Today was my last lecture of the semester. It is crazy how fast time flies. I still can't believe it. I have an essay to write tonight but I am feeling like a huge procrastinator. It is a little hard to focus since JASON is coming to see me tomorrow!!!!
Right now, it is tough to be away from home. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and like many Americans I usually spend the day at home with my family. But, this year I am in Ireland. At least Jason will be here to make being away from everyone a little easier. I was thinking about making a turkey myself... in my toaster over -_-.... unfortunately it is sort of impossible to find a small turkey right now. Turkey is a Christmas bird here since there is no Thanksgiving there are no turkeys. It is so weird not seeing turkeys and cornucopia images all over. The city is beautiful though, and christmas is in full swing. I love it.
I'll go on with a very American tradition, listing what I am grateful for-
- my supportive and encouraging family that loves me
- Jason
- studying veterinary medicine... finally
- the opportunity to live in another country
- all of the new friends I have made here
- the unconditional love I get from my pets, I can't wait to see them
I am sure there are so many other things I could think of if I realllllyyy tried. But, I really need to write this essay =P
25 more days until I go home!!!!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Week 11
I seriously can't believe it is already week 11. Next week is our last week of actual classes and it blows my mind how quickly this semester has gone by already. Only a few more week until finals, and just over a month until I go home for christmas. So exciting!!!! As of right now I still have so much work to do apart from studying for finals. Because clearly, now is the best time to give us all of the assignments.
Even though I have been really busy with work I want to focus more on one thing I enjoy doing to keep my mind from becoming overwhelmed. Everyone has little things that they do to clear their mind. The most recurring example I have heard of is running and the runner's high. That feeling when you hit the pavement and nothing else is on your mind but that moment when everything begins to make sense in your world: the ultimate mind wiper for some. Some may describe it as pure euphoria, not me. I wish I liked running unfortunately it's probably my least favorite endurance. Anyway, what I am getting at is everyone has their "thing," wether it is exercising, reading, cooking, talking, listening to music, or watching their favorite reruns.
It is important to have something to do that can clear your mind during stressful times. It is no good spending your day worrying about all of the things you have to do when you don't have the energy, mentally or physically, to do it. It is especially easy to become mentally drained when studies are so demanding. It took me a while before I figured out my "thing" or what it was that cleared my mind and brought me mental stability. I went through a bit of a rough patch about 5 years ago during undergrad when I lost clarity of why I was there. I couldn't clearly picture where I wanted to go with my life (even though I have always known) and I was letting personal stress get in the way of my academic aspirations. That is when I started practicing yoga. More specifically, I started practicing Baron Baptiste power yoga. Which is really complicated and probably too hard for a beginner, but it didn't matter. Yoga brought me to my special place, it gave me the equivalent of a runner's high. Baron Baptiste is a long time yogi who says many inspirational things. Things such as...
Yoga made me feel strong and empowered. It made me proud of my body and what it can do. It made me realize that my mind was strong and I could do anything I wanted. Yoga gave me a release from stress and helped me organize my thoughts. It taught me that life is a progression, just like yoga. It can never be perfected but you can be proud of your abilities and capabilities and build upon them. It taught me to view my situations as if I were an outsider looking in so I could make more clear and better decisions. Most importantly, it became my outlet or you could say yoga became my "thing."
It is very easy to be hard on yourself or too critical of yourself. It's easy to become bogged down by your day. I can't stress how important it is to do something for yourself and your mentality every so often. UCD has a really great support system for those who may need help with their "social, personal, and emotional welfare." The campaign is called "Please Talk." I have not been personally involved with any of the "Please Talk" events hosted at UCD but I have classmates who have been and from what I understand it is a really good form of support.
Namaste!
Even though I have been really busy with work I want to focus more on one thing I enjoy doing to keep my mind from becoming overwhelmed. Everyone has little things that they do to clear their mind. The most recurring example I have heard of is running and the runner's high. That feeling when you hit the pavement and nothing else is on your mind but that moment when everything begins to make sense in your world: the ultimate mind wiper for some. Some may describe it as pure euphoria, not me. I wish I liked running unfortunately it's probably my least favorite endurance. Anyway, what I am getting at is everyone has their "thing," wether it is exercising, reading, cooking, talking, listening to music, or watching their favorite reruns.
It is important to have something to do that can clear your mind during stressful times. It is no good spending your day worrying about all of the things you have to do when you don't have the energy, mentally or physically, to do it. It is especially easy to become mentally drained when studies are so demanding. It took me a while before I figured out my "thing" or what it was that cleared my mind and brought me mental stability. I went through a bit of a rough patch about 5 years ago during undergrad when I lost clarity of why I was there. I couldn't clearly picture where I wanted to go with my life (even though I have always known) and I was letting personal stress get in the way of my academic aspirations. That is when I started practicing yoga. More specifically, I started practicing Baron Baptiste power yoga. Which is really complicated and probably too hard for a beginner, but it didn't matter. Yoga brought me to my special place, it gave me the equivalent of a runner's high. Baron Baptiste is a long time yogi who says many inspirational things. Things such as...
"Two key elements in our lives are vitality and habitual patterns that block our vitality. As limiting perceptions and old patterns are given up and released out, we receive new vitality in our lives. In a state of vitality, things begin to open up and make more sense. We gain creative perspective, and previously unseen pathways come into our view for the taking."
and
Yoga made me feel strong and empowered. It made me proud of my body and what it can do. It made me realize that my mind was strong and I could do anything I wanted. Yoga gave me a release from stress and helped me organize my thoughts. It taught me that life is a progression, just like yoga. It can never be perfected but you can be proud of your abilities and capabilities and build upon them. It taught me to view my situations as if I were an outsider looking in so I could make more clear and better decisions. Most importantly, it became my outlet or you could say yoga became my "thing."
