Final Reflections

Goodbye's are not my strong point, I always feel a little sad saying them. Of course, I'm mostly talking about saying goodbye to people, not blogs. Honestly, I'm not a bit sad about saying farewell to my blogging experience. Don't get me wrong, I actually had a fair amount of fun writing these blogs. I love technology,I like writing and I love reading too and blogging puts all these great things together. I'm betting, the only reasons that I feel I have to complain is because I was pretty much forced to write things, not just doing them on my own, because the blogging experience was part of my writ 101 class.

I did think I got a lot out of the blogs. I got a chance to read a bunch of my classmates blogs as well. Some of the subjects we wrote on were pretty interesting, so I wanted to know what my their opinions or stories were about. I do however admit that sometimes the only reason I would click someone else's blog was to compare mine or get some ideas on how the flow of my own blog should go. I also learned a little bit about html as well. Although, I couldn't get this one thing figured about about how to attach pictures to my blogs without hosting them from another site, but that was just a minor annoyance.

I really don't think I will continue to post on this blog site. The idea does appeal to me but I can't imagine myself having enough spare time to to write down random thoughts.Plus, the idea of other random people reading my random posts creeps me out a little bit. I'm pretty sure none of my friends subscribe to blogger.com so the only people who would be reading it would be strangers or myself (Dear Diary...) Nope, I'll probably be on facebook instead...or floating the river.

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Spain

I was a junior in high school and close to turning 18. There was a program through school that I signed up for to go to Spain. I had taken a couple of years of Spanish, and I had even lived in Guatemala when I was 7, so I definitely had some Spanish speaking skills up my sleeve. The best part of this opportunity (at least in my eyes at the time) was that my best friend, Megan would be going with me. Plus, we would be rooming together at a host family's house. My Spanish teacher that came with us was very laid back and had no problem speaking up for me when I got too embarrassed to try and explain to our waiters that I did not eat meat (which is unheard of in Spain). Our trip had too many fun experiences to try to cram into 2 paragraphs, so I'll just share one.

We went to school for a month in Salamanca and one day, one the way home (which was about a 45 min walk , one way) my best friend and I had the idea to get tattoos. We weren't old enough in the U.S. to get them, but we were in Spain! We ended up in a dark tattoo parlor near the Salamanca square. I had a hard time finding a place they would agree to putting it since I was sunburned everywhere! I finally settled on getting a tiny lady bug tattooed on one side of my lower back. A little silly, I know. I was really scared though! Since then, I've actually gotten the tattoo enhanced. It started to look a little like a mole, so I had it turned into hello kitty wearing a lady bug costume. Yeah, I know, even sillier you might think. :) Now, I have some great memories and awesome stories behind that cute little lady bug tattoo.

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Grey's Anatomy

I work for a television company. Of course I'm obsessed with TV. It's part of my job to know what is new and hot. So, obviously I'm having a hard time picking just one TV show. I settled on Grey's Anatomy. This is my favorite show, ever! The first time I ever saw it, I was actually baited with the promise of a home cooked meal and was instead, forced to watch Grey's Anatomy.

My major is nursing, so the whole hospital setting drew me in at first. I know a bunch of medical terminology from my previous training. This show doesn't make many mistakes. It has all of the exciting, shocking, crazy plots of soap opera. However, it also has extensive medical scenes filled with drama and more crazy plots. These two components to this awesome show help to balance it out. I know a lot of guys that will admit to watching it religiously. There are a lot of things that happen it that show that make me wonder if its actually true. I resort to googling some weird crazy disease almost immediately after watching.

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Sin City

My 2010 Spring Break was amazing! It was definitely not a restful vacation. I went to Las Vegas with my two very best guy friends and we were armed for a good time. We spent the first day drinking fruity alcohol drinks, sight seeing,taking a zillion pictures and getting sunburned. The first few days we were there we were too excited and ended up going to sleep pretty early,considering we were in Vegas. We packed our days full of walking and seeing everything that we possibly could.

The rest of our trip was honestly, a little blurry. I really won't go into detail why, I'm sure you could imagine. We went to the wax museum,and we took another zillion pictures with fake celebrities. Our last night we packed full of adventures. We went and saw a Criss Angel show and got to sit in the fourth row. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life. I loved it!! After Criss Angel, we decided to go to the Minus 5 bar. We had seen it in a show about the top 10 coolest bars in America( or something like that) on the travel channel. Before entering the bar you have to put on huge coats,gloves and furry boot. Everything was ice; the bar,chairs,statues,decorations, and even the glasses we were drinking from. I'm still not rested up from my trip and I can I definitely say that I have some "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" stories!!

