School's Out

Yes! I am totally done with school and I got A's in all of my classes! So 19 hrs this term = 4.0. I put all my scores into AMCAS and TMDSAS. I flinch everytime I put those C's and W's from my sophomore year, but I cheer up when I put in straight A's from junior year. I've decided not to take any classes this summer. Instead, my summer plan is to

• Have surgery
• Go to Las Vegas
• Work on med school applications
• Work at the hospital
• Work out
  
• Hopefully go on some interviews and enjoy my MCAT score

Notice I did not put study for August MCAT on that list because I really hope I don't have to do that. I may study Spanish on my own, but that doesn't sound too realistic. No, I'm gonna finally enjoy some time to myself and just relax and read all those books I keep saying I'm gonna read and never get around to, like Lipstick Jihad and Eliot Possessed.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

"There are ... things ... that if I’d let be, they’d eat away at me and destroy me in the end...there are things you can’t back down on, things you gotta take a stand on. But it’s up to you to decide what them things are. You have to demand respect in this world, ain’t nobody just gonna hand it to you. How you carry yourself, what you stand for-that’s how you gain respect. But, little one, ain’t nobody’s respect worth more than your own."

My Personal Dating Profile

This is very relevant to a discussion I had on Tuesday. Thanks, Tiffany, for the link.

Your dating personality profile: Stylish - You do not lack for fashion sense. Style matters. You wouldn't want to be seen with someone who doesn't care about his appearance. Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate. Traditional - Modern culture does not move you. You hold traditional values dear to your heart.

Your date match profile: Conservative - Forget liberals, you need a conservative match. Political discussions interest you, and a conservative will offer the viewpoint you need. Traditional - You aren't looking for someone who is sexually repressed. You want someone who is adventurous under the covers. Religious - You seek someone who is grounded in faith and who possesses religious values. You believe that a religious person can enhance your life.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Stylish 2. Liberal 3. Traditional 4. Wealthy/Ambitious 5. Intellectual 6. Religious 7. Big-Hearted 8. Adventurous 9. Sensual 10. Romantic

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Conservative 2. Traditional 3. Religious 4. Shy 5. Stylish 6. Intellectual 7. Wealthy/Ambitious 8. Practical 9. Adventurous 10. Romantic

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

A New Day

"Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

I have a totally new outlook today. I just know that everything is going to be all right and that my life can turn out the way I want it to because I believe in myself and my family, coworkers, professors, and community believe in me, too. In fact, the English Department believes in me so much that in addition to me becoming a departmental destinction candidate, I just earned a new scholarship for my achievement in the English department!! I am so happy and I am definitely out of the funk I've been in the past couple of days. I took my Physics final, so I'm completely through with all my med school pre-reqs and now I can just focus on my med school apps and making myself in to an awesome candidate. I know I can do it, and I know I will make it. I will be a doctor.

I Will Be a Doctor

F*CK YOU!!!

I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR
I WILL BE A DOCTOR

F*CK YOU!!!
F*CK YOU!!!

The Thrill is Gone

Ever since I took the MCAT (last week), I've had little motivation to do anything. That test really took a lot out of me. I was kind of hoping I'd have some time to slack off at school before finals, but no such luck. This week is the last week of classes at SMU and finals week at UTD. So my schedule this week:

• Monday - Meet with our scribe coordinator to plan summer schedule
• Tuesday - Formal interview with SMU Health Professions Advisory Committee
• Wednesday - Later Victorian Lit paper 3 due (4-5 pages) and Psych Disorders of Children Test 3 (last day of class)
  
• Thursday - Children's Lit paper 4 due (4 pages on a novel for young adults) and extra credit due (write a children's book!) and Physics final exam and extra credit due (last day of class)
• Friday - Scribe in the morning on my day off from school

So I'm pretty busy this week. Which sucks when you're not motivated at all b/c you took the biggest test of your life and all you're thinking about it what your score is and you won't find out until June. And med school apps start May 1, so I'm really just wanting to focus on that, but I've got my finals in Victorian and Children's Lit and my final paper in Italian Humanism. Then the week after that I have my last test in General Nutrition. AAAHH!

