5. Why do you want to major in biology?
Life is the greatest mystery and an astonishing miracle. Biology attempts to understand life in its many forms and that, for me, is its biggest draw. Biology has extreme current relevance as humans continue to learn how we fit into the complex ecosystems that make up our world. The advances of gene technology present the possibility of eliminating genetic and chronic diseases. Threats to our bodies that we deem to be dangerous today will be insignificant in the future. It is entirely possible that cancer could become the next common cold. Medicine is on the edge of a dramatic breakthrough, and I would like to be a part of this pioneering endeavor.
9. What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
Ever since I lost my hearing at eleven months, I have been helped by so many people. Doctors who worked with me in the hospital during those fourteen days with meningitis, audiologists and speech pathologists who helped me overcome my deafness, and my parents who have stood by me the whole way. As a result of all their hard work, I’ve grown up into a teenager who has taken all of their help and turned it into success. I’m graduating high school in only three years, rather than the usual four, with an advanced honors diploma and I’m in the top five percent of my class. I’ve chosen to study medicine, a long, difficult, and expensive career field to go into, because I’ve realized how much everyone’s collective efforts have helped me. Looking back at their work, I now know that in ten years, I want to be the person who is helping others.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
My summer reading list
Every summer, usually in the first week of July or so, an envelope comes in the mail from school. This charming envelope always contains a large amount of work that no one wants to do during vacation. Lists of books to read, textbook chapters to outline, articles to examine, and projects and essays to complete. In the past I was innundated with Palmer & Colton's A History of the Modern World, Heller's Catch-22, Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, and Orwell's 1984 as well as an essay about a perplexing poem about crossing swamps, or something...
Now, mind you, these were all good books and assignments to do. I definitely could of had it much worse. But this summer it's going to be a bit different. New York University's summer assignment? Everyone has to read one non-fiction novel (that has yet to have been chosen), and then talk about it in a small group of kids during the first week of classes. No testing, no grading, it's informal and easy.
So I decided to take it upon myself to create my own reading list so I could take the opportunity to read what I wanted to read this summer. Here it is: (ignore the red-underlines, I took a screenshot from Microsoft Word)
All of these books were chosen for different reasons and through different ways. Some were reccomended to me by friends and family, others were found on 'BEST 25 *insert type* NOVELS OF THE PAST *insert date*" lists from magazines and websites, and others were just randomly found in Barnes & Nobel.
My literacy has been shaped each summer by books chosen by Mr. Savelson, Ms. Rosenbaum, Schliermacher, Sage and DePoala, and of course- Ms. Diana, but now I'm really looking forward to shaping my own literacy over the next few months.
So what about you guys, have you read any of these? Thoughts?
Now, mind you, these were all good books and assignments to do. I definitely could of had it much worse. But this summer it's going to be a bit different. New York University's summer assignment? Everyone has to read one non-fiction novel (that has yet to have been chosen), and then talk about it in a small group of kids during the first week of classes. No testing, no grading, it's informal and easy.
So I decided to take it upon myself to create my own reading list so I could take the opportunity to read what I wanted to read this summer. Here it is: (ignore the red-underlines, I took a screenshot from Microsoft Word)
All of these books were chosen for different reasons and through different ways. Some were reccomended to me by friends and family, others were found on 'BEST 25 *insert type* NOVELS OF THE PAST *insert date*" lists from magazines and websites, and others were just randomly found in Barnes & Nobel.
My literacy has been shaped each summer by books chosen by Mr. Savelson, Ms. Rosenbaum, Schliermacher, Sage and DePoala, and of course- Ms. Diana, but now I'm really looking forward to shaping my own literacy over the next few months.
So what about you guys, have you read any of these? Thoughts?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Middlesex
My favorite book changes all the time. I never have favorites in anything- movies, colors, clothes- because I am always discovering better things. Middlesex is my most recent finding, a great novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides, about an intersexed person named Cal Stephanides and his entire Greek family history.
