Observation

I study better at school during the day and study better at home during the night.

Will post a more comprehensive post soon, just have to learn this case about myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers.

Somtimes...

It's nice just fix things up, tidy up the apartment and plan things you'll be looking forward to.

Sometimes, it's the simple life that's appealing.

Thank you family and friends; today and always, life is beautiful and I couldn't imagine it without you.

V

Goals

My goal in High School was to be better than those around me through academics (as snobby as this sounds, it was a sincere attempt to go farther in life).

My goal in college was to get into medical school so that one day I will be a doctor

My goal in medical school is lacking

I've lost sight of my goal.

I need to explore and realize it before I get too deep.

V

P.S. It's gotten so bad (the distractions) that I have not been able to keep up with the 5 things to do everyday. 

I want to...

Living Two Weeks at a Time

       Today, I tried my hand at meditating for about 15 minutes. What has transpired from a proposed short break and honest effort to relax devolved into a full on hour-long nap. I woke up in a panic, quite possibly the worst feeling in the world; peace comes during sleep but the realization of the mountain of work to be done leaves peace almost like an undesirable wish.

      That was a little dramatic to be honest. In truth, I haven't woken up like that since that Clinical Neuroanatomy final exam back in Fall of 2009 at Ben's apartment.

     Just doing my best for now.

Home and Back Again

This Friday, I went back home with the help of my friend Faisal. He was headed back home to Ocala so he was nice enough to drop me off to Orlando. I brought my bike with me to get the brakes fixed along with all my study things.
      I feel as though the stay was very therapeutic, I know I have to do my best for my family and myself; sometimes it takes actually seeing your motivation right in front of you to determine how important it really is.
      Last night I went downtown with Sheila, Katie, Sheila H., Garret and Yannik (with some of Katie's other friends) to a club called Touch. Part of me wishes I didn't go last night and part of me wanted to. I had wanted to finish up the studying for the day but ran out of time in doing so. Tonight I'll have to do my best. It was a really fun time, however, I was happy to see my friends. More so than seeing my friends, I was delighted to be able to spend time with my family again. This morning we went and had breakfast at Panera together. After eating, Michael went on his way to school to study; it seems that his master's program is definitely challenging - we're both in hot water if we don't study everyday.
    Faisal came by around 1:10 this afternoon and we loaded everything in the car. It breaks my heart every time I leave, seeing my dad close to tears - he really does miss me, I wish I didn't have to do that to him. I miss him, mami and especially Michael - I love him more than anyone, I hope he really sees that....
        We got to Miami by 5 but I'm studying now at 7 pm. I need to do my best today to catch up! I will... I have to!

Three things:
- I'm grateful Faisal was kind enough to bring me to Orlando and back to Miami and letting me bring my bike! It was definitely something I needed to do and having a friend along the way was nice.
- I'm thankful for still having my room back at home - it means a lot to me as I'm sure for my family. I will always have a place back at home.
- I am thankful for Herney for considering having me helping him out in his laboratory. I hope it becomes a reality; there's nothing better than working with someone who cares about you!

I did not exercise today... I have to play catch-up. I need to do my best first

I meditated... not really. Didn't do that... nope (there's still time tonight!)

V

Troubling

I have never felt myself in a position where I wasn't one of the best in my class. Medical school has proven itself to be a challenging adversary. I will do my best to do the impossible!

The Night Before the Midterm

I went to school today to begin reviewing for the midterm exam we have tomorrow morning for the Genes, Molecules and Cells class. I studied from 9:30 am to about 8:00 pm and decided that I needed to take a break.

I came home and talked to my family for a good 40 minutes, all the while making dinner at the same time. I linked mami the TED talk that I mentioned yesterday so she could understand what I've been wanting to do for the next month or so. I think she liked it because she never called me back (like I told her to do after she was done watching the video). I had just finished eating the dinner I made (Rice and lentils, this time I used two leeks and cilantro with the rice! Just like home...) and after I finish writing in this blog I will continue reviewing for tomorrow (rested and all that).

So.. things I'm grateful for today.

1) I am grateful to have friends here that share their knowledge and stick together in times of peril (studying!) and who are also very friendly. I think I said this yesterday to some extent but not about the whole studying together thing.

2) I'm thankful to live in a state that, although lately has been covered in showers, is typically embraced in Sunshine. The Sun's light makes everything look alive and positive, I love it.

3) I'm grateful for my truck that brings me to school every once in a while. On that note I am grateful to have a bike as reliable as mine (Giant brand mountain bike - model = boulder), I'll get it fixed it when I come back to Orlando this weekend!

