Option Switch

A while ago I already made the decision to pursue a psychology minor, but having not been able to take psychology this year I felt like I wasn't caught up. Right now I'm taking foods and it really isn't something I enjoy or feel passionate about. There were many times I wanted to quit something, but I don't like to think of myself as a quitter and when I do quit something it's after much thought. After deciding not to drop communication technology next year (which took one whole year to confirm my final choice), I've decided to drop foods 20 and 30 for psychology 20 and 30. It might seem unreasonable right now for someone who wants a nutrition major but hands on cooking is something I know for sure that I have no talent in. For now, in school, I just want to focus on desk work and psychology may teach me more than foods will; at least criteria I will remember and find fascinating. I decided this after thinking for a long time, probably over four months and I learned that if choices were easy, they wouldn't be choices. When one side is at 100%, there's nothing to choose from. For me right now, psychology and foods are both 50/50 and I need to choose one and turn that 50% into 100% and work hard to prove that it was the right choice. Now I'm finalizing that I want psychology over foods, and after registration in a few weeks there won't be any going back. I hope I can make this decision the right choice for me in the end. Either way; no spare for me next year!

Internship Update [1]

I finally managed to get my resume, cover letter, attendance report, transcript and application form together and headed to see my school's job coordinator today. She told me that she was going to start promoting the internship to my school in a few months and was confused at why I had the form in the first place. I don't know why but I did feel intimidated by her; but I tried my best not to show it. She glanced at my application and said, "You do realize that you have to write up a resume and cover letter, right?"  and I told her I already had it done and it was in the folder. She flipped to my resume and frowned, which made me panic. I spent a lot of time revising my resume and even had help from my essay tutor, but I guess it didn't meet the standards of my school. She said, "You didn't take CALM yet, did you?" as she bit her lip. I replied with, "Not yet." She told me that the sequencing in my resume needed work and I didn't tailor it well enough for the health positon that I was looking for. Disappointed, I knew that she would give me another chance to make my resume better when she told me she would hold meeting regarding this internship at noon hours later on. She did not mention when. I still felt determined because of the fact that I was trying in the first place. More disappointment fell upon me when she said that this year there were less spots open for applicants in hospitals and other clinics, and if they couldn't provide a job I'd have to go look for one myself. She said that they will probably only accept 50 applicants out of an anticipated 500, me being one of the 500 that really needed to work hard to stand out. That gives me a 10% chance of being placed by the internship program, but I can only pray that the 10% is in my favor because I only realized how limited my social network regarding the health department was. She told me to consider dentistry or optometry, but my mind wasn't so opened to those fields. I wanted to go into nutrition at best but this really isn't my time to be picky. Something is always better than nothing. She told me not to worry too much and that she'd try her best to help me out because it was her job to, and that my resume wasn't too bad. Who knows what she thought of my cover letter? I can only say that when I wrote that cover letter, it really came from the heart, though I had to take out certain things that my tutor found unecessary, I really wrote it in a way that would express my thoughts. Whether I get a job or not, I don't want to doll up my resume and cover letter to make me appear as someone I'm not because if anything, at least I could still claim that I was honest with myself and with my potential employer. To be honest I'm really nervous about this because having no other job alternatives to turn to, all I can count on is to get into one of those 50 open slots. I pray that I'll get lucky in life, but even if I don't get in I won't give up. I'm in grade 11, and being rejected from a health internship is far from the end of the line. I actually do believe in myself and I know i'll make it somewhere, someday, somehow. The how will unravel itself to mee soon, I hope. This was juse one small and early step that I took to reaching my career goal. It wouldn't be much of a goal if I just gave up at the sight of adversity, would it? But I'll stop with the negativity because until it's confirmed, I'll never know. Through life I've learned that even if the chance is small, it's still possible. In my case, a 10% chance is already something to be grateful for. I really have to thank some people now for supporting me from the day I mentioned the internship to them.

Veronica - My best friend for informing me about it in the first place and having such high hopes for me. Sometimes I think she's more confident me than I am in myself, but I really hope that I don't disappoint. I also wish her well with this internship too. Unnie, Hwaiting!

Wanda - My essay tutor who guided me through writing my resume and cover letter and giving me so many useful materials and templates to refer to.

Irene - My English tutor for 5 years who started out as my preschool teacher back when I was a kid for immediately supporting me with this and giving me background information about the work field as well as reassuring me of my capabilities.

Daniel - My brother for pushing me to do my best and strive further than I imagined. He helped me show myself that I could surpass my own limitations, and immediately supported me when I chose this career path consideirng how unrealistic my past choices were. He also plays a huge part in guiding me through literally everything, but that's what older siblings do. Hehe.

Ms. Murphy - My biology 20 teacher who helped me to really see that with hard work I could be academically amazing. Of course, not the best, but I was happy when she wrote that I was her top bio 20 student on my teacher references. She was a great teacher to me, so for having a 92% in Biology as a final mark, I have to really thank you.

