dhfa

My final presentation was last Thursday and now the looming specter of a 40 minute presentation is a thing of the past. I was nervous going in because even though I knew I had prepared my PowerPoint and outline as best I could, no plan ever survives on contact. In other words, I knew what I wanted and needed to say, I just didn’t know if it was all going to come out or in the right, intelligible order and mesh seamlessly with my slides. I didn’t notice a couple moments where I was saying umm to much and trailed off awkwardly as I changed slides and tried to keep things exactly on track, but overall, it went pretty good. My initial nervousness evaporated in the heat of the moment and it turned out well. The faculty reviewers seemed very impressed and as far as I can tell, none of the students fell asleep and several actually seemed pretty keyed in. However, I did upset Mrs. Wilson, who had no idea what had been going on and felt terrible that she never noticed. However, after spending a period talking to her, we got everything ironed out so now she can sleep at night again! I did not enjoy this presentation at all, but I’m glad I did it. It proved to me that I can open up and give a long and detailed presentation about a very personal aspect of my life that I could never imagine sharing under any other circumstance. Anyways, I’m done now and that’s really all that matters!

1 Comment »

Strolling through the beautiful Homewood Campus listening to our intelligent and affable tour guide and representative of the student body inform us with the wonders of Johns Hopkins, I glanced to the left and through a glass window observed a student working on his own with a several million dollar piece of equipment. Where else in the world can you go for college and get hands on experience with the most sophisticated, up-to-date technology in existence? Having been accepted into JHU’s Whiting School of Engineering, I have already envision the amazing opportunities available to me. All students can apply for and recieve a $10,000 grant for research on any topic of there choice. With the best and brightest minds as professors, high-quality equipment, and research money, the opportunities for me are endless at JHU. The government works closely with the university on research projects and that could even open up doors for high-caliber jobs as soon as I graduate. Some of the greatest research and development occurs in JHU’s applied physics labs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRgFPXhk0qA&list=UUz4r-ikQdWEj1gG1aFJTy-g&index=1&feature=plcp. In five years at JHU i can receive my B.S. and M.S. of engineering with half of my fifth year tuition covering by the engineering fellowship scholarship. Johns Hopkins is known worldwide and its student body is remarkably diverse. It literally reaches every corner of the globe. Life at Johns Hopkins would expand my horizons like nothing else could. There are things there for me to learn about I didn’t even know existed. People who can give me insight into every race on the planet.  Besides the educational opportunities, JHU still stands apart from other schools. Located on the edge of Baltimore it is in a great location for jobs and internships in the city as well as for enjoying the plethora of activities and restaurants in the area. After touring the dining halls, I was tempted just to stay for the food alone. I love food and I love to cook so when I discovered the quality of food and then that even some freshmen dorms had kitchenettes I was ecstatic. Most colleges forbid even a microwave! I could probably go on all day about JHU, but really the name speaks for itself. Ask most anybody if they have heard of Johns Hopkins and they will say yes. Not every college can claim that. With that name at my back, I can go anywhere.

 
This scholarship is sponsored by CenturyLinkQuote.com.

No Comments »

The way i gain weight makes absolutely no sense to me. When I examine my activity and diet from week to week, there never seems to be any huge differences. Nevertheless, i never have consistent results. It seems like I take 2 steps forward, 1 back, go nowhere, 1 back, then jump like 4 or 5. Anyways, I broke 115 and almost made it to 116, tipping the scales Wednesday morning at 115.7 pounds.

On a similar note, my dietitian says my fat intake has been good. I’ve been trying to make fat be about 30% of my caloric intake because my pituitary gland hasn’t been functioning and according to the endocrinologist, that should get it going.

I had my second equine therapy session with Amy Gerberry yesterday and according to her I’m a natural. Most people don’t canter (walk, trot, canter, gallop), until somewhere between 7-12 sessions and a few of her clients have been riding for6 months and still have not. As i said, it was my second time out and I was doing it. I guess I’ve got some cowboy in me or something.

No Comments »

As i have mentioned before, therapy hasn’t in my opinion done a whole lot. I am an introverted person and don’t really feel like talking to a doctor or really see the point in it. It appears i finally got my counselor to realize this and she has decided we are going to try horse therapy. I’ve ordered a pair of boots and at my next session will begin working with horses and the hope is maybe she can sneak in some thereapy without me noticing. I think I’m doing pretty good, but i still have hitches to work through. For example, some foods, while i can eat them, i am still not entirely comfortable with them etc. I have never ridden a horse before and am hoping i like it.

