Forever and a half...

Sorry dudes, slacking over here.

Not much new stuff to report! Spring registration begins in a few weeks, and it looks like I won't get lucky enough to go to school for two days each week. Serious bummer.

One thing that sucks about taking higher level courses is the less availability of sections.. all the general classes have plentiful scheduling opportunities. Yet one polisci course is going to ruin it since there is only 1 section open (in the phys ed bldg, how weird is that?).

Otherwise, all is good. Except the general election but I'm sure you're tired of hearing about that. I had the opportunity to work the polls (insert stripper joke here) for both the primary election and the general election. I seriously recommend this to anyone! Voting is the foundation of our democratic republic, and to be able to take part in making it happen is a great feeling (and you get paid, too!). Plus I'm being promoted to either clerk or assistant clerk (clerk is the "head honcho" of each precinct) for the next election! Super stoked =)

Woohoo!

So let me update you:

I quit my job at the nightclub doing bottle service last Friday evening on my own free will. Basically a manager ultimatum'd me, saying if I chose to take a weekend off then there was no guarantee I would be put back on the schedule immediately thereafter (probably thinking I'd be too afraid to lose my job or something... good thing I'm not a p*ssy haha).... so ultimately I thank that manager for giving me the push to do the right thing and get into my field of study.

Almost one week out of work I went on my first interview at a pediatricians office, aaand I got hired on-the-spot! As I skipped out of the office I went straight to the scrub supply store and bought my first pair, which (in case you're interested) I decided on a pair of hot pink scrub pants and a brown top with green and hot pink circles. I'll take a pic on my first day which is Wednesday =)

The office is a family-owned and operated practice run by a husband and wife team. I did a little research and they received numerous praise from parents, so I am excited to learn their procedures in order to maintain that positive image and experience for both the parents and their kids.

It's kind of ironic that the first medical office I will be working at is a pediatrician, because if you ask anyone who knows me they will tell you I don't seem to be fond of kids.. but really.. I am. Kids are little sponges that soak up their surroundings and actions given off by others..  Kids can be AWESOME! They're fun, cute, innocent, and it's a great feeling when you teach them something and they learn from it... so priceless. I guess really I can trace my distaste for certain kids to their parents who do not properly look after or teach their children.

I'm excited to work with a pediatrician because I will finally gain experience in a doctors office setting while also being a small part of that child's life to perhaps teach them something positive in which they can carry with them, all-the-while keeping them healthy and happy.

It sucks to say but some people aren't good parents/guardians to their kids.
Now I know I don't know the entire background on this kid, but seriously... WHERE DOES A KID LEARN THIS BEHAVIOR?! News story and video here.

~~

Moving on.....
I got my chemistry books yesterday as well. On FaceBook there is a page for students at my school called "For Sale/Free" and I found a girl who was selling her chemistry textbook and solutions manual for $100. The book alone (used) is $120+... quite the bargain.

Also, I'm not sure if I will be able to accept a bid (if given) from a Greek organization =( Now that I do not have a "disposable income" job, the money I make I expect to be very steady.. so an extra couple hundred bucks here and there (which is what I was relying on to pay dues) isn't going to happen. I already paid my registration fee, so I will still go through the recruitment process. Who knows, I hear some organizations have payment plans... there may be hope for me yet. Only time will tell, I'm sure.

Oh! Alsooo, because I am double-majoring in both biomedical science and political science, I am now a poll-worker for the Supervisor of Elections in my county! Nerdy excited, I know. Honestly I think I was one of the youngest people at orientation this morning.

Also related to political science, I read on the YAL FaceBook page (YAL: Young Americans for Liberty) that there is a Leadership seminar, aka: bootcamp for politics, up at the University of Florida coming up for only $15! It includes food and hotel (yea I couldn't believe that either, so I double-checked by asking haha)!



In closing,

MY ADVICE: One thing that I wholeheartedly recommend to all students who have a fairly good idea of what they're interested in... use social networking to your advantage! Find your school (or schools you're interested in) and add them.. add student groups, follow them on Twitter.. they'll keep you updated on events and such that you can choose to participate in.  For you to succeed, you need to surround yourself with like-minded people.. then you'll be surprised how much you'll grow/learn, and how far you'll get, and how many connections you'll make throughout the process.

"How Not to Study Guide" -Professor's Guide (via Chegg.com)

source

I am guilty of 7 out of 10 of these.. no lie.

