real quick, everyone, feel free to email me, in fact, please do. :) i would love to hear if you have any questions, big or small bring it on!!!! :)
k :)
- posted by Karen @ 9:00 AM

 
"Oh man! There is no planet, sun, or star could hold you, if you but knew what you are." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

hello everyone. :) this is just a great quote that i got today, . . . . ponder it a moment :) have a great weekend and get inspired!!! :)
karen :)
- posted by Karen @ 8:41 AM

 
tip of the day . . .

allow yourself a release every once in a while. it's not selfish or something to feel guilty for, you have to take time for yourself in order to preserve your sanity. set aside an entire day for non curricular activities and DO NOT FEEL GUILTY!!! don't get me wrong, still get your stuff done, but you may as well pick a day to knock out all the work, so then you can have a day to forget about it, . . spreading it out needlessly just prolongs the misery. :) just a quick tip from another student trying to prevent burnout! have a fabulous week everyone!!!!
karen :)
- posted by Karen @ 3:27 PM

 
pick your enemies wisely, . . . .

okay, so that sounds weird, but it's true. and believe me, being at such a small school, as you all are, you are getting mucho experience in this matter. it's key to know the who and when of it all and here are a few quotes i have accumulated and they'll help to keep the peace because i have some news for you, . . . . . drama will follow you all the days of your life if you let it :) here goes:

1) "I have often regretted my speech, never my silence." - Xenocrates (preach on brutha!!!! :))

2) "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." - Samuel Johnson (if only we could all remember that :))

3) "Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate." - Thomas Jones (it always pays to keep things atleast civil, being "too cool" or confrontational will always bite you in the end, . . . . always)

4) "When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." - Wayne Dyer (truer words were never spoken, . . get that down and you will lead a happier life for it :))

5) "We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us." - Virginia Satir (this is at the core of what it's all about, strive on making yourself a better person, for you only, and it'll come out for others to see. you will be happier and well-respected as a result :))


these are a few gems i found :) i clearly have tons more for you all. :) don't worry, i'll keep them coming. :) hehe til next time, . . ..
karen :)
- posted by Karen @ 9:30 PM

 
aidswalk 2003, . . . .

hello all. :) i hope your days are going by well. :) i just wanted to let you all know that i just got back from the aidswalk 2003 and let me tell you, . . . . good times. :) this is my second time going and if you ever get the chance to go (or to any other walk for that matter) PLEASE TAKE IT. it's a powerful thing to be united with millions of other people for a cause.

i also wanted to touch on the stigmas that go along with some diseases and the IGNORANCE that is often expressed. for example, let's use aids. it is true that there is a high occurrence in the homosexual population, however it's growing MOST RAPIDLY among those of the heterosexual population, namely women.

it is EASY to shut off around the topic and condemn anyone with the disease, and in so doing you are continuing a vicious circle; an ignorant, judgmental, and oppressive circle and that is not according to God's will either, let alone becoming a miserable human being in the process. doing so also makes others NOT WANT TO LISTEN to you (even though you may be in the right) because of your presentation. it is easy to condemn others, for instance, every year at the aidswalk there are a few protestors (often advertising their church as well) who come out with their megaphones and huge signs that say we are all going to hell, among other obsenities, and to say the very least, they can get very malicious. they may have the basic fact right (homosexuality is wrong) but their presentation gives them, and other christians, a bad name.

i am NOT saying that you should support things CONTRARY to God's word and will, however, i am saying that it's wrong to blindly hate your fellow man, and while not condoning a life style, respecting the basic human rights that everyone possesses. i can personally say that once i broke out of the "wels bubble" after high school, a very safe place to be, it truly was a different world. a different world in which i actually had to examine, defend, explain, and LIVE my faith and my religion.

it is a critical time, deciding what and when to say it, who to offend and who to keep quiet around, it's a tough thing to do. it is tough to form your own opinions and keep in accordance with God's will. we live in a world of extremes; most are either afraid of offending so they morph into a wishy-washy, "everything is relative" kind of human being and that does no one any good, or others are extremely set in one frame of mind and are not able to apply their morals to the world today, they choose to remain oblivious and wear side blinders. it's a HARD thing to find a good balance and still live according to God's will, uncompromising, and still maintain pleasant relations with their fellow man.

this may have gotten preachy (i apologize for that :)), but i just wanted to throw out that heads up and tell you (yet again :)) to prepare yourself NOW to take on the world around you. go out into it armed with God's word and a strong connection to yourself and you will be sufficiently prepared. have a blessed week everybody!!!
karen :)
- posted by Karen @ 2:09 PM

 
one final down, ten thousand to go, . . . .

hey everybody :) i know that everyone can relate to this topic, finals are kind of a bear for everyone involved and it always feels like there's no end in sight until you're finally done and you are left feeling dizzy and can't remember the past few days. . . . . okay so maybe i am exaggerating a little tiny bit :), but you get the point. another thing that unfortunately also goes along with finals is usually a cold, a breakout, you know, typical stress stuff. (no one's immune, i myself am typing between sneezes :( hehe poor poor me :)) i just wanted to share a few tips of my own to help get you through it as painlessly and healthy as possible :):

