Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

Topic

Internal Medicine


What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?

• iPoly Citizen
• What I do regret is that I wasn't as active as I would have liked to have been these past three years. While I have the great opportunity to work with my fellow peers in the Blood Drive Committee  I will try to be far more active in the community. I've crippled my schedule as I'll be doing many things this year; (AP class, Senior Project, Young Scholars) yet I really do want to have an affect in the community. It may not be a large impact such as creating an entirely new elective, but I'll see what I can do.
• Effective Learner
• During the summer, I visited the UCI Medical Centre and spoke with many undergraduates and medical students. Another high school student who was there  as me asked "How much do you have to study in Medical School?" The medical student thought for a second and simply said "If you devote at least an hour or two a day studying, then you're fine. For your first year at least." Long story short of what happened at UCI, I became inspired from the discussion. If I devote and manage my time wisely and actually sit down and study, I feel I'll do far better and catch better habits. I'm also a kind of person that doesn't like asking questions. I'd just go home and figure it out myself or from online tutorials. No more! If I don't get it, I'll ask. Especially at Cal Poly. I'll go to the professors' offices and ask them for help. I'll get better by learning from the best.
• Effective User of Technology
• I'm proficient with technology. I also understand that the internet is a vast repository for knowledge. Sites like EdX, Khan Academy, and even anecdotes from Reddit have furthered my knowledge. Frankly, the problem is staying there too long and straying towards the computer games. This year I'll cut back on my computer use [games, really] and see how it affects me. In addition to that, when I am on the computer, I' really have to learn how to research correctly. I do not believe searching something on google and clicking only the first link, reading it, and using only that as a source for a paper is acceptable.
• Effective Communicator
• Numerous times when a question is asked in class, I think or know I have the right answer, but I don't raise my hand to answer because of a fear of either being wrong, irrationally ridiculed, or become embarrassed. When I find out I was actually correct, I feel angry with myself. "Why didn't I answer? I knew it!" This fear has held me back more times than I can count. For example, it was the first day in one of my college classes. The professor said "OK, extra credit to the person who knows who the student of Aristotle was." We were talking about philosophy at the time and just ended the section of Aristotle. For a few seconds no one was raising their hand. Me on the other hand had just read about this very topic  a few months back. So many things were going on in my head at the time. "I know this! Alexander the Great, right? But what if I'm wrong? I'm the only high school student here. They'll think me stupid." I thought to myself. After a few more seconds the teacher said the answer. "Alexander the Great" Oh how angry I was. I couldn't get the scene that just happened out of my head for a few hours. I refuse for things like that to happen. They think me stupid? Wrong. The only person that was stupid was me. Even if the answer is wrong, I've got to try!