1st Year in Review

Before I came to Ohio State, I was a very different person. I came in with the idea that college wouldn’t be as hard as everyone made it out to be, just as high school had been for me. I thought I could get by on minimal work like I had in the past years, but I learned very quickly first semester that was not the case.
I grew so much academically, even just in the last few months, and learned that the only way to achieve your goals is hard work, there’s no way to cut corners. I have learned how to manage all of my activities as well as my studies much better this semester, and my grades have seen the improvement. Keeping to a strict schedule has been key for me, and prioritizing studying and homework has made the biggest difference. This ability to prioritize has been going hand in hand with my maturity which has also been improving. I have had a few struggles with my roommates, but learning to walk away from drama and not letting it bother me has been a huge step.
As I struggled first semester to find a balance between school and having fun, my grades suffered a little which was something I was not used to. That struggle was what taught me the most how to be resilient. I learned how to take a bad grade, learn how to fix my mistakes, and do it better next time. I practiced that skill in all my classes this semester, and I have noticed an improvement.
Finally, I think my biggest point of growth has been in my interpersonal relationships this year. I was told coming in to college that I would have to begin to build relationships with my professors, and while I shrugged that off for a but in the first semester, I noticed how having those relationships can be incredibly helpful. In particular, I made much more of an effort to answer questions in class and participate in discussions, particularly in my Intro to Probability course. When I came to my professor for help, he was much more inclined to give me the help I needed because he had noticed how I was in class for every lecture and was always actively participating in the discussions. In comparison, last semester when I didn’t participate as actively in my Calculus 3 course, my professor was not as willing to help.
Over all this year has been an incredible one to grow and change as a person, and I cannot wait to see what the next few years also have in store for me.

How Opioids Hijack the Brain

I read the article Heroin Addiction Explained: How Opioids Hijack the Brain from the New York Times, written by Shreea Sinha and Jennifer Harlan – link provided below. They interviewed people who had used and been addicted to opioids at some point in their lives, but were now in recovery, as well as their family members. They also interviewed doctors and the family members of deceased opioid users. Throughout the article, they detailed the process of becoming sober from the perspective of the users, and included comments from doctors.

I can see that in this article, they focused more on the emotional aspects of being addicted to something as strong as opioids to appeal more to people’s sympathetic sides, but they didn’t include many stats or facts about the addiction, how it’s affecting our economy and society today and who is contributing to the growing epidemic. I believe this is very important for people to read anyway though because not many people, especially people who grew up privileged like I did, know the real life effects of these drugs and why people will keep going back to them if they don’t have help. Addictions like these can affect any person in the world if they happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and are offered it. It only takes a moment of weakness or peer pressure to start an addiction that can either last a life time or end a life.

Addiction is a disease and I believe more people should try to see it as this. While taking whatever drug for the first time is an unfortunate choice that can be avoided, once you start its incredibly hard to stop. One person in the article described their first time using opioids as receiving  a hug from Jesus, and I can imaging why one would chase that sort of high up to their death. However, it can’t be achieved again since the brain begins to regulate itself after the first use until after a long time of using, the user isn’t even chasing the high anymore. The user is just trying to avoid withdrawal. While our medical system is improving and we are finding more ways to treat these patients, not enough is being done yet. Too many people are not getting the help they need, too many families are being destroyed and too many are dying. Throughout the future I hope we can do more to help these people and I want to be a part of that help.

 

Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/us/addiction-heroin-opioids.html?module=inline

Artifact 3

During my time here at OSU, I have had the opportunity to participate in many new things, but one experience that has had a significant impact on me is joining the Latin Student Association Dance Team.

Joining this team has been so impactful for me because I’ve had the chance to express myself in a new way and meet all sorts of diverse people in the process. This group meets a few times a week, more often when we are close to a performance, and we learn and practice salsa, bachata and occasionally some merengue dancing, lead by a choreographer. The people in the group are from all over Latin America, from Mexico to Peru, to Cuba. They all have incredibly unique experiences and when we’re not all dancing, we take the time to chat and get to know one another. These people have opened me up to all sorts of new experiences around campus, and they have taught me a lot about what is going on around the world and in their countries. I have also become more exposed to the Latino culture by joining this group. As immigrants, every one of us has a new story to tell  and it’s so interesting to hear from others.

I also learned that dancing and spending time in this group is an incredible and productive way to relieve some stress. When exams come around and all of us are panicking and scared, it’s nice to have a support group to go to and lean on. All the movement we do during practices helps relieve some of the physical tension while talking relieves a lot of the emotional aspects.

I’m really glad I found a group on campus that has had such a positive impact on me and I’m excited to see all the new places being a part of this group will take me.

Over the course of this semester, I have developed my mindset about my future a lot. Coming into college I did not expect it to be much harder than high school since I took many accelerated classes and did well. I expected to be able to continue with the study habits I developed in high school an do just as well. I learned that I was very wrong. To be able to excel in college I have had to change how I look at my assignments and my future. Making it to medical school and to become a doctor is a long, slow process throughout which I will need to give my best effort nearly every day.

The way I look at school and how I learn is the biggest part of my mindset that has changed. I have learned to be much more open minded to experiences that will benefit my future and I have developed a lot of discipline in a few short months by forcing myself to just sit down and do what I have to do to be read for whatever exam or quiz is coming which is a skill I’m going to have to use for a long time. I have learned that in college and in the real world there are no excuses, and to be successful I will have to just shut up and do what I have to do. Resilience is so important and I will have to be able to take bad test scores, move on, and do better the next time.

 

Artifacts

An important event that I think taught me a lot about discipline and making a goal and sticking to it was training for the Cap City Half Marathon last year. I began thinking I wanted to run a half marathon at the end of my high school cross country season when I realized how much I enjoyed running and how much progress I’d made in the last year. My mom and I decided to sign up for a half marathon together in the spring and we made a plan to train together and run it together.

Once my senior winter track season started though, I was hit with a knee injury that took me out of running for a few months. It really slowed down my training for the half marathon and took me out of the winter track season. I trained hard through the injury however and worked on getting better so I could rejoin my team for the spring track season and run the half marathon after.

As I got closer to the date of the half marathon I realized my knee would likely not be healed in time to run the whole thing. I was going on 6, 7, 8 mile runs and still experiencing pain. I cut down my milage to only a few miles a day to not over work my knee but still try to keep up with the training. I got more and more nervous as the date came. The week of the half I began to panic and I went out on an 8 mile run just to prove to myself that I still could. I was surprised when I felt no paint the whole time.

When the race came, I went out with my mom and felt good for almost 9 miles. Then I felt that familiar pain in my knee and I knew what was coming. I ended up running the last 4 miles with my knee aching but there was no way I was going to stop. I’d worked hard to try to get better and fix my knee and there was no way I was about to give up.

                                         

Training for this half taught me so much about how to persevere even when you can’t see the end of your struggles. I had no idea if and when my knee was going to get better and it only worried me more as the half marathon came closer. I learned how to stick with my goals in the face of adversity or outside factors you have no control over. I know this will be very important for me in the future.

The path to become a doctor is a long, hard one. Many students say that you just keep working and working and you have no idea when you’re going to stop and take a rest or when all your hard work is finally going to be recognized. Working hard for this half marathon taught me how to do that and I will absolutely take those skills with me into the future.

 

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

  • Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
  • Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
  • Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
  • Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
  • Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]