Saturday, April 25, 2015

Finding myself


Its been a while since I last wrote anything on this blog, actually its been quite some time since I wrote anything at all except for the small daily entries in my journal or work related things. Recently I have felt that familiar tug demanding that I create something substantial with my words. Before I delve into hermit mode and crank out some prose, I thought it would be a grand idea to work on this blog a bit and to provide an update on myself. Some pretty big things have happened since I last posted anything on this blog:

  • I applied to medical school and all of the schools I applied to requested secondary applications, unfortunately due to things going on in my personal life I had to post-pone my medical school endeavors. 
  • I moved to Portland, OR, which has proved to be one of the better decisions I've made in recent years.
  • I ended a four year relationship that had become toxic.
  • I am adjusting to living alone again and realizing how much I've missed having so much privacy. 
  • I am reading voraciously as I have not in years and it is marvelous. 
  • I started training for a half-marathon but unfortunately am currently on running hiatus due to stress fractures in my lower legs. 
  • I am working on finding out who I am outside of a relationship that for the past few years had come to define me in a way that I abhor. 
Although the past several months have been challenging and I do wish on some level that I had done things differently in the past; if I could do it all over again I would not change it because I have grown so much as a person and I believe that I am a better person today for that experience.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

I foresee this as being your preferred method of studying...

**Image Credit: DailyFailCenter

Crash Course Big History is Amazing

So Crash Course Big History may be my favorite Crash Course series yet, and I have watched all of them. It is wonderful because it covers the history of the universe, it brings together so many different  branches of science to give us the big picture view of all of history.

In honor of you recently starting high school...


I have composed a list of very useful websites for helping you take advantage of this time and all of the amazing things you can learn while in high school in preparation for the even more amazing things you will learn in college.

  • Google Scholar: It works just like regular Google, but it allows you to search only scholarly articles. It also has a rather fantastic Library function where you can store some of your favorite articles. Unfortunately some of the articles are behind paywalls, but at least it gives you a way to find them without access to a university library. Later when you are in college you can link it to your university profile and get past the paywall to journals that your university subscribes to. I have taken advantage of this many, many times. 
  • Khan Academy: This started out as a YouTube channel a few years ago and has developed into an amazing resource for learning math, science and can help you prep for the SAT when you get there. This resource is the reason I got an A in calculus, although at that point it was just on YouTube.
  • Crash Course:  This is a YouTube channel with huge collections of videos on US History, World History, Big History, Chemistry, Biology, Ecology and Psychology. The videos are entertaining and informative, providing the perfect combination for learning all sorts of fascinating material. 
  • DuoLingo: A great website and also an iPhone app that can be used to learn German, French, Spanish, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch.  It could provide an additional resource for you to study German. 
  • TED: One of my favorite sites for learning about the new and promising research, but it also has fantastic videos of people doing extraordinary things to try and change the world. 
  • I Fucking Love Science: A great resource for learning about current events in science. 
***Image Credit: Image found via Pinterest, original image lost in the interwebs. 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Badass Woman of the Week

Misty Copeland is not only a phenomenal Ballerina (my super-secret dream career ever since I was a little girl), but she is also crushing racial stereotypes with her amazing skills and determination but she is encouraging women and girls to chase their dreams with the books she has written. Misty is only the third black female soloist in the history of the American Ballet Theater and is currently the only black female member of the company. Read more about the amazing Misty Copeland here and here via HelloGiggles.