What we should be doing

They come to the Temple everyday
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me.
'We have fasted before you!' they say.
'Why aren't you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don't even notice it!'

I will tell you why! I respond.
It's because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers.
What good is fasting
when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
will never get you anywhere with me.
You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please the Lord?

No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you,
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

Isaiah 58:1-7

Better go and get your armor

The first fall semester of the program has gotten off to a rough start. We had orientation yesterday for a few hours which only succeeded in scaring me about this semester. I thought I might feel better about going to clinicals, but I don't. Not yet. And I've had a really busy weekend getting moved in and lots of other things going on so I'm already behind on my readings. But I will catch up soon! I still feel like it's not time to be back yet, and so my student-mind is nowhere to be found. Tuesdays are my worst day, with class literally from 8-5 with a lunch break. I have the same teacher for 6 hours. Today was definitely better than yesterday, but really, really long. I had pathophysiology this morning, and Imaging for the rest of the day. I start radiography tomorrow and I'm pretty excited about that class because it's stuff I know I like.

LDOC

We just finished up our Imaging Physics section, which turned out to not be as bad as I had thought it would be. It was a lot about what goes on to produce the x-rays, and how they form the image on the image receptor (IR). And technical factors that the RTs can control to control the image quality. Useful stuff. Not the nasty irrelevant physics in the intro classes. That exam was today and I think I did okay on it. We learned the differences between screen-film and digital imaging, and the two types of digital imaging - computed and...digital. With computed, only the processing of the image is different. The RT still has to put a cassette in the Bucky and then take it to a processor or reader, but it either has film or a photostimulable phosphor plate. With digital radiography (DR), the image data gets transmitted directly from the IR that's under the table to the RT workstation. It removes the step of going back into the room to get it from the table. And there's all sorts of technical things that go into how each of those 3 processes work. In lab last Thursday we played with screen-film imaging, which does not allow any post-processing by the RT to correct for brightness or contrast. What you put on the film is what you get developed. We played around with the technical factors to figure out for different anatomical structures what factors needed to be changed by how much. We got to take home an image, too, if we wanted to. It's on my parent's refrigerator :)

We also finished up our thoracic section in anatomy yesterday. We said goodbye to our cadavers, which the boys named Boris and Grandma Death. Most of the thorax is vessels and I don't like those. But they're kind of important. We had review for all 3 sections today during class. I'm nervous about studying for both of my exams, because there is so much information and so little time to look at it all! But I'm not really nervous for actually taking them, yet. I'm sure that it will come together by the time I sit to take it. But there's just so much to study!!

I finished medical terminology last week. I feel so much more intelligent about medical jargon now! In my classes, now, when the professor or the book says something that I wouldn't have understood, now I can tell you what it means. It's quite cool. Watch out for big words that are now part of my vocabulary!

We got our duke IDs on Friday. It's going to be fun (not really) to try to find my way there and around the hospital when I'm there on rotations. But it has to be done. Speaking of clinicals, I attempted to load the files for the clinical software our director wants us to use, and I was able to install it to my Blackberry, but I can't load images or get my tech to sign it, so I don't think the Storm is going to work. I am going to take it to him, though, before I completely rule it out. I do think that I'll end up using my iTouch, though, which is just fine with me! Especially since we just bought it. I would probably use it anyway, because I don't want my Storm to be all messed up on me.

I Dare You to Move

I found out something disturbing today, that I kind of already knew about, but hadn't actually realized. In NC to take an x-ray, you don't have to be licensed. This means that if you go to a 'doc-in-a-box' place as they're called, like a family practice or an urgent care practice, and you need to have a radiograph taken, the person actually doing that for you may not be licensed! It may be the nurse at the office, or someone else. Not someone who is an actual radiographer. It's not as dire as the practice has pulled someone random off the street to push the button, but these people may not have training in radiography and, though you may get a good image, will not give you the best care as a patient. They could over or underexpose you, or they could use the wrong mAs or kVp, and will not get the best quality image that you deserve! So when you go to the doctor's and they say you need a radiograph, you have the right to ask whether the person taking the image is a certified radiographer. And if they're not, you have the right to get your doctor to order a radiograph, and go get a radiographer to take it for you. AKA keep me in business. Dr. Noble said they have been trying to get a licensure law in place for a long time, but it hasn't happened yet. I tell you what, that is something I'm going to work on. If not before I graduate, definitely after! We are one of only 8 or 9 states that still does not require licensure. We are first in flight.....but last in pretty much everything else.