MCAT April 2005

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeee! I took the MCAT today, and I feel great! I woke up on my own 5 minutes before my alarm clock went off (this never happens to me). I felt calm, almost euphoric, as I brushed my teeth and got ready for the day. I hooked up with some of my friends when I got to UD and we all felt pretty good (yay, TPR!). Overall, our classroom had 1 1/2 hrs added to it because our proctor kept delaying everything. The PS section started out easy, but then got hard. It was about as hard as the AAMC tests, though, so it wasn't completely unexpected. There were some things on it that I don't remember covering in class, but I used POE and the passage and tried my best. I had 2 passages left over, but I always do and I got a 9 on my last AAMC test so I know I can still make a good score. My VR section was so easy! I had a passage on Islamic scientists and 2 on scientific revolutions. Boy am I glad I took that class on the History and Philosophy of Science! And one of the sci rev passages was straight out of Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a book I've studied in 2 classes. I had read the passage before! I even had time to do the "killer" passage on Modernism. So I finished that section right on time and went on to do BS which I finished w/ 5 min to spare. My prediction: 8PS, 12 VR, and 11 BS. Here's hoping.

April Is the Cruelest Month...

Tomorrow is the day that will determine the rest of my life...but I'm not supposed to think about that because it will increase anxiety and the most important tip for the MCAT is "don't freak out." I feel well prepared. I scored a 29 on AAMC 8, which is supposed to be really hard. I'm really glad I took Princeton Review classes. If I hadn't, I'd be screwed. Today is supposed to be a day of rest and relaxation, and we're not supposed to study (but I'm still glancing at notes, tee hee). I skipped my SMU classes yesterday (well, one was canceled and the other was a quiz that I asked to take next week). I was planning on skipping classes today, but Dr. Cox said that we're going over sleep disorders and that it was kind of an important lecture. Could it be that TS Eliot was referring to the MCAT when he started The Wasteland by saying, "April is the cruelest month"?

Practice Makes Perfect

So I've been practicing for the big MCAT test this Saturday. I've taken AAMC 6R, 7 , and 3R. I've started 8 in that I'm doing one section a day just to get familiar with real MCAT questions. Today I did the Bio and I'm happy with my score. Overall, I'm feeling pretty confident, but I of course still want to improve. I pulled a 12 on the verbal for 3R, so I'm hoping to do that on the real deal.

My First Diagnosis

Guess what: I made my first diagnosis today! I'm serious, it was a real diagnosis. We have a patient in the ICU, and we didn't know what to do (hey, that rhymes). We have this software called Diagnosis Pro where we can put in some symptoms and check out the differential. OK, so we put in some info and the comp kept saying he had a diabetic coma (no, the guy was talking) and cancer (ok, we already thought that, but the CT scan kept coming up negative). One thing about this patient was that he had acetone in his blood (and no, you're not supposed to have nail polish remover in your blood). We checked out the differential some more and one possibility was chronic alcoholism (ding ding ding!). When alcoholism is suspected, the patient is automatically given Thiamine. The doctor went ahead and wrote that order and moved on while one of the patient's other doctors said that he had no idea what was going on with this guy.

As we were walking away to another building I said, "Doesn't acetone build up through ketosis?" and my doc said yeah and I said, "Well, ketosis occurs during fasting. So if our patient has acetone in his blood, he must be starving." My doctor said, well I checked his Hemoglobin A1C and it was normal. I said, "But our patient is an alcoholic...didn't you say that he looked 'emaciated and wasting'?" Yeah, he said. I said, "then maybe he's not eating at all, just drinking. He's choosing alcohol over food. His alcohol is depleting his niacin and he doesn't have enough niacin for the Krebs cycle. So now he has sugar in his body, but he can't metabolize it. Since he can't metabolize glucose, his body is going through ketosis since he's fasting. How much acetone was in his blood?" My doc said, "A very small amount...but there shouldn't be any at all. That's why it's a big problem." "So," I said, "that means that he's in the second, not the third, stage of fasting. We can still help him. Shouldn't we give him niacin?" "You're right, Maryam!" he said, "We have to give him Thiamine first to save his brain and then Niacin to save his body. I'll let the orders stand because if I go back and write for Niacin too they'll give it to him in the wrong order. But I'll go back later today and write for Niacin. Great job!"