I told Yannik that he should reschedule his train ticket for next weekend so that I can come to Orlando this weekend. I hope he took it well, I really want to come back home and really this weekend is the only time I can!

Well, I better get back to studying; being positive is one thing, studying with determination is another - regardless, I feel good about this test!

Medical School group we went skydiving in Homestead. It was my first time flying. There's no thrill so awesome.

V

Learning to study

So over the past month, I have needed to learn how to adjust my study habits in order to attain a high-yield approach to learning all the material for Medical School.

Since med school classes contain a tremendous increase of information compared to undergraduate courses, my normal method of studying has proven to be inefficient and out of date. The consequence of this is my grades have so far been unremarkable, however I know I have made significant progress in finding the best way to study.

This is what I have learned so far:

- No more making "quiz question" style study guides - They take too long, are too detailed, and do not focus on the main topics (aka is low yield). Although the benefit of doing this is the ability to memorize EVERYTHING, this is certainly not efficient for studying (especially if you have 37 ppt lectures for one test)

- The Power point lecture notes ARE YOUR NOTES - use them to study!

• Read over the lecture once and write down any significant details you may have come across on blank sheets of paper (it may be better to write down the notes on a second run-through of the lecture immediately after the first reading run-through, so you don't focus too much on the smaller details)
• These notes will most likely become higher yield than the ppt lectures in the future

 - ALWAYS COME TO CLASS AND TAKE NOTES!!!

• Tegrity is a good resource if you have been to class; if you don't go to class, it takes a significantly longer time for you to go through a lecture.

This is what I have for now. Gotta go study

V

The First Month

After a whole month of medical school, so much has transpired... I've learned so many things in such a short period of time, it's really hard to mention everything that has happened so far. What I can say in the brief moments that I have before I continue to study for my midterm exam is that despite all of the time I don't have and being away from everyone I love, I truly am happy.

I'm very grateful to be at this point in my life. I have made many new friends here, and even those who I am not very close to are very interesting, exciting and all around nice guys. My apartment is still taking shape - I try to get things for it when I can although it is pretty much in the same state from when I finished unpacking everything. I had an ant problem that was getting worse everyday until about a week ago when I bought ant killer/barrier and a new trashcan - it seems now that the ants are kept at bay.. for now.

It seems kind of silly that this is the topic that I chose to write about for an entry that I haven't written in about a month. The fact is that this is just what's on my mind at the moment. Today I saw a TED talk that was linked on the FIU HWCOM Class of 2015 page  which talked about happiness. It was comforting to hear from the speaker that a lot of what I preach to myself was somehow confirmed by what he was talking about. He stated something along the lines that we direct our happiness in the direction of progress, at the goals we set, but if reach these goals we just make even greater goals and therefore never reach happiness. His rebuttal to this concept was that people should instead take time and be gracious about the things they already had. To do this, he suggested a plan for people to undertake so that in about 20 days, people will notice an increase in their happiness, so to speak.

The plan is the following:




I plan to do this list everyday, at least until time runs out. What I think is clever about this proposal set by this man is that by the end of 20 days, most people will more than likely develop a habit of performing these tasks everyday (perpetual bliss?). The three gratitudes are to remind ourselves of the great people and things we have in our lives. Journaling helps to reflect on everyday and to focus on the positive. Exercise keeps the body healthy and strong and also boosts confidence. Meditation prepares the mind for the upcoming day - days more efficient and more clearly thought out. Finally, random/purposeful acts of kindness bring out the best in all of us and lets us be proud of ourselves in how we treat each other.

Let's start:

Three Gratitudes -
1 - I am grateful that I am in the position to be able to say that I am working really, really hard in studying for my medical school midterm exam in the Genes, Molecules and Cells class. I know many people would really want to be in my position right now, I have to do my best!

2 - I am grateful to have a family that thinks about me everyday no matter how far away I am. Their kindness is my strength and their love my shield. I love them so much.

3 - I am grateful to be healthy. Of all things that medicine has taught me so far is that illness comes in hundreds and thousands of forms that could easily take a hold of any one of us. To be in a healthy state that I am in right now is something quite rare and for this I am very grateful.

I am blogging right now so I suppose it counts towards "journaling." The rest of the list would have to be completed tomorrow. I'm glad I set aside time today to write a little bit about what goes on in my medical school life; I've learned finally here at FIU HWCOM that you have to make time for the things you love and are passionate about.

To end I will include a picture everyday from my adventures here in Miami.

From Right to Left: Kamen, Me, Dr. Obeso, Ana, Mary, Kathryn, Dr. Rice, Katiuska, Luis (Lynn is in the TV interviewing a standardized patient!)

 V