We started Imaging Physics yesterday. It's actually really interesting, so far. We've been talking about how xrays are made, and about the tube and the different components of that. We've also been looking at screen-film imaging and digital imaging. Most clinical sites have digital, but some still have screen-film, and other smaller practices still have screen-film, so they're both important. We have both in our lab. A lot of what we're doing in this second half of the intro course is just skimming over things we'll be doing our entire first year, so not much of it has been too in-depth (or so that's what they say...) and a lot of it, our professor says "We'll get into that more next semester" or "next spring." So basically it's just an introduction.

Harry Potter tonight!!

We've been living with our eyes half open

I took 2 exams this past week, on the Abdominopelvis and Catheters/Tubes/Lines/Positioning. And I did very well on both of them! I have an exam tomorrow on Radiological Health and that's all for this week (since when does that happen?). Though that may seem all good, it just gives me time to get ready for next week....(are you ready for this?)...when I have 4 exams. Yes. 4. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. And that's probably only because Wednesday is a reading day. My final exams are Thursday and Friday. And then summer school is over!! It really has gone by so fast.

First of all, I'm having Ireland withdrawals. It's been 1 1/2 months since we got back. I miss it.




This is the view from the top of the Hill of Tara, where the Lia Fail sits.


This week we started our Thoracic unit in Anatomy, and Radiological Health in the other class. We start Imaging Physics tomorrow, after we take our Radiological Health exam for the first half of the class. Not much else went on in classes, since we had two exams AGAIN this week.

However, we did have a BS RadSci pizza lunch on Wednesday! The first and second year students and the professors all ate in the lab, and hung out. It was fun, except the second year girls ate all together, and that left the guys to talk to us. And the guys....weren't all that helpful. They told us that we shouldn't study all that much and all the shortcuts they took, which may or may not be helpful, but I feel like this program needs a lot more work than what they say they put into it. Maybe after my first year I can say the same as them, we'll see.

Now it's time to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It's Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family. I just got really excited about the midnight premiere a few minutes ago. I can't wait! :-D

there are no boundaries

I still haven't got my grade from the Patient Care/Isolation Control exam back yet. We are supposed to get them tomorrow in lab, so hopefully there will be good news! Last week was a short week because we had Friday off for the fourth of July. It really messed up my motivational equilibrium. I'm not okay with having two exams again this week. Alas, it is not my choice. I have an anatomy exam on Wednesday and an exam on Catheters/Tubes/Lines and Positioning on Friday. We've been looking on the cadavers at the abdominal region, and today we started looking at the pelvic region. This unit is a lot harder than the first one, in my opinion. Maybe because I don't want to get too close to the cadaver so I can't really have as much time with actually touching and reviewing as I did before. But in order to see the pelvic region better, and to have sagittal views of the structures inside the region, our professor bisected the pelvis. Meaning she sawed it in half. We now have a three-piece cadaver. Two legs/hips and from the ribs up. It's quite interesting...

We learned about positioning today, like how to name positions and projections and views. And different names for different positions, like the Trendelenburg position, the Sims' position, Fowler's position, etc. All used for different purposes and for different views of the anatomy. It's actually interesting stuff because I will be using it everyday. Tomorrow in lecture, however, we start Radiological Health and Imaging Physics. I haven't done the reading for that yet so we'll see how it goes................

If you WANT to see kind of what our cadavers look like, go here. Ours, however, has two separated legs and most of the stuff in the abdomen is missing, so we can see the posterior wall and its structures.