I was sooo happy! I really can be a doctor. I do have the qualities that make a good physician: breadth of knowledge + analytic reasoning + critical thinking (+ compassion). I have to do well on my MCAT so that I can show the admission commitees that I do have what it takes, and I can finally begin the career that I was born to do.

Registration Time

It's the most wonderful time of the year...Registration! I love registering for classes because it promotes the idea that there is something new and exciting just around the bend. There's so much promise and knowledge to be gained in the coming term. Today I registered for my SMU classes for Fall 2005. Check them out and let me know if you want to take a class with me. I've taken classes with 3 of the professors, so I can give you the heads up.

• ENGL 4339 Earlier Romantic Lit
  
• ENGL 5349 Seminar: Literary Theory
• FL 3393 Dante's Poetic Vision (I'm petitioning for Honors)
  
• PSYC 3380 Health Psychology

So I'll have no SMU classes Wednesdays or Fridays! How cool is that? Sweet!

AAMC 7

Today I took the AAMC MCAT Practice Test 7 and scored a 28!! I got an 8 on Physical Sciences, 10 on Verbal Reasoning, and 10 on Biological Sciences. This is soooo awesome! I met my goals for VR and BS, now I just have to do it on PS, and I will rule the school. I was so excited when I graded my test. It's so funny that I did well because when I was taking it I thought I flunked it. Here's hoping I'll do even better on the real thing -- it's just 2 weeks away!

How Hard Do You Crush?

"It's Just...A Little Crush..."

Sure, you might have your eye on that hunky quarterback on your school's football team, but that doesn't mean you're sprinting with pom-poms to join the pep squad. "You know what's important to you, like friends, family and after-school stuff, but you keep your crush as just that -- a crush," says singer Jennifer Paige, who knows all too well about those heart-pounding moments; her hit song, "Crush," was inspired by a former relationship. So although you and Mr. Hottie mutually complain about Mrs. Friedlhofer's cooking class, you wait until after he's left the room to high-five yourself for keeping your cool. "If you and your crush feel comfortable talking to each other, then a date might not be too far off in the future," predicts Paige.

Which Spring Trend Was Made for You?

Dots

Polka dots perfectly express your timeless (but fun!) style. Sure, they're a little retro, but they're also very hot and one of spring's best trends. Right now, you can find them on everything from basic belts to formal dresses. Besides traditional all-white or all-black dots on a solid fabric, look for patterns featuring dots of several different colors. This graphic design is cute, cheerful, and also classic! Another trend to try: Floral.

Affirmation

Guess what? I proved myself with great benefits. Hooray!! I actually have a weekend this week thanks to Easter. I'm off today for Good Friday and there's no TPR this weekend (although there'll be a review this Monday). A crazy thing happened today. I was walking out of my Italian Humanism class at 2 when I realized that my Victorian Lit paper was due today at 3. I was like, "Dammit, what am I gonna do?" Then I remembered that I had emailed my professor a draft during spring break so I ran to the library and opened up my email. I checked out the sent email folder and sure enough, my paper's Word document was there. Thank God!! I opened it and my professor's email response and proceeded to correct the paper (meaning adding a paragraph). I printed it, but the library printers were acting up and they had to call a tech to come figure it out so that I could get my paper printed. I was like, please hurry, I don't have much time. It finally printed and I ran out of the library back to Dallas Hall. I made it just in time and turned it in to the professor's box. WHEW!!! Thank God above I remembered and was able to turn it in in time. Otherwise I would have been screwed.

