Capstone Presentation

How do you show to a class the affect the mind has on the recovery process?  That is the biggest hurdle I am trying to overcome right now.  I know there are some aspects that I could find images of, but there is nothing that will be able to encompass all that I have learned.  I think the best way I can engage the audience is through a PowerPoint presentation and include anecdotes.  Personally, I find anecdotes most interesting and those work well with my topic.  Last semester I took public speaking.  I have found a good way to practice my speech as well as how to make a good outline for myself so I remember what I want to say.  Both with public speaking and capstone, the class is not the most responsive class, so I will work around that and still engage the class.  I will be able to do this by showing examples from videos, tell anecdotes, and only asking rhetorical questions.  Maybe I am being a little harsh on my class, but if my paid teacher who is really good at being engaging and has had lots of experience can't get us to respond in the morning, how am i?

Reflection on My Capstone

With my capstone paper complete I would like to say that I can stop now.  But really I cannot.  I am not going to get off of this topic for a while because I like it and I want to continue doing this the rest of my life.  I will still be going to volunteer at Children's even though my official research is done.  I will still be learning about all of the ins and outs of physical therapy and psychology.  I will still attend my psychology class and continue to learn and apply what I learn.  I will still be interested in this topic because I truly enjoy it.  I hope to be a physical therapist someday and this project has just been my launch pad not my entire flight.

Though this is still a process, it was also the beginning of the end.  This is the big paper that says "I am a senior and I am done!"  We still have a few more weeks, but it is all wrapping up.  I still have AP exams and lots of tests and other work.  But I also have about 20 days left!  It is exciting to have this chapter close and have another open.  Even though I still don't know where my next chapter is (which is really annoying- I want to know where I am going to college) it is still exciting to move on from high school and become more independent.

When looking back on this project, I realize how this project is not like a college paper.  There was very little independence in the writing process.  We had to have mandatory checks and blog posts and meetings with our teacher.  We could not just use our time for our project, we had to do class assignments and has to pause way more than I needed to "reflect" on what we did.  Though the stuff we had to "reflect" on was nothing because we did not have time in class to be able to be immersed in our research.  To me there were more road blocks than helpful avenues.  I think that this paper should be more independent and treat us like the 18-year-olds we are, not the little children we are treated like.

Useful Websites

TED Blog has updated their list of "100 Websites You Should Know and Use."  They originally made a list in 2007, but decided it was time to update the list six years later.  Though many of the websites from the first  list are still used.  There are 100 websites and it is a little overwhelming.  But they have the websites listed by category:

• Business & E-commerce
• Audio & Visual
• Literature, Media, & Culture
• Politics, News & Global Issues
• Education
• Science & Technology

I have browsed a few of the websites and I have found two that were very interesting to me.

1. The Billfold- This is a blog about different money topics.  I thought these blogs were well written and relevant to a variety of people.  You can easily browse what blog you want to read and they have subtitles by category to easily look at one specific topic.  I do not really enjoy business things, I have a friend that enjoys it, so I hear about it a lot, but I have never had an interest.  Though, I thought this blog was still interesting, and I think everyone will be able to find something interesting to them.  
2. Khan Academy- This is a helpful website that has videos and animations about math, science and economics, computer science, humanities and test prep.  They have a wide range of subjects under each category and are geared toward high school and first year college students.  I have looked at some of these animations and they would be very helpful for the classes I am taking now and for some of the classes I know I'll need to take next year.  This also provides SAT math help.  This is very useful to have another resource to reference if a student does not understand a concept or wants more help with something.  

Family Connections

Last week I got my wisdom teeth and a few other out, and I was in pain pretty much the whole week.  What a great senior year spring break!  So beginning this week was a rough transisition, trying to deal with the pain that I still feel and get back into the swing of school.  But this week I received an email from my second aunt (I think that is the relation- she's my mom's cousin) about some of the PT questions I had.  She is a PT in Tennessee and has really enjoys her work.  On our family reunions in the summer, I have been able to talk with her about her work, but I didn't have a focus of any of my questions, I was just able to hear general information really.  I knew she would be a great resource for my paper, because she said she would love to help me anytime and that I could come observe in her clinic anytime.  She was able to answer some of the more practical questions I wanted to know because she works with people and knows more than just observers who try to research it.  She was able to specifically answer my questions about how family and friends help in the recovery process and how the outlook of the patient affects how a patient gets better.  All very interesting information and some great insight that I have not been able to find in other forms of research I've done.  Because of the great feedback from her, I am going to also ask my supervisor PT at Children's.  I think getting information from actual PT's is most valuable because it is most practical.   Beginning this project, I never thought it would lead to my second aunt, but hey, it works and is one of my best sources.

This is a picture from my family reunion a few years back.
It is my mom's side of the family and this particular year
we all made tie dye :)

With my capstone paper, I feel like I am on the downhill ride now.  I have 11 pages written and I feel like they are well developed ideas that just need polishing.  I have all the research I think I need done, but I will keep my eyes open to what I still need and any wholes I need to fill.  My main goal now is to wrap it up and polish my writing.  I am happy with what I have done and all the information I have learned.  I hope others who read my paper will find this information as interesting as I.