The narrator was born with a 5-alpha-reductase-deficiency which causes him to appear female. He was raised as a girl and only learned about his recessive gene disorder during adolesence and transferred to being male. The novel is simultaneously an epic example of bildungsroman as Calliope comes of age and becomes Cal, as well as a Greek family saga- the novel starts with Cal's ancestors in 1922 during the war between Greece and Turkey and follows their immigration to Detroit to the present.
The novel is full of intensely characterized family members and by the end of it's five hundred and twenty nine pages, I felt as if I knew them on a personal level- as if they were almost real people. The author's dry humorous style of writing enhances all of the personality traits and tics of Cal's family. Desdemona, Cal's grandmother who started the gene pattern that lead to her grandson's syndrome by marrying her brother, is a favorite of mine- especially when she becomes senile later in life.
I enjoyed the book so much that I have decided to read the author's first novel, The Virgin Suicides, for my independent reading project. More to come!
The narrator was born with a 5-alpha-reductase-deficiency which causes him to appear female. He was raised as a girl and only learned about his recessive gene disorder during adolesence and transferred to being male. The novel is simultaneously an epic example of bildungsroman as Calliope comes of age and becomes Cal, as well as a Greek family saga- the novel starts with Cal's ancestors in 1922 during the war between Greece and Turkey and follows their immigration to Detroit to the present.
The novel is full of intensely characterized family members and by the end of it's five hundred and twenty nine pages, I felt as if I knew them on a personal level- as if they were almost real people. The author's dry humorous style of writing enhances all of the personality traits and tics of Cal's family. Desdemona, Cal's grandmother who started the gene pattern that lead to her grandson's syndrome by marrying her brother, is a favorite of mine- especially when she becomes senile later in life.
I enjoyed the book so much that I have decided to read the author's first novel, The Virgin Suicides, for my independent reading project. More to come!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Technology
Technology has played a huge role in the development of my literacy. From age one and onwards, I would be nowhere without the immense help of my hearing aid and cochlear implant. Literally, without them my English skills would pale in comparison to what I have today. My hearing loss occured at the time of language formation and development, which almost ensured my literacy a death sentence. However, due to the amazing technology that exists today, it was able to slowly rise up again and make its way. Computers have also positively affected my literacy by exposing me to the knowledge of the internet. From a very young age, Google has been my best friend, allowing me to reach out and have all the information I needed after a few keystrokes. Technology has been extremely influential and has greatly helped my literacy blossom.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Shopping With Daddy
The first book that I learned to read was called Shopping With Daddy. I can't find the author's name, cover picture, or any other information about it despite multiple Google searches, so I guess it was on a very, very limited print run.
As a kid, going shopping with my dad after pre-school was an exciting event in which I received a portion of the shopping list and I got to run around the store, trying to find the items and bring them back to the cart. As this tradition developed, my dad found Shopping With Daddy and began to read it to me often. The plot is pretty self explanatory, it was about a little boy who went grocery shopping with his father. It takes the young anticipatory reader through all the sections of the supermarket while naming different fruits, vegetables and other products.
After many readings by my dad, eventually I learned to read it myself. I remember reading the book over a hundred times to any friend, friend's parents, my parents, family members, my teacher, and anyone else who would listen to me.
It was a pretty huge accomplishment for me at the time and I was quite proud of myself.
As a kid, going shopping with my dad after pre-school was an exciting event in which I received a portion of the shopping list and I got to run around the store, trying to find the items and bring them back to the cart. As this tradition developed, my dad found Shopping With Daddy and began to read it to me often. The plot is pretty self explanatory, it was about a little boy who went grocery shopping with his father. It takes the young anticipatory reader through all the sections of the supermarket while naming different fruits, vegetables and other products.
After many readings by my dad, eventually I learned to read it myself. I remember reading the book over a hundred times to any friend, friend's parents, my parents, family members, my teacher, and anyone else who would listen to me.
It was a pretty huge accomplishment for me at the time and I was quite proud of myself.
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