1. keep your health first and foremost (you are no good to anyone when you are feeling miserable and worn down, . . . . NO GOOD!!!! keep eating regularly, catch a cold before it gets too bad, just be up on your game)

2. remember to take breaks (it won't kill you to close your eyes for a minute every once ina while or take a half hour tv break, just make sure it's a break and not quiting :))

3. do something nice for yourself after a long day of work or the actual test (i always keep rewards in mind, like i get to watch a movie after every test, . . . i don't get to do it otherwise and that's how i justify "wasting" 2 hours of my time :))

4. repetition is the key (read a page of notes twice or three times before moving on to the next page, you'll be surprised at how much more you remember than if you had just run all the way through)

5. make flash cards (sounds stupid, every teacher suggests it, you don't wanna do it, . . . believe me, i am miss anti-flash card, but it really honestly can help; i just keep the info to a minimum and only do it for special information like vocabulary or disease models (you get my point) :))

6. studying while working out (it may be the best way you learn, never know til you try it; you are functioning at full capacity while working out and i personally think my best and learn my best when i am walking on the treadmil, etc. seriously, check it out and you will be hooked :)) (*this also works well for thinking for a topic for a paper, etc.)

congratulations on making it through my tips :) if even one helps you a little bit, then i have done my job :) good luck on all your tests and stuff, . . . remember, it doesn't take a genius to get a good grade, all it takes is a little time to do things right.
karen :)

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." - Bernard Russell (1872-1970)
- posted by Karen @ 10:56 AM

 
i hate reading, . . .
that's right, i said it. some of you may be gasping, but my guess is that the majority will agree with me on this one. in my opinion, the world has too many books and i think it's time to streamline :), but hey, that's just me. however, despite my disgust for them, i buy about $1000 worth of books per semester for college. yeah, . . . it's not that bad for all majors of study but chances are, if you're going into a profession, get used to it (or consider yourself warned anyways). :) do i read them all cover to cover? certainly not. do i read EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT? certainly not. however, in college even the most resistant reader has to suck it up and crack open the books every once in a while. i use it as a supplement to lectures and have learned, the hard way at times, that a little reading just may do you some good. so, in conclusion, if you like reading, then you are just about to dive into the most wonderful 4 years of your life; if you don't particularly care for it, suck it up and do it when the occasion calls for it, . . . . you absolutely can not avoid it though, so i suggest that you start making amends with books now and save yourself a headache later. :)
that's all she wrote :)
- posted by Karen @ 3:11 PM

 
going home for the weekend, . . .
okay, so you may think, what's so special about that? well, it's a lot harder than you think once you start dorming (if you so choose, i recommend it :)) your parents generally go one of two ways when you leave: they leave your room in perfect order and want to spend every minute you're back with you, or they take over your room (i.e. dad's new office) and completely let you be which may leave you feeling high and dry. i am not trying to say that it's a terrible thing to come back home, but i do want to make you aware that it'll take some work on your parents' and your part to make it a pleasurable thing. :) during my first semester, whenever i would come home, it would be to nagging, endless questions, and pressures to still be their little girl. needless to say, that just didn't work for me. at first i got frustrated and wondered why i even came home, but, seeing as you can't do without it :), i decided that i needed to have a talk with my parents. that takes a lot of guts to come right out and say, "mom and dad, you are suffocating me" or "mom, dad, i feel shut out" or whatever your case may be. my point is, the trip home for the weekend, as well as everything else going on in your life, will go through a lot of changes and take some getting used to. it's just a heads up, you can get through it, and remember, it's just as hard for your parents so bear with them and show them how much of an adult you really can be. :) patience and putting yourself in another's shoes really goes a long way. :) okay, that's my tip for the week. :) good luck to you all and i'll be back to blog soon :)
karen :)
- posted by Karen @ 6:42 PM

 
A day in the life:
0500-0630: breakfast and get ready, leave at 0545 & drive to clinical
0630-1500: clinical @ children's hospital los angeles
1530-1700: workout
1700-1730: shower, etc.
1730-1800: dinner
1800-1900: "me" time :) (a nap, email, whatever i feel like treating myself to :))
1900-2100: homework time (reading, studying, writing, whatever my teachers are asking for today :))
2100-2200: getting off campus (errands for a class, picking up a treat)
2200-2230: BEDTIME (this will soon become the best part of your day :), i literally can not wait til the sun goes down, . . . . however, it has a way of rising again, . . . . :))

i just wanted to give you guys an idea of a day in my life. it alters a little with each day, but for the most part i like to put myself on a schedule and make a list of things to accomplish for the day, . . . no sleeping til they're all checked off! (however, i really like checking things off so some of the items on my list may include: lunch, shower, etc.) it works really well for me and most of my friends (nursing at least) do the same thing, it helps to keep you sane. that's another thing, a lot of people are gonna stress time management to you when you get to your prospective colleges (like a LOT of people) and you will more than likely brush it aside at first, but as soon as you can, find your niche, you won't be sorry. oops! time's up for typing,. . . . til next time :)

- posted by Karen @ 5:50 PM