Greek

I'm deciding whether or not to join Greek Life...

There was an info meeting last night, and it seemed alright. It was setup in a "science fair" style with each sorority having a table and decorated poster-board on display. You can definitely tell the different feel with each group, but for only spending a few minutes talking it may be too soon to tell. There are designated "counselors" who are basically girls that "give up their letters for recruitment so they can help new members find their letters," and there to help you with any questions and such.

They gave us a nifty Sorority Life Guide that lays out all the info about Greek Life, recruitment and the different chapters at the university. It is a helpful tool, for sure.

Honestly, I just felt OLD. All the girls seemed to be barely 20 and high-school-y.. no offense to those of you who are still getting through high school! For going on 24 and just now getting into the university lifestyle, it will just take a little getting used to.

I've filled out the application probably three times now, but every time I get to the end I'm not sure it's something I want to spend $65 on. Not to mention what happens if I get a bid... then I have to worry about $800-$1200 in dues PER semester, plus the time commitment. Buuuut then you have all those current members saying how they also work, do well in classes, and have a ton of fun with their sisters... so I don't know if I'm just being speculative.

Maybe I'll go through with it. You're only in college once, right? Besides, then I can tell you all about it in case you are thinking of doing the same. =)

"20 Things I Should Have Known at 20" -Julian S.

I like Twitter.. having said that, I follow Chegg (that nifty online textbook rental company) and they posted a link to the following:
~~~
(theburiedlife.tumblr.com)

20 Things I Should Have Known at 20.

1. The world is trying to keep you stupid. From bank fees to interest rates to miracle diets, people who are not educated are easier to get money from and easier to lead. Educate yourself as much as possible for wealth, independence, and happiness.
2. Do not have faith in institutions to educate you. By the time they build the curriculum, it’s likely that the system is outdated– sometimes utterly broken. You both learn and get respect from people worth getting it from by leading and doing, not by following.
3. Read as much as you can. Learn to speed read with high retention. Emerson Spartz taught me this while I was at a Summit Series event. If he reads 2-3 books a week, you can read one.
4. Connect with everyone, all the time. Be genuine about it. Learn to find something you like in each person, and then speak to that thing.
5. Don’t waste time being shy. Shyness is the belief that your emotions should be the arbitrators of your decision making process when the opposite is actually true.
6. If you feel weird about something during a relationship, that’s usually what you end up breaking up over.
7. Have as much contact as possible with older people. Personally, I met people at Podcamps. My friend Greg, at the age of 13, met his first future employer sitting next to him on a plane. The reason this is so valuable is because people your age don’t usually have the decision-making ability to help you very much. Also they know almost everything you will learn later, so ask them.
8. Find people that are cooler than you and hang out with them too. This and the corollary are both important: “don’t attempt to be average inside your group. Continuously attempt to be cooler than them (by doing cooler things, being more laid back, accepting, ambitious, etc.).”
9. You will become more conservative over time. This is just a fact. Those you surround yourself with create a kind of “bubble” that pushes you to support the status quo. For this reason, you need to do your craziest stuff NOW. Later on, you’ll become too afraid. Trust me.
10. Reduce all expenses as much as possible. I mean it. This creates a safety net that will allow you to do the crazier shit I mentioned above.
11. Instead of getting status through objects (which provide only temporary boosts), do it through experiences. In other words, a trip to Paris is a better choice than a new wardrobe. Studies show this also boosts happiness.
12. While you are living on the cheap, solve the money problem. Use the internet, because it’s like a cool little machine that helps you do your bidding. If you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, extend that to three weeks instead of two. Then, as you get better, you can think a month ahead, then three months, then six, and finally a year ahead. (The goal is to get to a point where you are thinking 5 years ahead.)
13. Learn to program.
14. Get a six-pack (or get thin, whatever your goal is) while you are young. Your hormones are in a better place to help you do this at a younger age. Don’t waste this opportunity, trust me.
15. Learn to cook. This will make everything much easier and it turns food from a chore + expensive habit into a pleasant + frugal one. I’m a big Jamie Oliver fan, but whatever you like is fine.
16. Sleep well. This and cooking will help with the six pack. If you think “I can sleep when I’m dead” or “I have too much to do to sleep,” I have news for you: you are INEFFICIENT, and sleep deprivation isn’t helping.
17. Get a reminder app for everything. Do not trust your own brain for your memory. Do not trust it for what you “feel like” you should be doing. Trust only the reminder app. I use RE.minder and Action Method.
18. Choose something huge to do, as well as allowing the waves of opportunity to help you along. If you don’t set goals, some stuff may happen, but if you do choose, lots more will.
19. Get known for one thing. Spend like 5 years doing it instead of flopping around all over the place. If you want to shift afterwards, go ahead. Like I said, choose something.
20. Don’t try to “fix” anyone. Instead, look for someone who isn’t broken.
(Written by: Julian Smith inoveryourhead.net)