1 Comment »

Well, my own eating disorder awareness week at school is now over and as far as i can tell it went pretty good. For those of you who didn’t know, this was the itinerary

Monday: A short little talk about NEDA week, EDs etc., and showing a very powerful and interesting video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPaxD61lwo

Tuesday: e-mail out a quiz used to determine if people have an ED or not

Wednesday: inside out day, will be a jeans day and people will wear their shirts inside out and can write non-visible things they are proud of about themselves on them

Thursday: media avoidance challenge, showing video at morning meeting and encouraging people to avoid popular media for the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qs5yooRPek&feature=related just the first minute or so of this video until the first song ends, listen to the words

Friday: balanced day, will be bringing in brownies, cookies, fruits and veggies and encourage people to take a “healthy” and “unhealthy” snack both to promote the idea of all things in moderation

I have had several people tell me they found the videos very interesting and powerful and enjoyed the snack and inside out activities. It’s hard to break the shell on taboo subjects like this, but at the very least i think I got people thinking just a little more about eating disorders. All in all, I would say it was a success.

No Comments »

Apparently doctors aren’t sure if malfunctioning pituitary glands cause eating disorders or vice versa. The doctor told me mine unfortunately still is not working, but by making 30% of my calories come from fat hopefully that will get it going again so I’ve been trying to eat more nuts, peanut butter, adding avocado to my sandwiches, taking fish oil, etc. Apparently since the pituitary controls so much mental function, its also related to anxiety disorders and a bunch of other stuff, that’s why doctors aren’t sure if they are the cause of eating disorders, or if the lack of fat and nutrients from eating disorders causes them. If your thoughts aren’t working quite right–> eating disorder.

On another note, I’v continued to gain weight and am over 113 now and convinced my therapist into only seeing her once a month. Frankly, i’ve never been a big fan of meeting with her and doesn’t feel like it does anything for me, but its a security blanket for my mom so… I do it anyway. I’ve got stuff in motion for NEDA week when we get back from winter break and hopefully it will turn out good and open up people’s eyes.

1 Comment »

I was up to 112.9 last week, but i dropped down just a little again this week. However, for the whole of January, i gained over 4 pounds which is the best i’ve done since school started. However, it wasn’t enough! Me and my grandma had bet going, if she could lose more than i gained. Last week she was just barely in the lead and then she got sick! And when you get sick, you shed weight like crazy. Combine that with my less than stellar performance and i lose. Bummer dude. Guess i have to go to Vita Felice, best italian place around, instead of Umi (winner picked the restaurant). I’m suffering terribly.

1 Comment »

Imani

For the most part, yours was one of the best so far, but there were a few slip-ups. You accidentally inserted learning activity in place of application, which threw a couple people off, but that’s nothing major. I know everyone else started their speech the same way, but that’s a problem. A hook or a different way to start your speech rather than the generic, I wasn’t sure what i wanted to do, would’ve been better, but once again its small peanuts. The last is you started to falter a little at the end and became unsure of what you were going to say, your “basically that” moment.

Besides those few hiccups though, it was great. The singing at the end was an awesome way to end it and get everyone engaged and excited. You did read your paper a little bit, but you still managed to make eye contact at least half the time. Similarly, you did use your hands, but not out of control, which is much better than just standing there like a post. Great job!

Me

That actually went really well. I did use like a little more than i would have wanted. At the beginning it looked like my leg was going to start doing something funny, but it stopped. Also, i did make eye contact, but only with one part of the crowd, I didn’t really look around. However, I was really pleased with the way i began it, which was far different than everyone else’s and more interesting. Also, i managed to get a couple good laughs so i must have been doing something right and keeping people engaged. I think i did a good job of getting my point across without being to terse or babbling on too. All in all, i think it worked out pretty good.

1 Comment »

Last night, my mom said something to the extent of tomorrow had better be  a hallelujah moment. Ever since school started, I’ve yo-yoed around from 109-107 and last week i was down to 107.6 pounds again. I hadn’t even broke 110 yet, my goal for the end of the summer, the closest i had gotten was 109.8. Then this morning, i could hardly believe my eyes. I had gained 4.1 pounds!!! I’m now 111.7 and officially over 110, only 3.3 pounds away from my goal. My weight range is about 110-120 and i’d really like to get firmly in the middle, but for now i’m just excited to have finally gotten out of this rut and hope the scale didn’t have malfunction.

1 Comment »

I’ve registered at the website and have some good ideas going. Here’s a quick blurb on a few of my ideas

Media avoidance challenge- media is largely responsible for eating disorders. Basically this would be a challenge to avoid popular media for the day and reflect on how all the mediua pushing for the “perfect health and body” affects people.

Get cooking- i would make a variety of treats, healthy and unhealthy, to promote the idea that all things are good in moderation.

Create a poll to see ow many people are affected by eating disorders, have disordered eating, know people who do etc.

Do a fun inside out day- wear clothes inside out ot represent its what inside that counts. Can write good qualities on clothes.

1 Comment »