how do you learn?

I have been thinking a lot lately about learning styles.  It's funny to think that for the most part, once you get to college it is a sink or swim, run with the big dogs kind of attitude.  In my experience high school didn't give me much preparation for how to approach the rigors of college academics, how to maximize studying time, or how to fit everything into a packed schedule.  I of course went to an arts high school, so perhaps that can help explain a bit why I wasn't very prepared.  The academic portion of those last two years of high school seemed like mere background noise to the more pressing experience of my dance training.  In retrospect, looking at my academic trajectory since graduating, it would have probably served me better to have been in a traditional school setting.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back and change it if I could.  I learned an incredible amount while at Perpich, and am fortunate to have many amazing friendships and memories from my time there, it's just interesting to think how things might have been different.  Back to my original thought on learning styles though, I don't think I knew how I learned best.  When I was an undergrad, I made up my own style of learning basically based on nothing much.  I can't really recall why I studied the way I did, but if pressed I think it would have been loosely based on how my classmates worked.  I took notes in class, made note cards, took practice exams, read from the textbook...etc.  I just kind of did what I could with what I had.  I think that as I progressed through school (eight loooong years of school), I picked some methods that seemed to work better for me and left those that didn't.  Organic chemistry was really an eye opening experience, in that I found out how beneficial discussion and groups can be for me.  Without someone to talk through mechanisms with, and describe how I interpreted things, I am not sure how I would have fared!  All of that is to say that recently I came across a post about how crucial it is to know your learning style prior to entering a PA program.  I kind of thought it was silly at first, because how could you have gotten through so many rigorous courses without knowing how to study?  When I thought about it more, I realized that maybe I wasn't working as efficiently as I could!  I had just grasped onto note cards and memorization because they were mainstream and seemed to be mostly effective for the things I had to learn.  What if I was doing just fine with those methods but could be doing much better with other modes of learning?  That's when I found out about the VARK questionnaire.  It is an easy questionnaire to fill out with only a handful of questions depicting different scenarios that don't necessarily relate to studying.  It looks at different situations (for example giving some one directions), and you choose how you would handle it (maybe drawing a map for them or writing out turn by turn directions for them).  I know it's healthy to approach these sorts of things with a certain amount of skepticism, but I think this was very helpful to me!  My scores showed that I am an aural (hearing) learner and a kinesthetic (doing) learner, and I totally AM!   The page goes on to give different ideas for how to approach learning using these two modalities, and they really made sense to me.  One example was to record lectures so that you can listen to them outside of class.  Another example is to try to incorporate as many examples into your notes as possible, or to explain you notes out loud to someone else.  I know you might be thinking that these are very simple techniques, and perhaps you even use some of them yourself already and they don't seem very revolutionary.  I think the point is just that many people just do things without really considering why.  For me in my learning it is going to be extremely important that I know what I am doing and why so that I can make the absolute most out of my studying time.  I don't want to just try to blunder on through using strategies that sometimes work and sometimes don't, I want to be as prepared as possible.   Haaa, now you can truly see the dork in me shining through, can't you?  If you want to check out your style you can do it here.  Who knows, you might just learn something new, or at the very least, you can give yourself a pat on the back if you have been doing in right all along!

snow and beaches

 

In the face of a ridiculous snowstorm that amassed us something like 20 inches, I thought I would share some Costa Rica pictures.  Bring back all those memories of hot weather, cool ocean and bicycles.   I think I will just show you a few photos in this post, and in the next one I will post all the animal and wild life shots.  We have been so busy since getting back that it feels like our trip was months and months ago!  As with every post, the pictures will look better if you click on them... blogspot photo distortion is the thorn in my craw.  Enjoy!

Beaches, hammocks and biking were the essence of our vacation.  As a Walsh, the whole purely relaxation thing is kind of hard for me.  I constantly feel the need to be productive, not waste time, especially coming off of a hard semester/year, so this vacation we focused on just getting away from the stress of everything.  JP did need to remind me a few times that it didn't matter what time it was, when we were hungry we ate, hot we swam, and when it rained we read our books on the deck. 

With the next two years booked up solid in terms of relative free time, I know we will be able to look back on this trip and glean some laid back relaxation vibes.  The good news is that we will be living in a city that is right on the ocean, and in a brand new state/coast to boot.  Our next adventures will involve exploring Maine, checking out what the East Coast has to offer us, and learning new winter sports.

 

The times, they are a changin!

I have been in a constant ridiculous state of ecstatic happiness since Wednesday, and am overjoyed to tell you that I now am an official member of the University of New England's PA class of 2014!!!  PHHEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!   What a tumultuous, and crazy ride this has been.  To prepare for so long, to study so hard and to log all those hours doing a million different things to become the best possible candidate I could be...hoping and praying and screaming for it to all be worth it.  AND IT WAS.   Ohhh never have I felt such overwhelming relief after reading an e-mail.  I think a large part of me is still in disbelief. 

As you can probably tell, the interview went really well.  I was again a bit reluctant to share that because as the ultimate decision day came closer and closer I was realizing how terribly embarrassing it would be to have to explain to everyone how my interview was amazing and yet I wasn't accepted.  So, I hushed on up and kept it in the family for the most part.  BUT now that decision time is over I can finally tell you that it was GREAT!  I just loved the campus, the faculty, my interviewers, the tour...it just really, really felt like a good fit.  JP and I went to the pre-interview mixer the night before and I am so glad that we did.  It was a tremendous help to both of us I think, helped to allay my anxiety about the coming day and really helped to give JP a sense of what we were getting into and what I would be doing for the next two years.  He too thought that even with his limited time on campus, it really felt like a good fit for me and us.  The interview itself was pretty laid back and nice.  I was interviewed by a faculty member and a PA in the community.  The three of us sat in an office overlooking the campus as fresh fat flakes of snow fell outside.  It was pretty picturesque.  And before you can ask, yes I did in fact talk about Harry Potter during my interview and I STILL got in! Gotta let your inner (or not so inner) dork shine!  In any case after intros and interview and essay writing and tour, Joe picked me up and we swung by the wharf to grab some fresh seafood for lunch.  That is living.  We had mimosas and lobster rolls to celebrate and then I promptly fell asleep on the couch due to piled on lack of sleep and an early morning wake up from last minute jitters.  It was lovely.  Did I mention the decadent GF bakery we stopped at that was all things GF and was absolutely delicious?!  Well, there is such a place and it was so good.  We had whoopie pies (apparently they are a real thing, and started us on some really lame Whoopie Goldberg jokes) and lemon bars, as well as a tasty loaf of fresh bread to go.  Mmmmaine.

We are now in the process of deciding the best time and method for us to move across the country.  This requires all kinds of adult decision making, and we are figuring out how to work it all.  We need to find JP a job (this forever student needs someone to support her!), find an apartment, decide when all this will happen, figure out what to purge from our lives in Denver, and then heave hoe everything into a moving van and drive away!  Suffice it to say, there will be lots of exciting changes coming our way soon!!  We are both incredibly excited and nervous about the next few months, but I am confident that we will find a great place and settle in with relative ease.  Having Joe and Emily there to welcome us to our new city will be the icing on the top!

So, thank you all for your continued support and encouragement during this entire process.  It has been very uplifting to know that there were so many people pulling for me, praying for me and sending me their thoughts.  I feel incredibly blessed to be able to start this journey in May, and I owe a lot of it to the people in my life.  Thank you for being one of them!