When I first arrived at the University of Delaware, I was bright-eyed and hopeful for my four years ahead. It was the moment I had always been waiting for, what had made all the late nights studying and staying in on the weekends worth it. I was prepared to work hard towards my dream of becoming a doctor, something that, while difficult, I had to achieve. I wanted to prove those who told me I would never make it, wrong. Continue reading
Going into college, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to be involved in. When I went to the Involvement Fair during my first week of freshman year, I was completely overwhelmed. There were so many options, so many things I could do, and in a way, I felt the decision I made then would impact the person whom I would become in college. So, like many other freshmen, I signed up for a whole bunch of clubs at first and attended a couple of meetings, but there was no place that really gave me the sense of home that I was looking for. Being from Washington, which is thousands of miles away from Delaware, I needed to find a support system–people who I could lean on when things got hard and who I knew would be there no matter what. It wasn’t until I went through formal Panhellenic recruitment that I found that home I truly was looking for. Continue reading
With midterms over and many of us beginning final projects, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and lose motivation from working so hard, especially as Honors students. Here are some of my tips on how to not feel so stressed and bring back your energy to end the semester strongly!
Make a yummy treat for yourself.
There’s nothing like treating yourself after studying for a hard exam or writing an essay. My roommates and I have been trying to find the best comfort food, and our recent favorite has been buffalo chicken dip. As soon as it comes out of the oven, it’s gone in an instant. Here’s the recipe we’ve been making if you want to give it a try yourself!
Ingredients: Two 8 oz cream cheese packages (softened), ¾ cup of Frank’s RedHot buffalo wing sauce, 1 cup of ranch, 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken, 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions:
Right now it feels strange to think we were at UD over a month ago, and that our lives were seemingly normal, and now that we’re living in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. I’m not sure I ever thought that anything that has impacted the world as majorly as this would have happened in my lifetime. At this moment, it feels hard for all of us to stay upbeat and positive, as everything feels like it’s ending, and we have so much free time stuck at home with nothing to do. One thing that I have been doing while not in class, is watching movies. I find they help give me not only a distraction but help me stay positive. If you’re feeling like you’re struggling and want something else to think about, or feel like you need something to believe in the world again, here are the top five movies I would recommend to you.
I’m probably biased towards this movie as it is one of my all-time favorite movies, and something I have loved since my childhood, however I believe movies like Howl’s Moving Castle are a nice breath away from reality, especially right now. Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of a young girl named Sophie who has a spell cast on her by the “Witch of the Waste” which turns her into an elderly woman. She goes on a journey to try and break the spell, and meets a wizard named Howl and goes aboard his moving castle for a life-changing adventure. This movie is perfect if you just want to be taken away to a fantasy world and feel like a kid again. The art in this movie is amazing and the soundtrack fits in perfectly. It’s hard to put all the things I love about this movie into words, but I would highly recommend this movie to anyone of any age.
2. Perks of Being a Wallflower
I’ve watched this movie so many times since it came out, and could watch it thousand times more. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about a boy named Charlie who is socially awkward, and is considered at school to be a “wallflower,” someone who tends to stay away from crowds and the spotlight. However, he meets a girl named Sam and her stepbrother Patrick and they change his life completely. This coming of age movie is so powerful and touches on so many issues in the world today. It makes you feel so many emotions from pain and sadness to joy. Even though high school wasn’t so long ago for me, it gives me that youthful nostalgia for those days in my life. It is perfect for those days in quarantine when you’re missing your friends or thinking about all the memories you have made here at UD.
3. Love, Rosie
If you’re looking for another semi-predictable, cheesy rom-com that will make you want to cry, laugh, and want to rip your hair out in the best way possible, then this is it. Rosie and Alex are that couple that always finds their way back to each other but the timing is always wrong. The movie takes you through a journey of their ups and downs and has you constantly on the edge of your seat wondering if they will end up together, or if time and misunderstandings will be too big of a hurdle. This movie is one that will easily distract you from the outside world and make you feel warm inside. It’ll make you believe that what is meant to be will be, which is something that in the world today doesn’t feel like it exists. Our lives may be crazy at the moment and it might be hard to stay hopeful for a better tomorrow when it feels like everything is crumbling down. But this movie, even as lighthearted as it is, reminds us that the best things can come from the seemingly worst things to happen to us.
4. In This Corner of the World
While this movie is an animated film, watching this for the first time made me cry, and I’m not one to usually get emotional over movies. This story is set during World War II and is about a girl named Suzu who moves in with her husband’s family in Hiroshima, Japan. The movie tells of all of the challenges she faces during this time living in a war-torn country. The thing I love the most about this movie is the overall message. This movie portrays that even in the worst times, there will always be hope in the world, and you can always find beauty in something. While normally I’m not the one for wartime movies, this movie made me realize how lucky I truly am for even the smallest things in life that I take for granted. I feel that watching this movie now is perfect timing, especially with everything going on in the world today, and how chaotic life feels. It’s a nice reminder of all the good and positivity there can be, even if it seems like there is no hope.
5. Ferris Bueller’s day off
This movie is honestly such a classic, and a movie that my parents love as well. If you’re looking for something that will have you laughing until you cry — this is it. Ferris Bueller is known as a troublemaker at his high school as he is always slacking off. He decides to take one last day off of school and go on the journey of a lifetime. This movie will keep you wondering how Ferris doesn’t get caught, and laughing at all the close calls he and his friends have. If you’re looking for something lighthearted and exciting, this is the movie for you. It reminds you to live each day to the fullest even with the ups and downs in everyday life.
Research. Honestly, the thought of it is simultaneously exciting and intimidating. Everyone tells you to get involved as soon as possible, especially when you’re on the path towards medical and graduate school.
But how do you even get involved? When I was a freshman in the honors program this was my main question. It was daunting, all the people I had met just said to email around and ask professors if they had spots open in their labs, to just look around and explore. You might get rejected, but I was told I’d eventually find a place right for me. I was overall lost in the whole process though. I didn’t have any idea of what to do research in and if I was even interested in pursuing it while in college. I only knew that’s what others said I should do.
So when I was scrolling through Handshake and saw a job listing for a student research assistant, I applied. I was nervous, scared I wasn’t going to have the skills needed, and wondering what it would even be like. Little did I know, interviewing for that new position would lead me down a whole new path.
I am now part of the University of Delaware Center of Health Assessment Research and Translation as a research assistant. My main job has been coding, but not in the traditional sense that most people would think of. I go through transcripts of past study groups and apply a codebook to them in a program called “Nvivo”. The goal of my part of this is to find which symptoms correspond and overlap for people with major injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
I absolutely love my job and being part of this research project. While going through 70 page transcripts doesn’t sound exciting, being able to read and hear about people’s stories makes the time pass by. Through reading the effects one’s injury has had on their life not only physically but emotionally, I feel like I am learning another side to the story. As a neuroscience major I have learned about the causes and effects and symptoms of certain things like TBI, however, my job allows me to be in someone else’s shoes and see it not just through the eye of a clinician but also a patient.
This was not what I expected research to be like. Honestly, when I was first looking into research I was expecting to be in a lab doing benchwork. But through learning more about clinical research, I have discovered a whole new world that I want to continue being part of. I believe learning more not only about issues medically but also how they affect others in different ways will make me a better doctor and help me on the path towards my future career.
I think that being part of something new and constantly evolving is thrilling. Being involved in research is something I am extremely grateful for and think that everyone should at least try to do once. So I encourage you to gain the courage, take a chance, and email that professor and or apply for the position. You never know how much impact it’ll have on you unless you try.
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