Rewind

So all day, I've been doing the whole "how could I have said that better?" thing. I was in a situation this morning where I was defending myself and in the end I "won," but I wish I had said a little more on my behalf, so that I could show my true self to the other party (who knows me in a very limited capacity). I think I may later on meet with this person privately so that she can know me better and my actions won't be such a surprise to her. This is why I prefer to interact with people in this capacity that I have interacted with before. They already know what I'm capable of so they don't judge as quickly.

My Celebrity Soulmate

I only say "woohoo" because I know that my real celebrity soulmate is Ben Affleck (Who else loves the "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" as much as I do? He wrote a freaking TV series based on him!), and Matt Damon is the closest celebrity to him. Cool beans!

On another note, my MCAT score is improving with a new 24 composite. Yay, now I just have to go up 1 pt in VR, 2 in BS, and 3 in PS. Must study now...

Which Housewife Are You?

Susan

You always mean well, but somehow things don't always work out as you'd planned. It doesn't matter. You take your tumbles with good grace and always come up smiling. But try to remember you're the grown-up in your family.

Take the quiz here.

Spring Break (?)

So it's been Spring Break since Saturday and what have I done. Well, here was my checklist when I started the break:

1. Physics HW and reading
2. Physics reading and lab
3. Write med school essay and print photo for Health Professions Recommendation Committee
4. Study for Physics Test on 3/22
   
5. Write Victorian Lit essay (on the Mill on the Floss) due 3/24
   
6. Nutrition Assignment due 4/1
   
7. Study for Nutrition Exam starts 4/2
   
8. Write Children's Lit essay (on The Persian Cinderella) due 4/7
   
9. Write Psych Paper due 4/8

So I've done numbers 1-7!! Yay! Now I just have to write my children's lit essay and my psych paper. Good deal. My strategy was to finish all my assignments up to the MCAT so that I would be free to study. So the whole Persian Cinderella thing happened because I was sitting in my children's lit class and we were talking about minority representation in picture books (at my school when they talk about minority anything, they mean African-Americans). So we had a couple of African-American students in the class saying, Yeah we were never in picture books. But the thing was, we were reading 8 picture books in class that featured African-Americans, esp. children: Corduroy, Meet Addy, Uncle Jed's Barbershop, Ben's Trumpet, Snowy day, Amazing Grace, etc. So obviously, as a group they are represented in picture books. So I was talking about one aspect of one of the books and said in the middle of something, "There are no picture books about Iranian-American children, so I really never saw myself in picture books growing up." My professor said, "Oh, I think there are books about Iranian-Amer's and you should look them up on Amazon. I was planning on telling y'all later, but your next paper topic is to critique a picture book. I want YOU to write your paper on an Iranian-American picture book." I told her that they are all Arabian Nights tales, not about American children of Iranian heritage, but she told me to do my paper on it anyway and just address that in the essay.

Thus, I got the most popular picture book regarding Persian culture, The Persian Cinderella. Why? Because there are no picture books about Iranian-American children! Here's a link to all Persian/Iranian related picture books. I searched for hours and all the books have a common theme that they take place in medieval Persia after the retreat of the Arabs but before the Mongolian invasion (roughly 9th century) and there are princesses/genies/thieves AKA Arabian Nights stories. They aren't about the lives of Iranian children growing up in America and what that means like books about Hispanic or Asian-American or African-American children. There are lots of memoirs about this (Funny in Farsi for example), but not picture books or books intended for children. Researching and going through all this makes me think that I should write a children's book for Iranian-American kids. Why not? This will be a great work-in-progress for me.

How Well Do You Know Your Inner Social Climber?

Social Climber-at-Large

You're good. You know what you want and you grab it. And when things go wrong? Well, you know how to make it look good. Even when you're caught red-handed. And because you're more direct than diabolical, mostly people sympathize with you when you do let the social climber out. You're just doing what everyone wants to do. But to really be a tour de force, you might do a little more calculating. After all, social climbing is big business. Ask Paris Hilton.

Find your inner social climber here.