Ms. Ogeer - My Chemistry 20 teacher who was my second teacher reference for this internship. She was an outstanding teacher to me as well, and for getting a final mark of 90% I have only her to thank. I really appreciated her thought out comments and support throughout my last semester.

Eunice - For being my close but far role model who is pursuing a similar career path than me. She's obviously further down the road than I am so in a way I feel like an apprentice to her sometimes but I'm so glad that she's always willing to share her experiences/knowledge with me, because it makes me feel less lost in the bigger world outside of highschool.

2010~2011 Semester 1 Report Card

I received my transcript yesterday but my report card was handed to me today! I'm really happy with the results!

Chemistry - 90% [1% drop]
Biology - 92% [2% drop]
English - 90% [1% drop]

I'm really happy with these marks which gave me an average of 91% because this is one of the highest report cards I've ever gotten after the final exams. I think my average was 94% in term one but that was without finals so it was easier, but to have been able to maintain a 90 after finals is really shocking and pleasant at the same time. I could have sworn I did worse on my English. My guess is that spending 1 hr memorizing the poem that I would use as my literature for direct referencing helped me out. For Chemistry, I guess I could have expected something similar, possibly 88% or 89% but I'm really glad to have kept a 90! I even got the highest mark in my Chem class, and highest final mark in my class. In biology I don't know if I expected more or not because I've studied hardest for this subject and was certain I didn't get over 5 questions wrong. I might've done bad on my lab exam, but either way I'm satisfied with a 92% Actually, I'm pretty happy about it. I don't care if I have the highest mark or not because this in itself is an accomplishment for me! I hope I can continue to work this hard in Social Studies and Math starting today!

Resumes and Cover Letters

I've never actually applied for a job before, so I have extremely limited experience with writing resumes and cover letters. Thankfully my tutors, especially my essay tutor was able to give me very helpful tips and guidelines that really helped me when I had to write these two things. For the health internship, I'm required to write a resume and cover letter, and this being the first of both that I've ever done I'm not sure how confident I am with them. I'm still pretty young and regarding my work life, I'm quite limited. There are a lot of fields where I need to develop more skills, but as of now I think I'm okay. I think that my cover letter really shows what kind of person I am as well as how I think. I've been told that when writing these two things, you have to choose your words carefully and write out the qualities you believe will be beneficial to the job you are applying for. The thing is, when doing this, people tend to exaggerate or give themselves skills that they cannot live up to. When I wrote my essay and cover letter I kept it as realistic as possible. I'm human and I make mistakes; I don't want to appear as some flawless prodigy who will be perfect at everything I do. I strongly believe that honesty is best, so rather than writing a long list of skills that would make me appear as someone who is over the top, in the end, I only want to portray who I am and not who I wish I was or am still trying to be. I can only state the things I can guarantee of myself, and be open to developign more skills when I do. The cover letter was more of a struggle for me to write, probably because it's more personal and really took me 2 hours but in the end I feel good about it. I'm thankful to everyone who read my resume and cove rletter over and gave me feed back, because every little comment helps me. I hope that in the future writing these won't feel so intimidating, but the challenge of it was quite entertaining.

Expiration Dates

This is some research I compiled to assist my church with our food hamper service. We had a little issue regarding distributing food past it's expiration date so I was asked to conduct some research based on general safety of various foods that are past their expiration date.

Expiration Dates on Various Foods

General:
· Do not risk feeding children, pregnant women, people with low immunity food that is past expiration date.
· If stamp says “Use by” then do not use after the date
· “Best before” does not mean it will become harmful soon after the date
· When mould is noticeable before best before date, it is dangerous (possibility of bacteria already present and multiplying)
· After expiration date, food will not carry as much nutritional value but can still be edible
· Sense of smell plays important role in identifying edibility
Bread:
· Expiry date indicates when bread will stay fresh until.
· Is non edible when too stale or significant amounts of mould is formed
· freezing bread lengthens duration of edibility NOT refrigerating
· Mould on bread is not hazardous; can just be cut off
· Last 2-7 days after purchase.
Cream cheese:
· Has short storage life
· Ideally consumed before best before date
· Sniff test to check if still good
· Freezing changes texture
· When mould appears, it affects entire cheese
· Taste changes when mould spreads
· Small amounts of mould can be trimmed off
· If unopened and kept in fridge, can last a few months
· Cook/freeze by 1 or 2 weeks if unopened
· Should be eaten 3-4 days after opening or will be vulnerable to carry listeria
Crackers:
· Are still edible but will taste stale
Canadian Food Inspection Agency states: Food should not be eaten if the expiration date has passed. They should be discarded. This is quite skeptical because expiry dates are only a guideline and have a wide margin of when food should be tossed out.