Here to There

Friday was supposed to be a short day, with class only from 9-11 but we had anatomy review in the room with the skeletons and bones from 1-3, for extra time with it. But it paid off! I studied a bit over the weekend, though not Davis Library kind of studying. And I made an A on my first exam! Bones just come easy to me now, for some reason. I don't have the same feeling about this next section, but I do feel better about it now that we are a couple days into it. I did get up an hour early (6:00!) to go early and study, but it turned out well. However, Monday was such a long day because I did get up early, I had my exam, right after the exam we went to the cadaver lab for the first time, had class from 1-3, and then CPR training and certification from 3:30-7! But I can save your life now, if you happen to fall out while I'm around. We even learned how to use the AED (automatic external defibrillator). It was such a long day, all I wanted to do when I got home was veg out. Which kind of happened while I was trying to read for Tuesday's anatomy class. But once I got through that, I started reading about Positioning Principles! That is some stuff that I can get into, because it actually will apply to my daily life.

The cadaver lab was something...We were only in there for about 15 minutes, because we had just taken an exam. My body didn't like the smell, though. I was fine, until the professor said that if you feel faint, just sit down or you can leave. Right then, I felt faint and lightheaded. So I got a stool and sat and was fine after that. I still refused to touch it or get extremely close to the cadaver, though. Today was much better! We were in there for a little over an hour, and though I still didn't touch, I did get pretty close and the smell didn't bother me too much. Except the male cadaver. Today we did the female first, and she was fine, but then we moved to the male to check out the pelvic region and he was kind of rank. In all seriousness. I do have to admit that it is fascinating, but maybe we can invent a way to do it so their smell is contained and I don't have to touch.

We had our first exam today in Patient Assessment and Care, Infection Control, and Medications and Contrast. I wasn't sure how I felt about it before we went in, but while I was taking it and right after I felt really good about it. But then I realized I think I was the first to leave. Which may not matter but I don't ever really like to be the first to leave. But I was. Whatever. Hopefully we'll get those back soon. After the exam I bought some scrub bottoms from the heatlh affairs store (carolina blue!) to wear to the cadaver lab. I don't do laundry enough to wear jeans there everyday! And in doing so, I think I might have found the style and size I need, and I can order my scrubs from allheart.com! I'll do that soon because I have to get them embroidered with the RadSci logo.

I'm going to veg out now, until 6:15 when I'm going to Zumba!!!

Role Play

Today was the last day of the Musculoskeletal section of Anatomy. Our first exam is Monday morning, on the enitre musculoskeletal system. AHH! No, really, I'm not expecting it to be that bad. Yesterday we studied the pelvis and lower limb, and finished up the lower limb today. When we first came in, we played a little game with Mrs. Renner, the director, and pretended the articulated skeleton was a patient, and we had to role play the RT. We had to introduce ourselves, get the "patient" to give their name and DOB to verify their identity, and then make sure what the requisition (order) we had received was what the actual patient needed. We were given a slip of paper with an anatomical name of what we were radiographing, which was the quiz part since we were in anatomy. The patients were people like Simon Cowell, Roy Williams, Holden Thorpe, Erskin Bowles, Paula Abdul. And Coach K was one of them too. I said he's unfixable. For the rest of the class, we reviewed. Primarily the lower limb and pelvis, but a little of the rest of the body, too. I feel pretty good about the exam so far, but once I actually start studying we'll see how much I really know!

Today in RadSci we had lab and we also did role play in there! Some of us were patients and had to give signs and symptoms to our "caregivers" and they had to figure out how to help us, which included figuring out what was wrong with us. I was hypoglycemic. It was pretty fun! I didn't expect it to be, I'm not a good actress. Though we did get to see the lab for the first time, with all the equipment in it, which was pretty cool. My friend and I found a back way to the lab, which we shouldn't have been able to do because our badges shouldn't be able to open some of those doors, but they did! It was an adventure.Tomorrow we finish up talking about medications and contrasts, and start catheters, lines, and patient care accessories. We've been looking at contrasts and different ways to give them, the side effects, etc. After our first year of the program, we choose a modality to work with in our summer internship and I believe our whole senior year. I had originally thought MRI (it IS only the second week!), but the downside of that is administering the contrast. I'm not sure how I could handle patients vomiting everyday. And sometimes in MRI you have to give enemas (in common terms, put stuff up the butthole). But besides that, it seems pretty cool! A couple of the other people I eat lunch with mentioned MR, too, so that would be fun to be in it together. Okay! Now you are up to speed.