It is very easy to be hard on yourself or too critical of yourself. It's easy to become bogged down by your day. I can't stress how important it is to do something for yourself and your mentality every so often. UCD has a really great support system for those who may need help with their "social, personal, and emotional welfare." The campaign is called "Please Talk." I have not been personally involved with any of the "Please Talk" events hosted at UCD but I have classmates who have been and from what I understand it is a really good form of support.
Overall, what I am really trying to say, especially with finals being so close, is that you shouldn't forget about you or your own mental stability when studying gets really hard. Work really hard but don't feel bad about giving yourself a little "me time" when it's needed.
Namaste!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
The grading system
Originally, I thought about finally posting the video tour of my dorm room but, the video camera I wanted to use on my tablet is really choppy. Any viewers would have been insanely sea sick by the end. I am going to try a couple things and figure out some way to record a smoother dorm room tour. Until then, I need to come up with more things to write about. Which brings me to what I am thinking about now... the grading system across the pond. Which is really fitting now that I am finally done all of my midterms.
I am going to start by saying I did well on all of my exams (no worries).
Grading here is a little different than what I am used to back home. Here is the grading scheme.
Everyone keeps emphasizing a B is VERY good. Honestly, the most confusing part is that a B is only a 60-70%. Seriously, that is all. A 60-70% and I can have a B. I know a lot of people are happy with getting B's. They say "yea! That IS good." But, after years of striving for only A's (to have the most competitive veterinary school application) I find it really hard to cope with a B being VERY good. Especially after looking at those guidelines above. Piece of cake! These people must be nuts. If I score 70% or higher I get an A. No problem! I can totally do that.
Now that midterms are over, I know why they say a B is VERY good. I must say, while I am still not coping with the evasive A grades very well, I understand why grading is the way it is here in Ireland. This is what I was told in regards to the grading scheme during lecture one day....
Most of the tests are essay based. If you can answer the question correctly with no additional information, then you get a C and that's good. If you add a little more information and some details about your answer, then you get a B. Congratulations, very good job. Finally, if you are not only able to correctly answer the question and add details, but also know some other random information about the topic that you read somewhere else, for example in a scholarly journal, then you get an A.
So to get an A in Ireland you not only have to know the material but you also have to take some extra steps to investigate a little more. To get an A is "excellent." You really went out of your way to understand the material. I think this is really fair to those students who go that extra mile to learn the information or for those who are really interested in a topic and spend tons of time looking up more information. It gives you the opportunity to show that you really do know so much more than what was asked of you and you get rewarded for it.
Overall, it is going to take some getting used to. I will still strive for A's but I will not be disappointed with a B. I will continue to put my full effort into studying and learning everything I need to learn even if the outcome falls shy of my expectations. As long as I know I tried my best I will feel happy with what I have done. Testing can be really stressful and I just need to keep reminding myself as long as I know the answer, even if it's just a little bit, I will pass. =)
Finals are just around the corner.....
I am going to start by saying I did well on all of my exams (no worries).
Grading here is a little different than what I am used to back home. Here is the grading scheme.
Everyone keeps emphasizing a B is VERY good. Honestly, the most confusing part is that a B is only a 60-70%. Seriously, that is all. A 60-70% and I can have a B. I know a lot of people are happy with getting B's. They say "yea! That IS good." But, after years of striving for only A's (to have the most competitive veterinary school application) I find it really hard to cope with a B being VERY good. Especially after looking at those guidelines above. Piece of cake! These people must be nuts. If I score 70% or higher I get an A. No problem! I can totally do that.
Now that midterms are over, I know why they say a B is VERY good. I must say, while I am still not coping with the evasive A grades very well, I understand why grading is the way it is here in Ireland. This is what I was told in regards to the grading scheme during lecture one day....
Most of the tests are essay based. If you can answer the question correctly with no additional information, then you get a C and that's good. If you add a little more information and some details about your answer, then you get a B. Congratulations, very good job. Finally, if you are not only able to correctly answer the question and add details, but also know some other random information about the topic that you read somewhere else, for example in a scholarly journal, then you get an A.
So to get an A in Ireland you not only have to know the material but you also have to take some extra steps to investigate a little more. To get an A is "excellent." You really went out of your way to understand the material. I think this is really fair to those students who go that extra mile to learn the information or for those who are really interested in a topic and spend tons of time looking up more information. It gives you the opportunity to show that you really do know so much more than what was asked of you and you get rewarded for it.
Overall, it is going to take some getting used to. I will still strive for A's but I will not be disappointed with a B. I will continue to put my full effort into studying and learning everything I need to learn even if the outcome falls shy of my expectations. As long as I know I tried my best I will feel happy with what I have done. Testing can be really stressful and I just need to keep reminding myself as long as I know the answer, even if it's just a little bit, I will pass. =)
Finals are just around the corner.....
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Halloween!!
I'm a little late on this. For some reason it didn't occur to me to post about my first Halloween in Ireland.
It was fun, just like every Halloween. I sat in class all day super antsy to get the process going. I couldn't wait to put on my costume! As soon as I was done class I went to the dorms and cooked dinner: portabella mushroom stuffed with brown rice, spinach, and parmesan, YUMMM. Then, I got right to getting ready. I had so much getting dressed up and I seriously impressed myself with my artistic face painting abilities.
Kieran and I both did our make-up similarly. We had a little fire and ice thing going on. She was ice, I was fire. Accordingly, all of her accent colors were blue and silver and mine were red and gold.
We went to two different gatherings, one with some med students downstairs and another at our classmate Max's apartment. Both were super fun.
The only problem is that I didn't think this through all the way. I set my costume standards too high too quickly. Now I have a lot to live up to.
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