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My 3 Op-Eds

Virtual Water

This article starts by stating," The average American is responsible for the consumption of 656,000 gallons of water per year." This article is talking about virtual water though. Virtual water is something you can't really see. Not the water you shower in. It's talking about the water that was used to make your underwear. The article points out how we should be more aware about the water that was used to make things, the invisible water. We don't really think about how many resources we use if we don't see it in use.

Red-Headed Stepchild

This was probably the most interesting article that I read today. I think I found it so interesting because I have so much personal experience with the concert going atmosphere in Missoula. This article is pointing out what a horrible experience going to a concert in Missoula can be, because other people don't follow the correct etiquette. He also points out that a lot of people go to concert, just to be seen. I can't tell you how many people didn't even know who the main band even was, but were going just because their friends were going.



We Are All Fat and Have Cancer

This article was talking about how we can't always eat right, exercise, don't smoke and keep our lives in balance. No matter what there are things we can't avoid such as cancer and accidents. The article kept talking about "blaming the victim". The author was saying that yes, some people die from lung cancer because they did smoke. However, she was also sticking up for the people that get lung cancer and never smoked a day in their lives. It definitely puts a perspective on looking deeper into people's illnesses instead of pointing the finger right away.

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Sources

I have found tons of great sources for my search on volunteer work. Here is a list of just a few of them. I have a feeling I will have a huge list to be pulling from. I am so excited! There are tons of sites for volunteer work.

Time; 3/8/2010, Vol. 175 Issue 9, p36-39
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=48374733&site=ehost-live

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=47898760&site=ehost-live

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=48138288&site=ehost-live

http://www.volunteerabroad.com/search.cfm

http://www.habitat.org

http://www.tonic.com/article/how-to-volunteer-in-haiti/

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Volunteer Work

I plan on writing my paper on volunteer work. My parents started me down the volunteer path when I was just a kid. We used to go to the humane society and do whatever we could to help out. Since then,I've tried to do as much volunteer work as I could fit into my schedule. This is something that I am obviously very passionate about.I would love to educate as many people as I could about the different opportunities for volunteer work out there, as well as the effect it has on the world.

There have been a bunch of natural disasters lately and speaking with my parents about these issues got me to thinking about what exactly is being done.People keep saying to me "Too bad you aren't a nurse yet, you could really be helping out in Haiti!" I don't think this statement is true. Isn't there a ton of things we could be doing to help besides sending money? Even if you don't have a degree? These questions are exactly what I want to explore in my paper.

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SeriousIy,I can't believe you don't eat meat!

"Seriously, I can't believe you don't eat meat!" I hear this ALL the time. Especially from my best friend, Megan. She and her family thrive off of meat. Megan and her husband both hunt and use the meat they get for the entire year. Megan and I are total opposites. I'm a vegetarian, and have been since I can remember. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've hear things like "Does it bother you when other people eat meat?" My least favorite statement of all time is, "Vegetables have feelings too!" and it makes me roll my eyes every time I have to hear it. Lots of vegetarians choose this lifestyle for ethical reasons. Most vegetarians are animal lovers and do not want any part in harming another living creature. Many also are against the inhumane treatment of animals.

I can't say I've met very many other vegetarians in my lifetime. According to“Vegetarianism in America” that was published by the Vegetarian Times Magazine, the number of adult vegetarians in America stands at about 7.3 million (3.2% of the population). Of that 7.3 million about 1 million are vegans and don’t consume any animal products at all. Another 11.9 million claim to be interested in a vegetarian diet. This topic is extremely interesting to me , as I am always excited to inform people on just exactly why I don't eat meat.

Sources: www.raw-food-health.net
www.peta.org

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Short Stories

I started off the night by listening to the story "Emergency" by Denis Johnson. At first the story grabbed my attention merely because the setting is in a hospital. I find hospitals strangely intoxicating. Don't ask me why because I really have no idea. I could immediately picture myself in the narrators shoes. I could imagine what he was seeing, smelling and hearing. This really excited me because it was truly about an emergency. My major is nursing so picturing the guy that came in with the knife in his eye began to set off my imagination. I was obviously a little disappointed about the lack of care and empathy the knife guy received by the staff. I couldn't stop comparing myself to the nurse,Dr and caregivers in this situation. Not to mention that half of the care staff was high.What would happen if this was the kind of care we all received when we arrived at a hospital emergency room?