Play-doh

Public Service Announcement: I do not have TB! Not that I thought I did or anything. We went and got our TB tests checked out on Friday, and then met with the Radiation Safety Officer (who is actually a graduate of our program). He talked to us about radiation safety obviously, which includes dosimeters/radiation badges, shielding, pregnancy, etc. It was interesting stuff, but mainly because I don't want to die from radiation so it's pretty important. Over the weekend I had some reading to do (anatomy) but mostly I worked on Medical Terminology, because our first quiz is due tomorrow. I did it today though and I passed!

Yesterday in Anatomy we worked on the Upper Limb and Thorax. Mainly we focused on the vessels and nerves of the upper limb and the rib cage. It is amazing how much stuff goes into anatomy, and also how much stuff I can remember and have already learned! Today we did the back, which most of our time was spent on the spine and the vertebrae. We did arts and crafts to help us remember:
This is a typical vertebra. Blue = body, Green = pedicles, Purple/Pink = transverse processes, orange = luminae, Brown = spinous process. I'm quite proud of our artwork. I also made a weiner dog (no picture available). Our first exam in anatomy is next Monday, less than a week! I'm sure I'll be prepared by then, but not yet!!!!!

Intro to Radiologic Science is going fairly well, too. I really like this professor - but she's pregnant so she will be leaving us mid-July to October. :( We started Infection Control today so we're learning about sterile procedures, how to keep a sterile field clean, the difference between medical asepsis and surgical asepsis, how to put on a sterile glove, differences between precautions (standard - everyone is potentially infections, airborne, droplet, contact, etc). Tomorrow we start meds and contrast, yay. I had my first lab today, and I learned how to take blood pressure! I do it better on the manakin than I do on a real person, but that's because it's electronic. I just need to practice more. I have low blood pressure, which I already knew.

Radiologic Science

The adventure has begun! I moved into the house Rachel and I are subleasing on Monday in Chapel Hill and had orientation on Wednesday. The orientation lasted from 9am to 4pm, with an hour lunch break. We had an introduction to the program, which included:

• introducing ourselves
• getting the professors' contact information
• housekeeping like immunizations and insurance
• parking permits for Duke and Alamance
• the Honor Coe
• behavior and performance
• policies and procedures

Which was interesting, but most of the stuff I had already read or heard. After that, though, Mr. Woodward, the clinical director, did a clinical overview and scared the crap out of me! I know that once I finish this summer and the first two weeks of class in August, I'll be relatively prepared to enter the clinical site and be able to do at least something, but that doesn't stop me from being nervous! He also discussed PDAs and scrubs. They brought up the point that you don't want to have the open-hole crocs, incase a bodily fluid (they said vomit) gets on them. That would be nasty, and I have to admit that I actually hadn't thought about things like that. I was kind of one-minded in that the patient would come to me and I would take the image, and send them back. In my mind, they would be perfectly well-behaved and clean while they were with me, which is definitely not the way the human body works.

After the clinical stuff, we went and got TB test shots, got our School of Medicine ID badges (I'm official now!) and then had some lunch. They are building a cafeteria right behind Bondurant which should be open sometime around the beginning of the Fall Semester - that should be very convenient!!

After lunch we had overviews of the two courses we are taking this summer, which actually turn out to kind of be 3-ish courses wrapped into 2. The first is Human Gross Anatomy, which will be divided into 3 sections taught by 3 professors. The good news is that I actually don't have to work on cadavers! I had been worried about that. Instead, while we are in class, someone will have been prosecting the cadavers so when we get into the lab, we don't have to spend time doing it ourselves and can just look and observe exactly what we need to be seeing. Lucky me!

The second/third course is Introduction to Radiologic Science (which also includes Radiological Health and Imagining Physics). We will be learning about Patient Assessment, Isolation and Infection Control, Medications and Contrast Materials, Catheters, Tubes, Lines and Patient Care Accessories, Body Mechanics, Positioning Principles, Communication, Medical Ethics, and Legalities, Imaging Principles, and Radiation Protection. On top of that course that is split between two different professors and 3 different broad topics, Medical Terminology is a sort of side-course that we must do completely outside of class. We have a textbook for it and every few days there is a quiz on the new med terms.

