Wikipedia Trail: Otolaryngology to Squalene

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    I chose to look up otolaryngology. I’m taking fourth semester Spanish and one of our assignments is to speak with someone from another country for thirty minutes on video chat, four times throughout the semester. Well, today, I asked my conversation partner to tell me a new word that he thought I was unlikely to know, and I wasn’t disappointed. He taught me the word “Otorrinolaringología”, which means otolaryngology. He explained what it was during our conversation but since I’m very interested in the medical field and I thought it was such a fun word, I wanted to include it in a Wikipedia trails post!

     I then jumped over to the Wiki page for otitis externa, which is apparently an ear infection known more commonly as “swimmer’s ear”. I’ve heard of this before but I never knew the technical word for it, so that was kind of neat. Also, there is a pretty gross picture on this Wiki page. You’ve been warned!! Lol.

     Then I noticed another word I didn’t recognized and jumped over to the Wiki page for “cerumen”, which is apparently the fancy medical term for earwax! What I did not know is that one of the major elements that makes up ear wax is fatty acid. There is a picture of a huge chunk of earwax on this page, so not as gross as the infected ear but still not really something you really look forward to seeing. Haha.

     I also didn’t know that squalene was part of what makes up ear wax and I didn’t even know what squalene was, so I figured that would be the perfect place to end my Wikipedia trails post, so I jumped over to the Wiki page for that. Squalene is a natural 30 carbon organic compound. Although it is found in many places, the primary source is shark liver oil. We have a compound in our ear that is also very prominently found in shark liver oil. So there, now that’s something you know…

(Squalene; online source, www.compmed.com)

Famous Last Words: Mental Burnout - Week 8

(Mental Burnout; online source, wwwbebrainfit.com)

     This week hasn't been very productive as far as well, anything goes, really.

     

     This is technically Spring break, so there isn’t much to report as far as school goes. Basically, I’ve fallen behind my “ahead of the official schedule” schedule again, because I honestly had no desire to work on anything school related or anything I “needed” to do this week. I planned to work on homework as if I wasn’t on break because last week was supposed to technically be my break from schoolwork because I was a full week ahead but I think I was to the point of burn out, so I needed a short break. I’m feeling better now and I’ll get back on it and be ahead again within the week though!!

     I haven't felt motivated to do much outside of school either. We moved into our new house on March 1^st and we’ve still unpacked very little. Granted, we did have to put in an inground electric fence, as well as fix a huge chunk of actual fence so that our dogs wouldn’t get out. We also have done quite a bit of running from place to place, trying to get everything set up in our new house. There are so many little things that you don’t even consider needing until you buy your own house. A rake, for example. Plus, we needed a lawn mower, a ladder, a water hose… Well, you get the picture. Lol. We have also been having plumbing issues already (not exactly what one hopes for during the first week of living in a new home but such is life, really.) Even with all of that, I still really thought we would have things a little more “put together” by this point than we do but it just feels like the last 2 weeks have been rather unproductive. I was hoping to be mostly unpacked and set up by now but we don’t even have one full room set up, just bits and pieces of each room and empty boxes and trash all over the place. Lol.

     Well, hopefully next week will be a better week all around! 

Week 8 Growth Mindset

(Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset; online source, www.edventures.com)

    As with anybody, there are some things I'm better at than others. Some, I'm good at but I have to really challenge myself, others come naturally, and still others I'm not sure I'll ever be good at. I do try, however, to challenge myself to improve in every aspect of life (not just academics) where I have room for improvement, which is what's most important about growth mindset in my opinion. So, I'll just highlight a few things to expand on this.

     Some things that definitely come naturally to me are as follows. I'm always ready to meet minimum requirements, as well as going beyond the minimum. I really don't find myself looking for praise from others, as I'm satisfied with critiquing myself and improving based upon my own judgement. I often tend to look into the future and see long term potential in situations more easily than most people do. I love the way this class is designed for that reason: it allows me to really challenge myself beyond what I might have previously thought capable. For example, I've always loved fictional stories, especially mythical ones (such as Harry Potter, Divergent, etc.) but I've never believed myself capable of writing anything of that nature. With this class, I've been able to choose my own path throughout the semester and that has allowed me to expand my writing creativity. Since assignments are pretty self paced and also are based on completion, rather than quality per se, I've been able to work on projects of this nature and found that it's actually something I feel I can do well.

     Of course, there are also things that I struggle with on a regular basis. I don't like pushing myself out of my comfort zone, for instance. I've never been comfortable in social settings, however I try to push myself to overcome that on a regular basis. My desire to learn Spanish has been hindered by my social anxiety but I've been working hard to overcome that struggle. I recently acquired a pin pal of sorts, whom I text occasionally to give myself practice in the language. I'm hoping that in time this will help me ease my way into more face to face conversations with less stress. Another thing I struggle with is my own self doubt. I'm very self critical and I tend to shut down my own efforts without even giving myself the chance to succeed. My Spanish language skills also exemplify this, although I pushed through it and overcame that obstacle. When I first decided to learn Spanish, I was very inspired but I very quickly convinced myself that I couldn't learn Spanish. Then, I decided not to pursue my language minor as initially intended. Thankfully, I had a teacher that really encouraged me for my last required semester of Spanish for my major and he convinced me that I could complete my minor. I'm now much more confident in my Spanish skills and although I struggle regularly with social anxiety, I'm now certain that I will eventually be fluent in Spanish. 

Overall, I think it's just a good rule of thumb to push ourselves and others to be the best that we can be. If we can do that, life will be pretty great.

Week 8 Reflections: Looking Back and Looking Forward

(To Write or Not to Write; online source, www.linettebullock.com)

     I can't believe we're already halfway done (well, I am at least, because I'm working ahead. lol.) As I look back at my reading choices, I really think I've done a pretty good job of picking stories that inspire me to write. There have been a couple of weeks where I just really didn't feel inspired by any of the reading materials but I took creative liberty in those situations and came up with something more loosely based on that weeks reading, so it worked out in the end.

     Looking back on my writing, I'm really proud of what I've done this semester. I've always really loved to write but I'm way too self critical and end up scrapping anything I begin because I think to myself that nobody is going to read whatever it may be I'm trying to write. This class has pushed me to overcome that challenge and I've grown to really believe in my own writing. I'm creating a storybook, for example, and I think that is something I never would have dreamed I would do and feel proud of. Yet, here I am, working on creating this storybook and actually believing that I can write something of value, that someone may actually want to read. I have a clear idea of how I'm going to write it and how it will end and I'm feeling very confident in the project. I can't wait to finish it all and have my whole storybook posted!

     Looking at writings from other students, I think the biggest thing I notice is other people's ability to write descriptively. I can often see something vividly in my head but it doesn't translate to paper like I'd like it to. So, I'm envious of others that can do it and I always aspire to improve that area of my writing. I really think the biggest thing I see in other's writing that I hope to avoid is the use of incorrect grammar and spelling.