I am a week late on coming up with my New Years Resolutions...but better late then never, right?
1) [Health/Food]: Learn how to cook cheap, healthy, and easy meals.
I got a cookbook many Christmases ago with a lot of meals that are designed for college students with little money and little time to devote to cooking. Although I haven't really spent much time at all looking through it, I really want to get better with cooking easy, nutritious meals. My goal is to make 50% of the recipes in the book this year! Hopefully, this will encourage me to stop eating out and stop wasting so much money on food that I could easily make myself!
2) [School Goal #1]: Master each domain.
I was very happy with how I performed in my classes last semester and hope to continue to work hard and earn above an 85% in each of the domains this semester.
3) [School Goal #2]: Pass my USMLE step 1 board exam
I am registered to take my USMLE Step 1 on June 15. *gulp*. I know that the next 6 months of my life are going to be filled with stress, little sleep and lots and lots of late-night studying, but I am hoping that it will be worth it after I see my score. In the end, I do have a goal in my mind and would like to hit that score goal. However, I will be happy if I pass with a score at or above the national average. Everyone wish me luck!
4) [School Goal #4]: Honor a clerkship.
By the end of 2013, I will have completed HALF of my clinical rotation! Crazy! My goal is to honor at least one of these first three rotations. I know that it will take a few rotations to get in the swing of things, but I hope to have at least one honor under my belt before the new year.
5) [Relationship]: Encourage S with his residency placement and adjust to his new career position.
S is graduating from medical school this year and will start his residency in General Surgery. He has had incredible interview opportunities at a ton of great programs all over the country. So, this change is mostly exciting...However, I know that there is a huge possibility that he will not end up in or around Michigan. So, based off of where he is matched, I think that this year is going to bring challenges to our relationship. These challenges definitely don't imply anything negative, but I know that they will require change. My goal is to be able to adjust to this change and continue to grow our relationship together.
6) [Personal]: Travel to a new place.
I had this resolution last year and will probably keep it for the rest of my life. Traveling is probably my greatest passion in life. I love to experience new places and see how many amazing places there are in the world.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
A look back on 2012 Resolutions
Its that time again!...the time when I look at my New Year Resolutions from last year to see how I did!
1) [Health]: Continue to work on my exercise plan and diet.
Well...I tried. I know this resolution is by far my hardest resolution to actually follow-up on because I am a stress eater, and in med school there is lots of stress, and therefore lots of eating. I can think of two positive things that I have done this year, although much improvement is still needed. First, I started doing hot yoga and I loved it! There is something amazing about being in a hot room, stretching your body to its limits. I think its a great exercise and everytime I go, I pledge to incoporporate it into my weekly schedule. However, I get busy and stressed out, and yoga is one of the things that goes. This should change. The second thing that I have liked to do is incoporate fruit-and-veggie cleanses every few months. I have done this three times so far and find it really helpful! When I have gotten out of control with eating out and not cooking at home, making myself do a fruit-and-veggie cleans has helped me get refocused and back into the swing of cooking healthy. I hope that I will continue to remember to do this next year. I know that I need to continue to find a balance between my health and school; I plan to work on this a lot again in the new year.
2) [School Goal #1]: Improve semester average and Master each course!
Success! Normally I wouldn't want to share my grades on my blog, but I am so proud of myself that I feel like I need to. Not only have I mastered each course (which is above a 85%), the lowest grade I received on any exam for the whole semester was an 89%, finishing the semester off with a 91% average. I am pretty proud of myself to say the least! I hope to continue this trend into the next semester and give myself a confidence boost as I enter into my intensive study period for my board exams!
3) [School Goal #2]: Participate a valuable externship or research experience.
Success again! This summer, I participated in a fantastic month-long externship at St. John's Hospital, that allowed me to spend 1-week shadowing in Pediatrics, OB/Gyn, Emergency Medicine, and General Surgery. I learned so much and totally and completely reaffirmed my decision to go into medicine. I have also been doing Neonatology research for the past year and am hopefully adding a new research project soon.
4) [Relationship]: Continue to work on the balance between school and my relationship.
Also successul! [I'm on a role!]. I think this year has been so much easier because S is a 4th year and has way more time to spend time with me, even when I'm busy. There has been many times that he will come visit when I have exams and he will just sit in my study room and watch movies on his laptop while I study. I know that does not sound exciting, but for busy med students, I am thankful for the time we get together. This last semester, we even got to see each other about 3-4 times a week, which is great! I'm very happy.
5) [Friends]: Contact friends from the past.
Hrm. I'm going to say that I half-way completed this. I can't think of anyone I really contacted that I have completed lost contact with, but I think that I did do a good job visiting friends in different areas of this country. For example, I am lucky to still see my girlfriends from high school everytime I come home from break....AND, a few months ago, I went to New York City to meet up with all my old college roommates. So, I think I should keep working on this, but I am happy to say that for the friends that are important to me from high school and college, I think that I am making an effort to maintain these friendships.
6) [Self #1]: Travel to a New Place.
1) [Health]: Continue to work on my exercise plan and diet.
Well...I tried. I know this resolution is by far my hardest resolution to actually follow-up on because I am a stress eater, and in med school there is lots of stress, and therefore lots of eating. I can think of two positive things that I have done this year, although much improvement is still needed. First, I started doing hot yoga and I loved it! There is something amazing about being in a hot room, stretching your body to its limits. I think its a great exercise and everytime I go, I pledge to incoporporate it into my weekly schedule. However, I get busy and stressed out, and yoga is one of the things that goes. This should change. The second thing that I have liked to do is incoporate fruit-and-veggie cleanses every few months. I have done this three times so far and find it really helpful! When I have gotten out of control with eating out and not cooking at home, making myself do a fruit-and-veggie cleans has helped me get refocused and back into the swing of cooking healthy. I hope that I will continue to remember to do this next year. I know that I need to continue to find a balance between my health and school; I plan to work on this a lot again in the new year.
