depend on what is available when my day for registration is here. I really like my classes and my professors this semester. I love learning new things, so having new classes will be very exciting.

College

I moved into school in August and now I am going onto my 4th week. College definitely requires a lot of reading like my Dad told me. You really have to discipline yourself and make time for your studies. Most of the learning is on your own and I do enjoy it. I have been very busy studying and striving to do my best. I have started to like subjects I didn't think I would and others that I thought I would love, I don't. I am currently taking anatomy, statistics, U.S. history, nutrition, and psychology. All of my teachers are really great and I'm excited for the rest of the semester. I am also going to be volunteering for 3 hours every week through a program called CAVE. I will be tutoring students from 1st-12th grade. I have also had some fun going to a swimming hole, hiking upper Bidwell park, and going to the downtown farmer's market. Also, I was able to come home this weekend to visit my family and we got to take the boat out. I have defineltey missed being at home and seeing my parents. There's nothing better than being with family, mom's cooking, and not having to do your own laundry. There's so many things that your parents do that you don't realize until you have to do it in college. When I drove up to my house this weekend I was so excited and I just thought to myself "home". It's very weird though because my parents are moving in the next couple of months and I have lived in that house my whole life until now. However, I am excited for them and to see where their future takes them. I can't wait to keep visiting them wherever they choose to live!

New Experiences

Today was the day I had been waiting for! I was able to shadow a surgery through my internship at our local Hospital. I was so excited when they called me and let me know that I could come to watch it. After that experience, I do know that I don't think I would be a surgeon. It was awesome to be exposed to and to have this opportunity, but I know that being a surgeon is not my passion. I love to experience new things and just find what interests me. I have also been shadowing an ankle and foot surgeon. My last day there will be August 9th. It was so wonderful to learn more about the anatomy of the foot and ankle. She always explains the problem the patient has and helps me understand everything. It was a thrill to have both of these new experiences this summer and I cannot wait for more to come. I have had lots of new career-focused experiences, but I also had time for some other new activities. I was able to learn how to surf, go to a luau, see an old volcanic rock from Haleakalā, try veal, see a sea turtle, toured the island in a helicopter, and my sister took photos of me with a mermaid tail while we were in Hawaii. She does fantasy style photography and we enjoy adventuring to new shooting locations together. I also visited the Lands End Trail and Baker Beach in San Francisco since I had never been to either of those. Lastly, I have been shopping this summer for all my dorm room stuff to get ready for my next new experience!  My mom has tremendously helped me and prepared me so I will feel prepared at school. It has been amazing to experience so many new things this summer and now I will be off on my next new adventure.

Update on Summer 2016

Now it's my senior summer before college and it's definitely going to be a busy one. To be completely honest I planned on relaxing a bit more, but I came to realize there was more I wanted to take on before I start school and that I had plenty of times I would also be relaxing. I was already fortunate enough to go to Cancun and will be going to Hawaii in July. Those weeks are dedicated to complete relaxation and to just enjoy time with the people I care about before I take off! Over the summer I will continue to work at Vitality Bowls as well as my internship. I wanted to work and save up because as of now I do not want to work during my Freshman year. I've considered working during the 2nd semester of my first year, but I want my focus solely on my grades. I will only work if I feel that I have extra time and I am doing excellent in school. I talked to my mentor at my internship through our local hospital and they said I could keep coming in which I was ecstatic about. Today I also had my first day shadowing a foot and ankle specialist. It was extremely interesting to learn more about the foot and ankle. It sparked my memory from my anatomy class that I took during my junior year. It is good for me to start becoming more familiar with the different anatomy terms since I will need them in the medical field and in my anatomy class for this coming fall. So just with those three activities already I will be very busy. There are many other things I would love to see too such as dermatology. What I really would love is to shadow labor and delivery. I think it would be so amazing to help bring new babies into this wonderful world. I know summer will just get busier because I also have lots of outdoor activities I love to do! My family and I have been making sure to get out to go boating. I fell in love with wakeboarding last summer and I'm trying to improve. I just started trying to jump, of course, small jumps! Maybe I'll clear the wake this summer...but I do have a fear of heights. Anyways, I know this summer is going to fly by and I will be starting school again sooner than I know it. I love to learn and honestly cannot wait to continue this journey towards my passion.

