Famous Last Words Week 14: Winding Down

I finally feel that my semester is on the downward slope now! Today, I just finished the whole interview process for the Rhodes Scholarship, and although I wasn't chosen, I'm glad I'm past that hurtle. Now, there are just a few things that stand in my way when it comes to finishing this semester. I will admit that I'm going to have to figure out how to get much of my senior thesis written in a few weeks. Given that I will have the Thanksgiving break to work on it, I believe I'll be able to make it work. It'll just depend on much much coffee and will I have!

Having said that, I'm just now remembering that I have another medical school interview coming up right after the semester ends. I'll have to fly all the way up to Rochester, which I'm willing to bet will be as cold as the bottom of Dante's Inferno. Nevertheless, I look forward to the opportunity to get a perspective on another medical school. After coming down to Houston for the Rhodes interview, I feel pretty accustomed to stressful interview situations. By now, I should feel pretty confident!

A much tamer version of the winter weather I could be seeing in Rochester, New York in December. Found at rochester.edu.

Beyond that, I'm eager to finish the semester with a full sense of vigor and vitality. I feel a desire to read and write more frequently. I want to dedicate more of my time to getting to know new people. Overall, I want to take these last few months of college to polish myself off as a person, you might say. After all, if I do end up going to medical school, free time is going to be a little difficult to come by. I hope I will still be able to quench my thirst for many of my interests as I continue my education. For now, though, I am willing to wait and see.

Famous Last Words Week 12: A Mini Thanksgiving

This past weekend, I felt small. Standing in the middle of Owen Field before a sold out game can have that effect on a person. Still, I wasn't there without reason. As luck would have it, I was chosen as the Outstanding Senior for the College of Arts and Sciences a few weeks ago. To say that I was surprised would be an understanding; I remember letting the words "oh shit" slip out of surprise when the Director of Leadership Development and Volunteerism told me the news over the phone. I'm thankful that she was understanding.

While it was a unique experience to be recognized on a field, the weekend was a reminder of how many people have helped me become who I am. My parents got to watch from the sidelines, and they relayed the event to relatives. My mentor, a retired US Army Major general, had the opportunity to watch me receive my award on Friday. It's a shame my sister could not have been there; she does a great job at keeping me humble.

Mom and Dad. I still cannot believe that my mother, an OSU alumna, was willing to wear that sticker. (Personal photo, taken November 2014). 

Over the weekend, an observation became increasingly apparent. I realized that those who felt the most pride for me were the people that had helped me most in my life. In my opinion, the correlation is strong. I suppose the relationship exists because we relinquish and invest a little bit of our ego in another every time we chose to lend a hand. It makes sense to me. Why else would we feel such pride for accomplishments that are not ours. Then again, maybe part of it is genetic. In that case, the pride we feel for others comes from the knowledge that we have a little bit of ourselves--that is, within DNA--in those we feel pride for. I would hope it's more than just a reflection of our biology.

All and all, it was a good weekend, a weekend that acted as a reminder of the people for whom I am thankful.

Famous Last Words Week 11: Read, Study, Rinse and Repeat

With last week’s arrival of the surprising news regarding the Rhodes Scholarship, I have been putting my nose to the grindstone. The final interview is known for being notoriously difficult. The judges, most of who are Rhodes Scholars themselves, try to make your head spin. They will ask questions that come out of left field just to test how well you react to not knowing a topic. Therefore, most of my free time now consists of preparing for the mental hurtle.

Anytime I drive in Norman, I play NPR through an app on my phone. When I have the time, I try to wrap my head around the complex law that is the Affordable Care Act. The same thing applies to the study of linguistics and philology because I proposed to pursue a Masters in those subjects at Oxford. Overall, it’s a humbling experience. It has been a great reminder of how little I actually know. It has strengthened my desire to be a life-long learner. I feel a renewed appetite to bite into the subjects and topics that have always interested me. At the same time, I must say that I’m a little disappointed in myself that it took the possibility of a scholarship to encourage me to do something I should have been doing all along.

A screenshot of a comic I've read that does a through job of explaining the ACA. Found at boingboing.net.

When it comes to the interview, I have been lucky enough to receive some perspective. My scholarship coordinator, Melanie Wright, sent me ‘debriefings’ of people who had interviewed in the past. One in particular helped me to calm down. She mentioned that she had said “I don’t know” at least four times in her interview, and when everything was said and done, she still got the scholarship. The way I see it, the purpose of the interview is to confirm who I am based on what I submitted in my application. I do not want to go in there feeling I have to prove myself further or impress people. I think my best chance comes from focusing on communicating who I am.