Finally, after those intros, we had an orientation checklist of paperwork and tutorials we had to complete. This included: contact information, healthcare disclaimer form, immunization records, confidentiality statements, Honor Code, Glutaraldehyde test, Radiation Safety packet, pregnancy student disclaimer, health insurance, formaldehyde test, radiation protection worker registration form (to get our dosimeters), environmental health and safety test (4 of them), and HIPAA training. After we finished we were free to leave and go buy our textbooks!

So after the all-day orientation, I went home and read for seven hours. Then went to bed :) Thursday was the first day of class and I have to say it went quite well. So far it hasn't seemed to be extremely hard but I know that will change and the information load will get bigger. But for now I am grateful it seems doable. On top of getting the program started, my phone decided to become stubborn and pretty much paralyzed. It froze almost everytime I tried to use it, so I had to go to the Verizon store Thursday after class to get it fixed. Luckily it IS fixed, for now. We'll see..

Darlington

My mom and I are getting ready to leave for a weekend trip to Darlington. I looked on the all-knowing Google for pictures of Darlington, and here's what I found:

This is Darlington in England.



This is the Darlington Brick Train:



There's even a Darlington Nuclear Power Plant.


Oh, and there's a racetrack.



Which one are we going to? Well, we're going to Ireland later this month so two trips to Europe in one month doesn't make sense. I don't know where the brick train is, and we're probably not allowed in the nuclear plant, so we're going to Darlington racetrack in South Carolina, meeting my brother of course. I will return lobster-fried and deaf, but happy :). Wish me luck!

I'm no pair of dancing shoes..

So yeah, I saw Gavin DeGraw. And met him. He is a phenomenal performer. He has such a stage presence and you can really tell by his facial expressions and how he gets into his singing that he really loves what he's doing and it's not just some performance. It's what he loves. It was amazing!

Disappearance

This is my life for the next week and a day. Looks kind of like a prison doesn't it?
See you on the other side...

Unexpected.

These are the sermon notes from Sunday at the Summit Church, by J.D. Greear.

Unexpected: what it was like for people when they met Jesus.
He left people in a dilemma: they could either hold on to their ideas about God and deny or redefine Jesus, or accept Jesus for who he is and redefine how they see God. He used the story of a man who made a monster and a bed, and it turned out that the bed was too short for the monster. So instead of changing the size of the bed, he cut the monster's legs off. The moral of the story is "Don't shorten the monster, lengthen the bed!"
Matthew 7:13-27 is the Scripture reference. In this, Jesus is talking about people who have done the ritual but never really knew Jesus.
Jesus gives 4 word pictures: roads/gates, sheep and wolves, fruits, and houses. All can be taken to see the difference between false and true Christians, directed toward religious people, and both sets think they're on the right path. It is only inward in which the truth comes out.
Observations:
1.) There is a huge amount of falsely assured Christians (v. 13-14)
2.) On the outside, false Christians look very similar to true Christians (v. 22-23). The people Jesus is referring to actually believe that Jesus is God (can tell from the Greek word used for "Lord" - implies deity). They say his name twice ("Lord, Lord"), which in their culture implies an emotional attachment. These were Christians in minstry. Both trees have fruits - one is good, the other is poisonous.
3.) For most, that they are false Christians will come as a complete surprise to them.
4.) Jesus gives the 4 marks of false Christians:
a.) They had no firsthand knowledge of Jesus (v. 23) - God was like a certain kind of conduct they had to follow. You need surrender and love.
b.) Jesus is not fully in control (v. 23 - "lawless") - Jesus is Lord of only some parts of their lives. If Jesus is not Lord of all of your life, he is not Lord at all. Jesus' claim on your life is total. Faith that doesn't produce good works isn't real faith. You are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone.
c.) Outwardly religious, inwardly ravenous (v. 15) - they are empty, trying to fill themselves up at all costs. The Greek word can mean extortion.
d.) They have no foundation. Their commitment to Christ alters with life's storms (v. 27). Real Christians have a foundation in Christ that carries them through any storm. False Christians' commitment to Christ goes up and down depending on circumstances.
There is no quick-fix for this. Go to Jesus, let him be your Savior, King, and God. Surrender to him.

