#gapsemester

[academicpaperuk]

7 Tips to Make the Most of Your Gap Semester - A Comprehensive Student Guide - Contour Cafe

Are you about to take a gap semester in college? Well, we are here to …

[ldseitz]

Goals and Other Thoughts:

Work towards minimalism —> declutter (just step no.1)

Work towards a zero-waste lifestyle

Learn how to use my camera

Play piano (take lessons at Hunter or GHMS)

Explore NYC more

REST: DO NOT OVERLOAD SELF; DO NOT BE BUSY JUST TO BE BUSY

Perform a song at an open mic?

Cook for self more often

Exercise

Read 30minutes a day (at least, can me more)

Scribble ideas for a musical? opera? songs?

Budget and save!

Go to therapy (both solo and family)

Figure out insurance plan

Watch PBS News Hour or read articles (2 hours a week)

Chinese lessons (if it works out)

Reach out to “mentors” in my life (meet up with them once in a while)

Try to not buy anything for 1 month

^This is essentially my first list of goals with a few tweaks here and there.

From when I first wrote those goals to now I have managed to read more often (not every day, but a lot more frequently), I am composting at home, I have reached out to the people I look to for advice, I have talked in Chinese more (this was pretty unexpected), and I have been exploring more of NYC.

Before college, I had never been fond of setting goals for myself. They always felt rather pointless to me. Fortunately, I now see how goals can help me because I am setting concrete and measurable goals—it’s no longer this random thing.

[ldseitz]

It’s always easier for me to start writing on paper rather than on a Google document. Maybe it has something to do with the kinetic act of writing—it’s more personal. I was already feeling unmotivated to write just moments ago when I tried to type my thoughts out first before physically writing them. My words didn’t flow the way I wanted them to. As a perfectionist, I wanted to start over.

I already journal nearly every single day (I’ve done so since June 28, 2017 over the summer between high school and college). So why do I want to share this publicly? One reason is to hold myself accountable. I have various goals and projects I want to work on throughout my gap term and I am more likely to follow through on them if I set a weekly deadline. One of my goals is to not overload myself nor make myself “busy just to be busy” but I also want to make sure that I do not end up wasting my time by spending literally days watching things on Netflix of YouTube. I want to make sure that I get out of the house and live a little. In addition to keeping myself accountable, I think this will force me to organize my thoughts and curate highlights worthy of sharing in contrast to my thought dump in my day-to-day journal. And finally, it would make me feel incredibly happy if someone can look at my posts and find something they can resonate with. I don’t hear many stories about students who take gaps in the middle of college—most of the stories I’ve heard are of those who took a break between high school and college.

[whenyouattendpsia]

When I'm headed back to Paris and update the blog after a long hiatus

[tothemaxilla]

A Year's Reflection

Crazy how time has wings these days. This time last year I was a week away from taking the dental admissions test, cramming all the extra biology and chemistry that could possibly fit in my brain in a week's time. I got to travel the east coast for interviews and wound up having acceptances the first of December. I graduated shortly after and spent all of the Spring continuing to research in my plant genetics lab on campus, all the while reading, playing, and traveling in between work weeks. It's been a great year.

I've gotten to spend June at home with Sheida and our families and the R&R has been very, very nice. This month has been especially treasured since it is the last big chunk of time that I will have off from the dental world until... ever! Some reflections of rest and leisure are now turning to the road and goals that lie ahead in dental school. I will be a dual-degree student, getting my D.M.D. in the standard four years, but will also completing the coursework and research requirements of a Masters of Science in Oral Biology during the first two or three years as well. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time as a member of my lab in undergrad for the last two years and will now get to join a brand new lab. Lots of unknowns lie ahead, but it is definitely an exciting time. All of the courses I see on our webshell for the first year of dental school are making my inner-nerd very excited. 

With that, here's to the maxilla and trying to live life to the max during those study breaks!