2) [School Goal #1]: Improve semester average and Master each course!
Success! Normally I wouldn't want to share my grades on my blog, but I am so proud of myself that I feel like I need to. Not only have I mastered each course (which is above a 85%), the lowest grade I received on any exam for the whole semester was an 89%, finishing the semester off with a 91% average. I am pretty proud of myself to say the least! I hope to continue this trend into the next semester and give myself a confidence boost as I enter into my intensive study period for my board exams!
3) [School Goal #2]: Participate a valuable externship or research experience.
Success again! This summer, I participated in a fantastic month-long externship at St. John's Hospital, that allowed me to spend 1-week shadowing in Pediatrics, OB/Gyn, Emergency Medicine, and General Surgery. I learned so much and totally and completely reaffirmed my decision to go into medicine. I have also been doing Neonatology research for the past year and am hopefully adding a new research project soon.
4) [Relationship]: Continue to work on the balance between school and my relationship.
Also successul! [I'm on a role!]. I think this year has been so much easier because S is a 4th year and has way more time to spend time with me, even when I'm busy. There has been many times that he will come visit when I have exams and he will just sit in my study room and watch movies on his laptop while I study. I know that does not sound exciting, but for busy med students, I am thankful for the time we get together. This last semester, we even got to see each other about 3-4 times a week, which is great! I'm very happy.
5) [Friends]: Contact friends from the past.
Hrm. I'm going to say that I half-way completed this. I can't think of anyone I really contacted that I have completed lost contact with, but I think that I did do a good job visiting friends in different areas of this country. For example, I am lucky to still see my girlfriends from high school everytime I come home from break....AND, a few months ago, I went to New York City to meet up with all my old college roommates. So, I think I should keep working on this, but I am happy to say that for the friends that are important to me from high school and college, I think that I am making an effort to maintain these friendships.
6) [Self #1]: Travel to a New Place.
Yes. Yes. and Yes. I traveled to lots of new places!!! Most exciting was my trip to Peru. I spent three weeks there and visited lots of cities (including Lima, Cuzco, Chiclin, Chicama, Trujillo, etc). I also did a 4-day hike through the Salkantay Trail and up to Machu Picchu. [You can read all about my trip here.] Besides Peru, I also got to explore more of my new state! This summer, I lived with my friend Michelle in Harrison Township and volunteered in Grosse Point; I also went to Detroit a few times. I also went to the neighboring state of Ohio (to go to the Cedar Pointe theme park). For spring break, I road-triped down to North Carolina to have the most incredibly relaxing week of my life in the Outer Banks...and finally, I recently just returned from the state of Massachusetts, where I visited the city of Boston for the first time. So, yes. I way accomplished this goal and hope to have many more additions to this list next year! :)
7) [Self #2] Learn a New Skill.
Does studying count? Because I have gotten really good at that!
No? Okay, I know that. I think I failed at this one. The only thing I can think of is that I have really started to enjoy drawing. At Disneyland, I have taken a few of those mini-art classes where they teach you how to draw Disney characters; this is always my favorite part of my Disneyland trips (as nerdy as that sounds). I also am currently doing illustrations for a children's book that I wrote last year and am hopefully getting published in the near future. So, no I don't think that I have learned a new skill well...but I have become interested in a new skill that I still need to learn. Does that count?
Well thats it for now. I think overall, I did a pretty good job with my 2012 resolutions and hope that 2013 proves to be just as great, if not better!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Happy Friday!
I love Fridays! Despite having to be awake at 5 AM to get to Elk Grove High School for Drill Team practice by 6, I end my work day by 8 AM and have the rest of the day for myself. Its fabulous. Normally when I get off work, I go straight to my computer and read Student Doctor Network posts for about 5 hours, but for the first time in a long time, I came home and didn't have anything to do!
I know I will be ridiculously busy with school starting in August so I plan on relishing in these lazy days as much as I possibly can over the next few months. However, I know I will get bored and will need something to focus on. So, I have come up with the following things that I would like to get accomplished before I start school:
1) Do a 30-day blog challenge
2) Exercise at least 6 times per week & continue to learn how to cook cheap/healthy meals
3) Watch the entire series of "Sex and the City" (again--shout out to my Roebling apartment)
4) Finish reading "Eat, Pray, Love"
5) Read two more books for fun (most likely Nicholas Sparks books, but still looking for suggestions)
6) Explore Sacramento (I have lived here my whole life and don't really appreciate it. I want to get out there and see everything that this city has to offer!)
7) Come up with a solid budget ( I will be very very very poor for the next few years)
I'm hoping that actually writing down this list will keep me accountable for completing these tasks, but I guess we will see in August.
Happy Friday, everybody!
I know I will be ridiculously busy with school starting in August so I plan on relishing in these lazy days as much as I possibly can over the next few months. However, I know I will get bored and will need something to focus on. So, I have come up with the following things that I would like to get accomplished before I start school:
1) Do a 30-day blog challenge
2) Exercise at least 6 times per week & continue to learn how to cook cheap/healthy meals
3) Watch the entire series of "Sex and the City" (again--shout out to my Roebling apartment)
4) Finish reading "Eat, Pray, Love"
5) Read two more books for fun (most likely Nicholas Sparks books, but still looking for suggestions)
6) Explore Sacramento (I have lived here my whole life and don't really appreciate it. I want to get out there and see everything that this city has to offer!)
7) Come up with a solid budget ( I will be very very very poor for the next few years)
I'm hoping that actually writing down this list will keep me accountable for completing these tasks, but I guess we will see in August.
Happy Friday, everybody!
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