Remembering What's Actually Important in Life

As I end my junior year of college while working three jobs and making as much money as I can in order to pay for my internship and car insurance in order to safely travel to and from my internship and other jobs, I've been thinking a lot about why it is we do what we do and why money is so 'valuable'.

Sometimes all I think about when I work is what money I am earning or saving by working in that moment. It almost makes life seem as though it's all going so quickly... I'm doing this job so that I can make this money so that I can buy or do this thing, but for what? For higher social status? For finding happiness? For saving all of the funds to travel? Sure, but when are you going to take advantage of all of that when all you do is constantly work your whole life away?

I'm terrified that one day I will be 70 years old and will have wasted all of the years in the prime of my life working so that I could do the things I wanted to do during that time, but it just got away from me because I was so focused on making money. U.S. currency isn't even backed by any gold!!! It's essentially worthless, but some many people treat it like it's the only thing that matters! That's insanity!!!!!!!!!

I really appreciate when my mind decides to go on sprees of thinking this way, where I question the nature of my reality and the social constructs that confine our ways of thinking. It brings a much needed change in perspective and helps me to really appreciate all of the little, and big, things that I am so fortunate to have. For example, flowers in a garden or a forest full of trees and wildlife are such beautiful and real things, and so many people don't recognize and appreciate their importance. The relationships we have with our families and friends... How do so many not find all the happiness they need in those relationships? Sure, traveling is amazing and I would love to go everywhere too, but I wouldn't want to go alone. I'd want to have my closest friends and family members with me so that we can enjoy it together. That is half the joy of traveling, just spending time exploring and discovering things with the people you love most.

I just think we all take so much for granted all of the time and don't stop to appreciate all that we are fortunate to have in our lives often enough. So I advise you to take time to think about all of the non-monetary things that make you the happiest and let those things fill you up with all the happiness you can't and won't ever find in money. ☺

Cultural Differences

I never realized Cinco de Mayo was such a celebrated holiday in the U.S. until I came to college. I took Spanish through all of high school and I learned a lot about Latino and Hispanic cultures, and I know what an incredible holiday Cinco de Mayo is for the Mexican people. However, I think its meaning has been muddled by the typical college student looking to drink their college careers away.

UNH prides itself on being a school of great diversity and acceptance of world cultures. Although this way be the vision of UNH, the students don't seem to quite understand how to be appropriately accepting. Cultural appropriation is the act of stereotyping or misrepresenting a culture that is different than your own. On Cinco de Mayo, this is a huge problem and people don't seem to understand why or how their actions offend those of Mexican heritage. By dressing up in ponchos, fake mustaches, sombreros, and other stereotypical Mexican cultural artifacts, those people are demeaning the Mexican culture and are being insensitive while belittling the importance of their holiday.

That being said, others were posting on Facebook all day calling people out for wearing the Mexican garments and celebrating the holiday. Some people were pretty rude about how they approached the party-goers, which to me seems counter intuitive since the whole issue is based upon educating and accepting others. I think the better tactic would have been to talk to the people about how their behavior is portrayed and perceived by others. And maybe trying to educate before the day so that they are more aware and receptive of the message. Anger is not going to fix social injustices by any means.

One thing to help put this whole issue in perspective is this idea that draws a connection to a more intense, but absolutely equivalent, scenario: we all appreciate MLK Day and respect the black culture and understand the oppression of the culture. So, since some people have that day off as a holiday, does that give people the right to dress in black face for any ceremony for MLK?

When you think about it on a broader scale, the celebration and appropriation of other cultures is wrong no matter what culture you are trying to emulate through stereotyping. THIS IS NOT TO SAY WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CELEBRATE AND APPRECIATE OTHER CULTURES. It is to stress the importance of accepting ALL of the culture, not just the bits and pieces you want to accept.

Rant over.

Prioritizing

Over the course of this semester I have learned a lot about how to be a successful professional. Through this class, my other four classes, my jobs, and trying to balance all of that out with a personal life I have been able to grow and learn the importance of prioritizing.

Prioritization takes a lot of discipline; making sure you do all your work before you go to hang out with friends, or making sure you do the assignments that are most pressing first instead of putting them off by doing other work. It definitely feels easier to procrastinate sometimes, but as we all move on into our internships, and eventually our professional lives, prioritizing becomes vastly more important. When expense reports are due, project presentations are looming, executive decisions need to be made, etc., the stakes are high and prioritization becomes a necessity.

This article by the National Association of County and City Health Officials gives a very detailed view into many techniques for prioritizing the tasks that one may face while in work. I like the article because it gives insight as to how to start prioritizing and the information can be used in any sector of life when making decisions. I think it's helpful to read about the different methods for how to devise a strategy for assigning numerical values to the items on your 'to do' list, 1 being the highest priority. Or the method of voting on the items on the 'to do' list and the item with the highest score becomes the highest priority. The article shows how to use these methods in your own life.

Although there is still glaringly obvious room for improvement in self-discipline and prioritization, I appreciate the knowledge I have gained and skills I have developed over this semester, and this year.

Time Management

We're currently in the midst of our last week of junior year and my mind is buzzing from a lot of things. It's crazy to think about how fast time flies, even though it sometimes feels like it's stagnant. Now it's time to get through finals and finish the year on a good note. While a lot of people are looking forward to the long break to hang out with friends and stay outside all summer, the junior HMP majors have a different story to tell, and I have an even more different story.