Charts shown in this site are quite helpful:
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Nutrition-Health-Food-Labeling-646/food-expiration-dates.aspx
Bibliography:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/tipcon/date.shtml
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2006/db20061002_959305.htm
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/37475
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/45367
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090708113144AAWvoWC

Dietary Internship

I've decided to apply for an internship in the health department that's only available to grade 11 students and will accept only 100 people. It sounded like an amazing opportunity to get familiar with the field of studies I want to go into in the future, and so I want to take every opportunity to enhance my understanding of it. I don't know how I'll feel if I don't get accepted, besides I have to hand in a resume, cover letter, and a whole lot of other things. I never applied for a job before and even an interview is going to scare me to death but I know I'll have to do this eventually, so i might as well at least try not. I'll never know what will happen if I never try so I'm opening up myself for opportunities such as this. I've been working on my resume for weeks now with my essay tutor helping me and guiding me, and I haven't even began my cover letter. All of this feels so overwhelming but I believe it will be worth it in the end. I also think that if I do get accepted, this would be a completely new and interesting experience for me. I want to know what it would be like to really work hands on in the health field. I know I'd make mistakes, but I will learn from them so that when I'm actually getting a job in university I won't make those amateur mistakes. I want to start now when there's less to lose, and this is one big step towards achieving my goal. I'm scared and nervous to the point where I don't even know what to do next but I hope this will all work out in the end somehow. It's better to feel lost now than in five years when I'm applying for a legit job. While working on my resume I discovered that there's still a lot more to figure out about myself. 2010 was a year where I depicted all my flaws and things I had to improve about myself but what about my good qualities? I guess this year will be when I discover them.

Gr 11 Sem 1 + Study Tips

Today, I completed my last final exam which was for Biology 20! I feel really confident about this one and I checked it over thoroughly catching my mistakes so I'm really anticipating a good mark. My 18 pages of studying didn't go to waste!! I'm so happy. One semester of extreme hard work is paying off, so I'm hoping for the best in semester 2 as well. Social Studies and Math is next; definitely not my strong points but i'll try my best. I have to say I already miss my science classes. If only I can feel this confident next year for my diplomas? I'll be working hard for sure! I feel really accomplished because I actually pulled through this whole semester with a mindset that I would put school as a priority and really work hard and be determined. It takes a lot to set that goal to begin with, and even more effort to not stray from that. I hope all my friends can feel just as confident with their final exams and upcoming ones! As for me, for now, I'm free to enjoy exam break finally! Let's hope my average turns out good. i'm not so confident in English but it already passed so I hope it doesn't drop my marks too badly. I'm excited for my report card! (I always am) I can finally stop to take a breather. I'm relieved.

Studying Tips:
I know it takes a long time to figure out a studying style that works for yourself, and if you haven't found one yet then maybe my studying habits can help you. Everyone has their own way of studying, so maybe some of my studying strategies will work for you guys.
1) Re-writing crucial notes and pieces of information even if you're sure that you'll remember it, re-write it just in case! While you're writing about it, your brain is also processing it. I prefer writing things out by hand because I don't memorize as well if I type.
2) Whenever you're having your own free time to think such as on the bus to school, repeat the things you learned the day before or stuff you need yo remember for an upcoming test in your head. Reteach the criteria to yourself in your head to ensure that you understand it. To fully understand something, you have to be able to teach it.
3) Actually do all the review questions that the teacher assigns even though it won't be for marks or homework checks. This ensures and tests your understanding of a lesson because even if you think you understand something, you might not. Why take the chance? Just do it. This also allows for further understanding, by using other sources such as your textbook you can be absorbing other information that the teacher never mentions.
4) I'm not sure if this is easy, common sense, or necessary, but when shown a diagram or labelled illustration/photograph, I like to memorize it's appearance as well as labels. On tests, you're often given labelling questions especially in biology so it doesn't hurt to memorize this. Plus, pictures will often be re-used.
5) Your friends will find this extremely annoying (I know mine did and still do), but when given the chance in conversations, bring out some of your knowledge that you gained from a class and teach a friend or relative. For example, while learning about the respiratory system I diagnosed my best friend with Chronic Bronchitis. I addressed this to her and she remembered her doctor telling her that she had it, and I told her the technicalities of this respiratory disorder. People will call you a nerd for this but does it matter? It feels nice to feel smart. Also, bringing school knowledge to situations outside of the school atmosphere enhances memory. Have you noticed that you remember what your friends gossip about more than what your teacher tells you? You also remember what you tell your friends. If you tell your friends about school, then you'll be more likely to remember!
6) Do not procrastinate. I may be a hypocrite at times but my procrastination never goes to last minute. When you cram your brain has less time to process information, and the things you remember due to cramming will leave you right after the test. Yes, I used to be a crammer. If you study days before a test, the information stays with you.

Those are all the tips I can think of right now, but if I come up with more I'll list them out.