Famous Last Words Week 10: Eventful Weekend to Say the Least

While I know my title makes this post seem dramatic, I just have a lot of good news to share. I certainly hope you all will not think I am bragging either!

On Friday, much to my surprise, I found out that I am a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship for my district, which covers Oklahoma and Texas. Each district chooses fourteen finalists, and from those fourteen, they select two Rhodes Scholars. When you crunch the numbers, that means I have a one in seven chance of becoming a Rhodes Scholar. I cannot believe it. It is difficult to imagine the opportunity of having the chance to study in Oxford for two years, and in my case, I would plan to pursue a Master degree in General Linguistics and Philology. The interview is a little less than a month from now, so I'm preparing myself with a ton of reading. It will be an interesting experience to say the least!

A clip from the email that I could barely believe. (Personal photo)

Yesterday, I had my first interview for medical school at OU's College of Medicine. While I felt the interview went fine, the more important aspect I gleaned from the experience was how impressed I was by the campus. The medical students who showed us around were so well-rounded, and I felt comfortable around them. Most importantly, I decided that I could be happy studying at OU's College of Medicine. I still have more interviews to go, but it is reassuring to know that I do not necessarily have to leave the state in order to find a good fit for medical school.

I guess for now I just have to concern myself with preparing for the next challenges in the upcoming months. It's exciting, and the best part about this is that I never would have seen myself doing any of these things four years ago.

Famous Last Words Week 7: A New Perspective

The last time I wrote a Famous Last Words entry, I found myself struggling to keep pace with a slew of applications and deadlines. Now, I can breathe a little easier. Even though I have two interviews this week, my schedule has opened up to allow for more spontaneity. I'm reading for pleasure again. I'm finding time to go play tennis during the rare occasions when Oklahoma presents a autumn day that is the perfect temperature without the persistent wind.

A newfound hobby is taking up my free time. Wikipedia Commons.

However, I do not regret the rush and stress from the past month. With those national scholarship applications, I was forced to stop and take stock of my life. Personal statements required that I put who I am into writing, and it is harder than it seems.

"Why?" That's the simple word that came up again and again during that process. Why do I, a person who loves teaching, want to become a doctor? Why do I see language as a lens through which I evaluate my skills as a tutor and future physician? Why did I make the decisions that led me to where I am now?

It is a shame that the question of "what" seems to take precedence in life, and it starts early on. What do you want to be when you grow up? What are your goals? What matters to you? These same questions hold merit, but I think they more readily come to mind.

I now find myself asking "why?" more often, and it keeps me grounded. I feel as if I have taken a one-hour course over myself for the past month, and I am glad I held my ground. The funny thing is that I never would have imagined that I would have gained this much just from the process of applying for such scholarships. I guess the best part of education is what you learn when you least expect it.

Famous Last Words Week 4: Drowning in Applications

I'm sad to say that this is the first week that I've missed a Storytelling post. My favorite part of this class is my ability to have an outlet for writing, and I've loved taking the opportunity to challenge myself to retell stories in new styles and interpretations.

I'm not one to make excuses for myself, but I know why I dropped the ball. To begin, let me offer a metaphor to describe my life at college right now.

Imagine that you're a newly hired dog walker. Eager to get started, you head over to pick up your first client's dog. However, you discover that it's not just one dog. It's fifteen to be exact, and they're all hyperactive miniature dachshunds. (Trust me, I speak from experience when it comes to the dachshunds.) While none of them could over take you alone, together they constitute unpredictable collection of canines seeking to pull you every which way.

A tame version of my metaphorical college career at the moment. Wikipedia Commons.

That about sums it up for me. I don't mean to complain, but these past few weeks haven't hesitated to add helpings to my plate. A few secondary applications for medical school flew into my mailbox. The university has nominated me to apply for both the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. The deadline for my Fulbright grant proposal has completely hit me by surprise. My independent study awaits its paperwork to be filled out.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. The scholarship applications require that everything comes in by the end of September, and medical school secondaries can't come in forever. I look forward to having more time to read and play accordion. I'm eager to break in my hammock during one of Oklahoma's rare, perfect autumn days. The key is too relax and take things one day at a time. For now, I'm lucky to have friends in my life who keep me sane and my priorities in check.

Here's to flying by the seat of my pants! Cin cin!