This caused me to look into James. In verse 2:26, he says that faith is dead without good works. This does NOT mean that we are going to be judged by our good works, or that what we do gets us right standing with God, because we are saved by grace and grace alone, but you experience true grace, those good works will stem from that experience, and a moral life and good deeds will flow from the faith you have. That verse and the accompanying theology behind it has frequently come up in my life in the past few years, when people try to ask why it matters what they do, or when people I know act like it doesn't matter what they do. Admittedly, I am no saint and I definitely do things that do not represent my faith, but I do try. This semester has been really hard, and I've had many challenges with my beliefs and faith in Jesus and Christianity, and this sermon from Sunday really made me think about, basically, my life. It reminded me that I need to rely on him to carry me through these challenges that I have faced. My roommate said everytime she goes to the Summit she hears what she needs to hear, and that's how I feel about it, too. For the past couple Sundays I've been to the Summit, we've had a few minutes after the sermon to pray and reflect on what we've heard, and then we worship again. I really like that. It gives me a chance to, actually it makes me reflect on the message and search my own life to try to apply it. Then, this Sunday, we sang one of my all-time favorite songs, Mighty to Save. Very fitting.

Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a Savior
The Hope of Nations

Savior, He can move the moutains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me, all my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow, everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen King, Jesus!

It's for the Kids.

This past weekend I stood up for 24 hours. It was Dance Marathon weekend, number 11. Dance Marathon is a year-long fundraiser for the For the Kids Foundation, associated with the NC Children's Hospital right here in Chapel Hill. The money we raise goes to help the families of children in the hospital, from anything to phone cards, to parking, to meals, to things as big as monthly rents. From Friday at 7pm to Saturday at 7pm 2,000 people stood (and danced!) in a symbolic stand for those families. It was so hard but it was so worth it. It definitely was one of the most awesome weekends of my life, despite the fact that I am still sore and not caught up on sleep. Not only did we stand, but we danced and played games and had awesome times with each other. We seriously danced for over 12 hours throughout the time. Talk about not needing exercise! I'm not exercising for the rest of the month (which does only happen to be a week, but whatever).

The hardest part was during the middle of the night, when WE HAD NO CAFFEINE!!!!!!! What were they thinking? I have no idea. This is my friend Nicki, who made a sign saying "Will dance for caffeine." The first thing with ANY caffeine we got was around 4am and it was just Coke. Finally, coffee after we went to Kenan Stadium for the sunrise.









We did get coffee then, but it was only black with no sugar or creamer and it wasn't good quality coffee. That's okay, because my friend Lindsay brought us some Starbucks (around 11:30am!!!!).
She is awesome. In any case, we had an awesome time, I'm still walking around dancing, and we ended up raising almost $400,000!!!

One more thing - I have to do a debate for my New Testament class, and I've been assigned to the topic of homosexuality in the New Testament. I'm on the side that is arguing that the New Testament condemns modern practices of homosexuality. So if anyone has any suggestions or passages I can look at, or any good books to scan through, or any advice or opinions whatsoever on the topic that would be sooooo helpful! Thanks dudes. :)

25 is...a quarter of a century, 5 squared, the # of years my mom's been at our church...

My list of 25:

1. I get lost in books and movies. Tell me a story and I will live vicariously through it. I’ll never leave that world.

2. I like to romanticize things but I’m not a hopeless romantic – I’m a definite realist, until I fall in love. I prefer the romantic stories of true love in stories but know that it’s not how it works in real life.

3. Music is special to me. I always have music on and would be perfectly ecstatic if my life was a musical, with people singing and dancing at random times.

4. My iPod consists of every kind of music there is. From classical to movie scores to movie and Broadway soundtracks to country to rap to rock to punk to pop to Christian to choral music. And I’m content listening to any of those. I especially love songs that get big and loud at the end at the bridge, with a choir coming in – that is happiness.

5. Disney World, Chapel Hill, New York City, Salisbury, and Ireland have my heart. I want to live in Ireland at some point in my life, and would never turn down an opportunity to live in Disney World.

