Tips and Tricks.

Yesterday I finished my last test as a Point Loma student. It doesn't become official until Saturday, I have completed my bachelors degree and it feels kind of weird to be honest. Since I have had this blog going since my freshmen year at this place, I figured I would post a couple things that I wish I had known as an incoming freshmen.

- Don't take yourself too seriously. No matter how cool, smart, pretty, or whatever you are; you will make a fool of yourself at some point. Roll with it.
- Talk to your professors outside of class. To most students surprise they are real people. and they really care about you.
-Study hard. (Trust me you really have to study hard) but at the same time learn how to rest and rest well when you can.
- Eat lots of california burritos. They are as close to divine as any food item will ever be.

Last but not least:
-Travel. Travel as much and as often as you can. You never meet somebody who is 40 that says "You know what I really regret backpacking in Chile back in college." Maybe that is because you don't know any 40 year-olds who backpacked, but more likely than not, people that have traveled see the value in some way or another of getting out of your comfort zone and seeing that the world functions outside of your little circle. Make it happen.


So now that I have gotten all the sentimental things out in the front; I figured I would post some pictures from the last couple weeks.

First things first. The color run. Long story short, we payed a little bit of money to run 5 kilometers and get pelted with colored powder every kilometer along the way. It was incredible.

Lastly, all senior pre-health students at Point Loma take a capstone chemistry class called organic qualitative analysis. Sounds fun right? It actually is a great class to close out the four years, and above all else we get some great quotes from a Dr. Vic Heasley. He is a legend. 

Eleven Days.

There is 11 more days that I will actually be sitting in a Point Loma classroom. 

One of the many things that changes after graduating is health insurance (which in my case, I have to get a private policy which is crazy expensive). As such, I finally got a surgery that I have been putting off before my parents coverage expires. Although it looks like I got a nose job (which isn't too far from the truth since it involved my sinuses), I promise it wasn't in the name of vanity.

Also, the chemistry club threw a party for Dr. Shellhamer who is an organic chemistry legend. To celebrate his retirement, we got him a Piñata. You can tell he played baseball growing up.

Future Native of San Diego.

Today's chapel was a preview day. As such, chapel was filled with predominantly prospective students and their families. It was quite an interesting experience being in a room with so many incoming students who will essentially be filling the gap that myself and my classmates leave in two months after graduation.

My time at PLNU is quickly coming to a close.  50 days from now I will be graduating from this place that has been home. Home in the sense that I have literally slept here, which for the record senior year one learns to take frequent cat naps. No shame. But more importantly this place has come to represent home by the interactions I have had with my friends, mentors, and symbolically through the ways I have developed in four short years.

Most importantly, Six days after graduating I will be getting married. I have a super stylish suit to prove it.

Lastly, after 8 months of applying to medical schools I am finally done. UC San Diego School of Medicine is where I will be starting the new phase of my education. And I couldn't be happier to be moving up to La Jolla with Julianna. Which after going to a coffee shop last week near UCSD and seeing the picture below, I knew La Jolla was a good fit for us.

I couldn't agree more. (La Jolla, CA near Bird Rock Coffee Roasters)

Also, completely unrelated to anything I have said up to this point; Greg Laswell has come out with a new song. Check it out.

Joshua Tree.

I am almost ashamed that it has taken me almost four years to make it up to Joshua Tree National Park. Before going all I knew about it was that U2 had an album named after the iconic tree (which to be honest is by itself a good enough reason to visit). 

Pre-wilderness. 

Phil's next album cover. 

Jumbo Rocks.  

Moral of the story is that although Joshua Tree is about three hours away from San Diego, it is definitely worth the drive.

It is beginning to look a lot like finals.

As I sit at a starbucks in sunny San Diego, I hear over the radio various Christmas anthems including "Baby it's cold outside." Ironic. 

Finals week has commenced and I am feeling anything but motivation to study for finals. The only thing that has lifted my spirits as it relates to classes is the discovery of a life-changing pandora radio station called 'Avatar film score.' This station is incredible. It is a continuous station that has the most epic soundtrack from movies such as Avatar, Lord of The Rings, Gladiator, Da vinci Code, etc. 

Listening to such music makes studying thermodynamics and chemical kinetics almost bearable. In the least, it makes it seem like I am doing something more important that differential equations. (even though I'm not). 

Although I don't have elaborate explanations for the photos below, I thought I would still share as they are random fragments from my life the last couple weeks. 

A John Muir quote at the museum of photographic arts in balboa park, san diego. 

Luke, Doug, and I after receiving the Molecular Science Award. 

Only a class like Pchem could make me do this on a saturday morning.

Until next time. 

San Diego and fake winters.

So I like to act like San Diego actually has seasons. It doesn't. I'm pretty sure I like the idea of seasons, but I don't really know if I would like the whole shoveling snow bit. Nonetheless, every year about this time, which coincidentally is when classes get the most crazy, the weather gets slightly colder and if we're lucky we get San Diego's version of snow; really cold rain. Saturday was one of those days.

On Saturday, Julianna and I being hiking enthusiasts, decided hiking would be a good way to celebrate her birthday. We thought it only acting like it was going to rain, but we were wrong. We got to the halfway point of a 7-mile hike and the floodgates opened and it started pouring. Once at the top, the only thing that could be more romantic than a picnic/hike, would be trying to eat the aforementioned sandwhich as fast as possible before it became soggy. Overall a great success (although my trunk still has wet hiking boots in it).

This computer screen....

This computer screen tells me I am officially registered for my last semester of classes at PLNU. I know you cannot see the actual classes, but one of them listed is outdoor adventures. Now that is what I call a liberal arts education.