 ~~~
I completely agree with most of these..they each have a lesson we will need to learn at some point, but the ones I list below I have more experience with (and I'm just going to skip over the money ones because we all know how bad I suck at handling money.. luckily I'm getting better though!) :-)

 -number 1 speaks volumesssss. If you aren't educated to some degree you will eat up what everyone else says, whether it's true or not. Take for instance, economics. I've always been intimidated by the subject... well I finally had to take a macroeconomics course and not only did I become less afraid of money markets and their jargon, but my professor said something along the lines of, "now that you all know this, you will constantly see misinformation on major news networks when they speak of the economy," and she is totally right. I'd give you an example but then I'd need to explain subsidies, GDP, and media bias which will definitely take more than a paragraph LOL.

-number 2 makes a great point... educational institutions are bound by state legislatures (for public schools). Coming back to economics, they need to make our education as cost effective as possible. So what's the next best thing? If you said EXPERIENCE, then you win! Get out there and find an extra-curricular group who's mission is something you are interested in. Whether it's politics, environmentalism, money management, swing dance, foreign language... 98% of the time there is a student group out there of others who are interested in the same thing.. and the best part? You as students get to decide what you want to do as a group (if your group is part of your student government, then you get funds to budget and further your cause, whatever it may be). The other 2%? If your group isn't on campus, you can start your own! See your student government for more details.

-for number 8 I would use a different word than "cool" because really, that all depends on who defines that slang term. How about, people that are better than you? Now I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but a mentor of mine taught me how to really shoot pool (billiards) and his number one advice is, "always play someone better than you, otherwise your skills don't get better."

-number 15 is great advice not only for your own health, but so many people rely on box meals (Hamburger Helper, EasyMac, and the like) for their nutritional needs. Big mistake, and it comes back around to number 14 because your body would much rather have simple foods compared to boxed meals loaded with unnatural preservatives.

-number 17 can be done in other ways. Me personally, I'm a list-maker. If I don't make a list, I don't get everything done (if at all!). Whether it's the grocery store, chores, my bills, or errands... if I don't have a list, I forget. Have a calendar, or a reminder app, use alarms and the like to keep your obligations to a minimum... besides, what happens when you forget to pay a bill on-time? Your credit score goes down and you get hit with extra fees (more money that should be in your pocket!)

-number 19 I can vouch for because my philosophy used to be, "why only do one thing when you can do so many?" I have a lot of interests, but the main problem with doing so many different things is that you never have enough time to dedicate your time and energy to just ONE of them so you can consequently excel at it.

Smart $hopper!

Who says you can't be a smart shopper when it comes to textbooks? 

One of the biggest expenses (besides tuition) college kids have to deal with are ... sighh... textbooks. No longer are we lucky enough to have high schools simply provide us with a textbook to use.

However, if you have a little time and patience you can find these (usually expensive) textbooks for a better deal than your campus bookstore can provide.

For example, last night I looked up the textbooks I will be using for this Fall semester's courses.. (only a few were available considering it is the beginning of June). Now the MAIN THING you NEED when looking for your particular textbook elsewhere is the ISBN number. It is basically a serial number for that specific title, author, and EDITION textbook your professor requires.

*Pay special attention to Edition numbers! Some professors don't mind if you have an earlier edition, however page numbers will be off and you will make life just a little bit harder on yourself.*

Let's take my International Relations course.

Now when looking up your textbooks, most likely your college/university will automatically direct you to their store. BUT! With that nifty ISBN number, we can easily look up the same textbook in other online venues.

Notice that there are 3 prices.

The first is the RENTAL price. Renting textbooks is kind of a new thing, but basically you pay to use the particular textbook for the semester and then return it as soon as your course is over in the SAME condition that you received it in.
*To be honest, I've never rented a textbook; I fold pages, write/highlight, and sometimes I get caught in the rain when riding my motorcycle... so for me I find it safer to just outright buy the thing... just in case. Because if whoever you rent it from calls you out on returning their book in less than ideal conditions, you have to dish out more money which we all know doesn't grow on trees.
The second price is how much a USED textbook will cost you. A used textbook is simply that... a book that has been used by another student who chose to "sell it back" after their course was over. No harm in that!  
The last price is the FULL RETAIL VALUE when brand spankin' new.