The second story I listened to was "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolf. I have a tendency to laugh and be extremely sarcastic at some of the worst moments possible so I can relate to this characters personality a little bit. I think it was really interesting when the bullet was described entering and exiting the guys head. However, the most interesting part of this story were the memories that were shared with us. Instead of the cliche "life flashing before your eyes" before dying moment, the guy shared one inspiring memory that happened when he was a boy. Because this was truly the last thing he saw before dying it must have meant a great deal to him. This sparks my interest in wondering what really happens in those last moments...

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Summertime and T-Rex

Summer!! This one little word can make a kids heart skip a beat. Summer to me means watermelon, rivers, no school (of course) and lots of adventure! When I was 10 years old I lived out in the country. I only had ONE channel on my TV and all it ever seemed to play was the news (BORING). This meant I had to make my own fun. My house has a tiny stream running though it that leads to a little pond. I used to beg my mom for old kitchen utensils so I could bake mud pies and "boil" soup. The forest was my favorite place to play. I was hidden and in my own little world.

I used to explain in great detail to my dad the intense adventures I experienced in that little forest. I would share with him how I narrowly escaped the giants and dinosaurs that loomed behind my little blue playhouse, in between the dense tree's and foliage. My dad would laugh and my stories and tease me with stories of his own escapes from the T-Rex that lived behind the garage. These great adventures turned into one of the fondest memories that I have with my dad. He knew how much imagination I had and he came up with the best project I could have possibly imagined as a 10 year old to help cure me of my summer boredom.

There was a "model kit" that my dad and I had put together earlier that year. It was about a foot and half tall replica of a T-Rex. We had cut out all these little pieces of "bone" and then glued them together, resulting in a tiny little version of something you would see in a museum. My dad devised a plan to blow up the "bone" pieces and draw them out on huge pieces of wood. We painted the wood a dazzling white color. After all the "bones" were cut out we proceeded to put together the HUGE model of our new T-Rex. The dinosaur was taller than my dad! I defiantly thought that this was the coolest thing I had ever done. I knew for sure none of my friends had every seen anything like this. My dad and I chose the perfect spot to put our new pet. We hid the giant guy in the forest, covered by trees and peeking his ginormous head out of my favorite play spot. You can only imagine the adventures and creativity that this amazing dinosaur inspired for years to come...

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Enneagram of Personality

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

I took this personality test and my result was the number three.The number three is associated with being the " achiever". Their ego fixation is vanity and their basic desire is to be valued. Their virtue is truthfulness and their temptation is to please everyone. I scored high in perfectionism,helpfulness and image focus. I scored pretty high on adventurousness as well as anxiety, which may tie together a little bit.

The results of my Enneagram of Personality was not really that surprising to me. I've never done any kind of personality tests so I was pretty interested to see what my result would be. There are many parts of this personality tests that I can see very strongly in myself. The need to be the achiever is something that I can definitely identify with. However, I also believe that the reason I am so apt to please everyone and be the achiever is also due to my birth order, being the oldest child in my family, and being a female. I take truthfulness very seriously. I am the friend you can tell all your secrets too and not have to worry about anything getting out. This ties in with wanting to please also. One of the parts I don't really agree with about this number is all the talk about vanity and wanting to look perfect all the time. I know that I personally want to give off good impressions so I do take care of myself, but I'm not super self absorbed or vain. I can only hope that I don't come off like that to other people!!

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Today was a BEAUTIFUL day!

Hello everyone!
My name is Rachael. I'm currently in the pre-nursing program here at the University of Montana. My main interests revolve around animals and my children are my two tiny dogs. I love the outdoors and anything to do with water. I am a vegetarian, which most people find pretty interesting and I love to talk to anyone that is interested in finding out why.I went to school for two years in Denver to be a veterinary technician. Living and experiencing Denver on my own was one of the most amazing things that I've done in my life... so far. Now I have started on a new adventure and I'm more than excited to see where it leads me.

I love technology, especially cell phones! I'm far from being an expert but I'm all hands on and hate reading instruction manuals. I don't have a lot of experiance with writing blogs. It seems that every time I've attempted to write one (on Myspace) I always end up deleting it shortly after. Things don't always come out on paper (or a computer screen) like they sound in my head. Since it is almost midnight though, this post is going to have to stay! :)

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