6. I regress to my childhood when I go to Disney World. I really feel like I’m 5 again, and I like it.

7. I turn 20 this year and I don’t want to. My college career will be half over, I won’t be a teenager (not that being a teenager is particularly awesome…), and I feel like I’ll have to grow up – I’m Peter Pan. One of my favorite movie quotes is from Benjamin Button: “I want to remember us, just as we are now.”

8. I’m quite open with my friends about bathroom issues. I like to see which people that makes uncomfortable.

9. I’m currently applying to the Radiologic Science program at UNC, and my interviewwas today. If I get in, I’ll learn all about medical imaging, and eventually do training for Radiation Therapy.

10. My practical dream job is the one I am going to do – radiation therapy. My ultimate dream job is a Professional Traveler. I wan to travel all over the world before I die. I definitely have the book and the calendar "1000 Places to See Before You Die."

11. Cancer research/treatment/prevent

ion is a passion of mine. I know far too many people who have been directly or indirectly affected by cancer and it takes lives too early and too much. I plan to devote a large portion of my life and money to this cause.

12. I have dreams of living in a big city while I’m young and living in Ireland. But I also want to live in Salisbury to be close to my parents and to my best friend. I want to be extremely involved in her and her childrens’ lives, and that would not be possible if I were to live far away.

13. I love to dance. I love the way it makes me feel. I forget everything else when I’m dancing. Afterwards, if there ever was a time to feel great and miserable at the same time, that’s it.

14. I feel like I’m always in the middle, never on one end or the other, always the middle road. And I don’t like it.

15. I’ve been single for a while now and am okay with that. I feel like if that were to change, all my big plans might not be realized. It’s my life and I don’t know if I’m ready to share it. Though of course, if an opportunity came along I would NOT turn it down.

16. I’ve been blessed with a great group of friends at home and a great group of friends at school. I love both Salisbury and Chapel Hill and am perfectly happy at either, but I don’t like having to go back and forth.

17. I still watch the Disney Channel and old Disney movies when I get the chance.

18. I would rather wear jeans than shorts. I wear jeans in the summer.

19. I wish I could pull off looking cute in a t-shirt and sweatpants, because that is my normal outfit. But I feel like I have to dress up more than that.

20. I love sunflowers and want them to be the flowers in my far-off future wedding, if it happens. There is a sunflower field in Salisbury and it makes my heart happy.

21. My fears are spiders, throwing up, snakes, and being lost alone.

22. Julius Peppers is my lover. I’m sad he’s leaving the Panthers but trust he is making the best choice for himself, and I will follow him (meaning my support) wherever he ends up.

23. On top of living in a big city and Ireland treating cancer, I want to have a Dachsund.

24. I’ve considered many careers in my life, but the one that competed most with radiation therapy was architecture. I LOVE floor plans, interior design, etc. But I wouldn’t be able to get into a school of design.

25. I would rather be active than doing nothing all day everyday. That bores me. I want to go places, learn new things, experience new cultures, see new sights, take lots of pictures. The best way to know about something is to EXPERIENCE it.

<3

We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again

Quite a few of my friends are studying abroad this semester: Lennon in London, Hollister in Italy, Emma in Spain, Erin in Madagascar (where there have been riots this week). It makes me want to travel sooo badly. My dream job is to be a professional traveler. I bought a tear-off calendar of the 1000 places to go before you die. So far, I've kept Australia (Cradle Mountain, Uluru, Daintree, Kakadu), Diving in the Red Sea in Egypt and Israel, Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India, Chobe National Park in Botswana, Kennedy Space Center and Disney World in Florida, The Bay of Islands in North Island, New Zealand, Kandersteg in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, and Samarkand in Uzbekistan. I just want to go all over the place. But especially, IRELAND.



This is the Hill of Tara. It's known as the royal seat of the Irish High Kings, who presided over a lively national assembly held every 3 years to pass laws and resolve disputes. The last assembly was held in A.D. 560, and it is said that 242 kings were crowned on the hill. It is also featured in Gone With the Wind, and moreso in the sequel, Scarlett, which is one of my all-time favorite books. My heart sings whenever I think about Ireland and its beauty, heritage, people, customs, and everything else about it. It makes my life.