We will all be embarking on our summer internship opportunities at various hospitals and healthcare facilities around the region working 40 hours a week for 8 weeks. It's definitely the most exciting part of this year. I know I am excited for the variety of things that I will be doing at the hospital where I will be interning. Some people are starting right after the school year ends so they can have the later half of their summer off, and some are waiting a bit to give themselves a break before going to work all summer. I know people who aren't getting paid at their internships who are working weekend jobs and some of them who are not. We will definitely be busy this summer, no matter what.

I gave myself no time, though. I am currently an RA here, I work at the Institute for Health Policy and Practice, and I just recently started working at an ice cream shop in Boston (Fomu...it's the best). I finish being an RA and working at IHPP on May 18th and then work at Fomu that weekend, then start at the internship on Monday the 22nd. And even though I am starting so early in the summer and will be ending mid August, right after I finish I will be moving back to school for RA training before everyone comes back to school.  The more I think about it, the more overwhelming it seems that I will not have any free time this summer.

But I think it will teach me even more about time and stress management than I already know. Being able to juggle a full time job, a part time job, and preparing for the school year as an RA will be a lot. I am hoping to get as much out of these opportunities as possible, and I'm already thinking that working at Fomu will essentially be my 'free time' because it will be an easy job in an ice cream shop.

Let's see if I make it out of this summer alive.

Thoughts on UNH

I've really been in a reflective state over the past few days due to the semester coming to a close, and I have got to say that I am so happy I came to UNH. While I was considering schools, I didn't really want to even look at UNH because it is the state school, and at my high school we called it "Pinkerton Academy 2.0" because so many people from Pinkerton come here (Pinkerton Academy is the name of my HS).

After looking for colleges and thinking about the long term goals I had for myself, I thought that UNH would be the best school for me, mainly due to the 'lower' in-state tuition ('lower' because it's still outrageously expensive). As I stated in my last post, I came in to college declared environmental engineering, and UNH is known for being highly environmentally conscious and friendly which was another reason I thought coming here would be okay (although there is still major room for improvement in terms of lowering our environmental impact).

My first year...terrible. I hated all of my classes and had some problems finding myself, but I overcame mostly because of the amazing support that I surrounded myself with, such as my roommates and my RA (now my boyfriend). But last year everything clicked when I switched to HMP, yet another great program almost exclusively found at UNH that creates amazing opportunities for students in the major.

I think a lot about how the decisions we make affect our futures. It is crazy to think about the fact that I almost missed out on such a wonderful opportunity to be an HMP student and meet all of the people who have become some of my closest friends. I could have gone to an out of state school, but I don't think I ever would have even considered health management as a career because there aren't that many programs as good as ours. One thing I think I can take away from my college search, decision, and experience is that you should never overlook an option just because it isn't your first choice. Another example further proving my point is when I was searching for internship positions I almost cancelled one of my interviews because I thought I didn't want to go there. Turns out, I accepted a position and loved the woman I met with! Always give a potential opportunity the chance to prove your preconceptions wrong.

(And as it turns out, not too many people from Pinkerton ended up coming here, although some did, but it isn't a burden and when I run into some of them it reminds me of home, so having them here is kind of nice in a way.)

HMPositivity

When I applied to UNH, I was accepted as an engineering student. I wanted to save the world through environmental engineering. I didn't realize, however, that there is so much math involved in engineering (I knew it was relevant but I didn't know it would be the only thing we would be doing). It didn't take long for me to realize that engineering was not for me and I was left searching for a new purpose in my education.

My adviser at the time suggested that I take random classes from all sorts of backgrounds. I knew that I still wanted to help people somehow, I just didn't know in what way. I ended up randomly taking epidemiology and I loved it. And I'm so happy I did because it sparked my interest and was the catalyst for one of the best decisions I've ever made... Joining HMP!

I hadn't met anyone from the major by second semester sophomore year, but then I met Jess (where we suffered together through 3 hours in a row of human behavior). After that, first semester this year I met pretty much everyone else and it's been amazing so far and keeps getting better. These people are so supportive of one another and we all wish for each others success. It is a really positive group of people and I am so happy I joined the major and became a part of it. They are some of the best friends I've made in college. Not only that, but our professors are so supportive of our work and success! Not everyone can say that about their professors.

As this year comes to an end it is important to reflect on the hardest year I think any of us have endured in terms of course work. But it has also helped us grow and become the close-knit group that we are, and for that I'm, in a weird way, grateful for the terrible homework assignments, seemingly impossible problem sets, and horrible exams.

'Many' Presentation: Organizational Culture

A few classes ago, Jessica, Carly, and I gave a presentation about organizational culture. It was really interesting to read about the incredible impact that culture can have on work productivity. A lot of places that we looked into were a bit on the extreme end, such as the Zappos example where they are allowed to decorate their space in any way they want and where everyone is seen as equals. There is not one boss in their organization, which tends to lead to fewer conflicts and higher productivity rates.

While reading about organizations like Zappos I was honestly surprised to find that productivity didn't go down. I thought that since everyone is kind of friends in their work environment that it would create distraction from doing work because they just want to hang out with their friends. But it was interesting to find that the opposite was true. It is shown that when people are generally happy to be at work and happy with the work they are doing, they tend to get more done and use time more efficiently, even if they are friends with their coworkers. This is because everyone actually wants to do their work! I think it's awesome that there are places like this, where the people are able to perform well and have a really good time with their team.

Building an environment through trust and respect from one another is just one way to create a positive organizational culture. Transparency is another very important factor in a positive culture. When people are not secretive about their work, they become more collaborative and function better as a team. They are able to support one another and help to better each others work. I think that organizational culture can either help or harm the productivity of its workers, and that is an important thing to keep in mind in the future when developing a culture myself.