Phase One: complete. We know which particular textbook our professor assigned for the course.

Phase Two: finding the best deal. Take the ISBN number given (something like 12ish numbers long; you can find it in the first few pages of nearly all books... you know, where all that publisher information is, OR it is usually listed on/near the barcode) and Plug-N-Chug! Start with Google.. all the websites that have it available will come up, such as Amazon, Chegg, Alibris, Textbooks, etc.

I found a BRAND NEW textbook, still in the wrapper (the one listed above) at Alibris.com for the following:

Phase Three: Whatever website you are on, do yourself a favor and open a new window, pull up Google or whichever search engine you choose, and search "[website] coupon promo codes" ... in my case last night it was "Alibris coupon codes". That's where that awesome $5.00 off came from =)

So to sum it up, I purchased a brand new textbook for 70% less than full retail value. AND! With that awesome little promo code, I virtually got free shipping =)



My Mistake:  My first two semesters in college I really didn't care how much textbooks cost because I got a ridiculous amount of financial aid and I had enough left over from tuition to be able to pay for new books. A new Anatomy&Physiology textbook ran about $250, not to mention the other four classes I was taking. Granted, this shouldn't really be considered a mistake, but rather a bad habit of expecting money to be there. What happens when the next year, you do not receive as much aid? Or you don't get that scholarship two years in a row?

My Advice: Save Save Save whenever possible! Don't kick yourself because there was an opportunity for you to save some money that could've been used to help you in-the-now.

((UPDATE! The book came early and in perfect condition, still wrapped in plastic. Happy camper.))

Balance/Moderation

Balance and Moderation...

Two simple words each implying steadfastness and the mental ability to know when too much is really too much.

Work, course loads, obligations, promises, family matters, and the like... ALL require this. Too much of any can cause stress, irritability, fatigue, and hopelessness. Not enough can cause rifts in relationships, carelessness, and sometimes mild spouts of depression-like feelings.

Balancing all of your obligations, family matters, school work, job(s), and the nitty gritty details inbetween is, in fact, a challenge that everyone struggles with... even for those not in college. So you can imagine how hectic some of us students get when we have midterms/finals on top of all the other crap we have to deal with. Solution? Balance and Moderation.

When I went to orientation for the university, all the faculty members kept reiterating something like, "Hey we know how stressful it is to do what you do.. so we encourage you students to blow off steam and stress with some fun," whether it's college night at your local bar, concerts, zombie vs human chases (which was pretty cool btw!), and a bunch of other weird off-the-wall events that most universities sponsor for their students.

I'm still working on the whole Balance aspect myself.. except for me I do a different balancing act; instead of doing what most people would do (strategically plan and space out job times throughout the week), I'd rather do it all at once and have a few days to do absolutely nothing. No really! See why I said I don't really have it going for myself just yet?

Despite receiving the same suggestions from both my neighbors and my fiance in regards to my work schedule, I think this type of balance works best for me.

For example, here's my work schedule for this and next week:
Wednesday: Ybor job (10pm-3am)
Thursday: Ybor job (9pm-3am)
Friday: mall job (12pm-9pm) and Ybor job (9:30pm-4am)
Saturday: mall job (3:30pm-9pm) and Ybor job (9:30pm-4am)
Sunday: mall job (11am-6pm)
Monday: mall job (12pm-9pm)
Tuesday- OFF
Wednesday- gosh I hope I get this day off!
Thursday- mall job (12pm-9pm) and Ybor job (9:30pm-3am)
[repeat Friday thru Sunday schedule]

TOTALLY off balance, right? Geez just wait until the fall semester starts! I will definitely have to change it up when the time comes, but for right now this works for me. But, I know me. I hate doing something every single day. I love lazy days!

Everyone has different comfort and stress levels. I'd rather just be a caffeine junky for the weekend and then lay around my apartment in my jammies laying upside down on my couch while watching TV and eating Snack Pack chocolate puddings for two days straight (awesome visual, right?).

MY MISTAKE: I probably said it already and doing the WHAM-BAM one-after-another tactic, but so far it isn't turning out too bad.. and I'm banking in the meantime so that works out.