A Bittersweet Ending

Now it's finally the end of my senior year and high school seems like it flew by within a matter of seconds. I can remember being a freshman, thinking how mature the seniors were and that they were taking this crazy step in their lives to go do bigger things. Moving out, going to college, playing collegiate sports, starting a career, are all things that ran through my mind and amazed me. It is mind-boggling to look back to see how much I have been through and accomplished throughout my high school career. There are things that of course didn't turn out the way I wanted, but at the end of the day, I can truly say I am proud of myself and wouldn't change where I'm at. I know I pushed myself and worked extremely hard. I have met so many great people at California High school that have impacted my life in numerous ways. I can't imagine my senior year without my i-Quest class. My teacher is amazing and has taught our class more than just schoolwork. I have learned how to jump-start my career and ways to better myself. She radiates positivity and how to not only be successful in your career but being happy in your life. She has opened up and has touched my life. I have become more positive and really love to focus on the precious moments life gives us even more because of her wonderful attitude towards life. I never want to take for granted the moments I have with the people I love. It's extremely important to show them how much they mean to you and that you care for them deeply. I am very thankful for every person in my life as well as the opportunities I have been given. This year I was able to intern for our local hospital with the charge nurse. I am extremely grateful for all that she has given me and she is such a caring, wonderful nurse that I aspire to be like. I also met many other great nurses while I spent my time there. For this internship, I also had a teacher mentor at Cal High. She was my physics instructor and now I go to her to share my experiences with her. I also have a job at Vitality Bowls. I am a senior shift leader and it has given me great knowledge in many different areas of work. I know how to handle cash, manage shifts, prep food, food safety, make schedules, great customer service, and lots of other skills. Lastly, I decided I will be attending Chico State University in the fall to study pre-nursing! I cannot wait to learn about my passion that I have been working on throughout the year! I am beyond thankful for everything I have been able to participate in, and all the people who have been there for me through it.

How has Technology Impacted the Medical Field?

In my iQuest class we recently did a project called the essential question project. I chose a question that dealt with my passion and something that I am curious about. I did research and created an essay to display my project. I learned that technology has impacted the health care industry the most compared to any other industry. It amazed me because I can't even imagine how advanced it will be when I am working as a nurse. The new advancements have provided safer patient care, life easier for nurses, and record keeping has become electronic. I made sure to prepare ahead of time and use my class time wisely. I finished it early so I would have time to review it and if anything went wrong I would have time still to fix it. I know it will help me in the future to keep planning to finish my projects a while before the due date because it gives me more time to perfect it, and gives me time in case anything goes wrong. The project taught me how to handle a big task that is given and divide into parts to give me the most time to work on it. It was very exciting to learn more about the industry that I will be pursuing.

Personality Tests

Recently, our class took two personality tests individually to see what our results would be. I took the Holland Codes Quiz and the Myers-Briggs Test. For the Holland Codes Quiz it told me I was social. In detail it stated that I am meant for cooperative environments, supporting, helping, healing, and nurturing. I was excited that my test results are exactly like what I want to do with my future! As a nurse I need to be helpful and supportive for my patients. For the Myers-Briggs Test my code result was ESFJ. For this code its says "Friendly, outgoing, reliable, conscientious, organized, practical. Seek to be helpful and please others, enjoy being active and productive." It also said after I took the test that I am 19% Extrovert, 22% Sensing, 28% feeling, and 3% Judging. The feeling was given the highest percentage and that feels right to me. I am very in touch with my feelings and know how I feel. These tests made me feel even more in tune with myself. The results prove what I had always thought and felt all along. It makes me eager to know that I get to use the strengths I have to help better other people. I cannot wait to further my journey and achieve my goals.