MY ADVICE: Even though we may balance our lives differently in order to moderate our time (and sanity), we must remember that each person is different with different obligations and goals. So do what you can handle without driving yourself crazy. So far my sanity is intact... 

A little about me

So I realized as I myself browsed through other pre-med student blogs, I don't like to read info from someone whom I know nothing about. In case you're interested about the author, keep reading:
~~~~

My name is Katharine but my friends call me Katie. I'm 23 years old and I live in the beautiful Tampa Bay area with my fiance and little puppy dog. Originally, I grew up in Las Vegas and moved to Florida in 2004.
I've always been a good student until moving to Florida (the education system here SUCKS! and screwed me out of the honors courses I took while in Vegas. I mean really, does your state have "State Edition" textbooks? Why does Florida have "Florida Edition" textbooks? Nevada never had that..). The first Florida high school I attended, I requested to be transferred there for their NJROTC program as I was heavily involved in the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC) back home because being commissioned as a Naval officer was my chosen career path.. no backups. That is what I was going to do (my cousin flies fighter jets in the Navy, and he even teaches pilots in the Air Force on certain fighters/bombers). I succeeded in the unit, but decided the next school year to transfer to a new technical high school to study automotive sciences (I have this thing for learning how to do stuff instead of paying other people to do it... ironically this is when I started driving my own car LOL).

*sidenote: I decided against the military for a few reasons... the first, the wars in the middle east were still raging on after 9/11/01; an amazing young man, a fellow comrade in NJROTC, and my prom date never made it back after becoming a US Marine and shipping out to the frontline [RIP Patrick Malone]; and secondly the ONE day when I went into the recruiter's office to schedule an ASVAB exam is when I was t-boned in my car while trying to leave the shopping center.. I'm a believer in the universe and timing, so I held off.

 The end of my junior/beginning of my senior year I worked at a Ford dealership as a technician intern, and specialized in suspension/steering and automatic transmissions. This may sound weird, but working on cars is where I got the inspiration to work in the health care field. While taking clutch packs out of a RWD transmission and taking them apart, it felt like car surgery and I loved it. I loved the thought of taking car diagnostic skills and applying them to people. The tests you do to eliminate possibilities and ultimately find the problem for a smooth ride were exciting, thoughtful, and productive.
Long-story-short, I neglected to finish a pesky half-credit in math and ultimately did not graduate in 2007. Fast forward through two years of drifting through Atlanta, GA after-the-fact and you'll find me back in Florida two weeks away from moving back out West with no real plans. This is when me and my fiance (not so at the time) crossed paths again, and he is to thank for helping me find the right path to where I am now.
In 2009 I aced my GED exam and enrolled in my local community college aiming for their nursing program. Two years later, after finishing all of the pre-requisites needed to apply to their program I got to thinking that in the two years it took me to simply finish pre-req's I could have earned an Associates degree. If I stuck around and waited for admission into the community college's nursing program (plus two years of nursing coursework + clinical rotations), by the time I had finished I could have earned a four year baccalaureate degree. So I went to an advisor and looked at other options. One year after making that decision I graduated from HCC with an Associates degree in Medical Sciences earlier this month, 2012.
Nursing is still an option because there is a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) degree available at the university I will be attending, but there are many many more fields of study within healthcare that I will aim for something else that relates to patient wellness.

Now it is 2012 and I start classes at the University of South Florida in August of this year aiming for a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Science, and possibly a second Bachelors in Political Science. Hopefully this blog will help others, and in another three years I can write about the MCAT, helpful info guides, and the medical school admissions process as I hope I will be taking part in it.
~~~~
I've definitely learned important subject matter, but better than that I learned more about myself and the decisions that I make. With each twist, turn, obstacle, and ultimate decision I am molding myself as an adult who's looking after their own life and future. I know 23 is definitely an adult age, but really 20 years old is when the "hey let's figure out where I want life to take me" thoughts started coming in. Yea I started late (especially comparing me next to the youngest student in my CC graduation, 16 freakin' years old!), but it wasn't too late. The oldest graduate in our class is 73.

No one is ever too young or too old for any education.

*

You should never be discouraged from continuing educational endeavors based on stigmas, statistics, or "Negative Nancys,"

*

if you truly follow your heart, gut, and mind, you will never be lead astray.

 *

 Some things and their subsequent timing happen for a reason... 

 *