An Uncertain Future

Honestly, ever since I have arrived here at Wartburg something has been wrong. I'm not saying that it's a new thing every day, although it could be. No, I'm saying that something has been off here and I can't figure it out.

Maybe Wartburg and I just aren't meant to be together.
Or maybe music therapy and I don't mix.

There are so many things that could be affecting the way I feel. I can't figure it out. I've tried and tried and I still don't know. Some days I just want to go home and stay home.

But then again, there are options. There are almost always options. However, I feel lost when I try to choose which one is for me. These are the things I have come up with so far:

1. Wartburg is the right choice for me and so is music therapy. I just haven't fully transitioned into life at college.
2. Wartburg is the right choice for me, but music therapy isn't going to last. Changing my major would be the best choice. This will require some research and a lot of discussing with people.
3. Music therapy is right for me, but Wartburg isn't giving me what I need. Better transfer schools, eh?
4. Wartburg isn't right for me and neither is music therapy. Better transfer schools and change majors.

I don't know which of the above options applies to me. I really don't. So then I came up with some more options of what I can do right now about the situation.

1. Stay here until the end of the semester. From there either change majors, transfer schools, or go home and think about it for a while.
2. Stay here until the end of the year. Maybe the winter and may term classes will really show me more of what I'll be doing for the next 4 years. Decide from their whether to transfer schools or change majors.

Both of these options sound good, but I'm gonna have to go with option 2. This way I will get my feet into some more of the coursework and get college credit for the classes my parents and I are paying for. The downside of waiting a full year before transferring or changing majors or both (if I decide that) is that I will be behind. I hate falling behind in anything. Changing majors in general will make me feel like this first year was a waste of time as well. Perhaps my stubbornness and need to stay on track will force me to stay here, no matter how hard it is.

I bet you all are wondering what my thoughts are about what schools I would like to transfer to or what majors I have thought about switching to. Well here ya go:

1. Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. It's close to home, I'm familiar with it, and I really do enjoy the environment. Also, I am accepted there and have scholarships. They aren't as great in monetary value as Wartburg, but it's a start.

That's really the only school I've thought of because I haven't had time to look up any new options...but that will change if I continue to feel serious about this endeavor.

On to the major choices (really there's only one again. I am so confused about what I want in the world right now, so I can't choose a major quite yet! STOP PRESSURING ME)

1. Library Science. I know, you're all thinking, 'That's stupid. Library science is clearly a dying business because books are becoming obsolete thanks to those stupid Kindles and ebooks that are life-ruiners." But wait, won't colleges always have libraries? Won't archives always exist? Hello! Library of Congress, everyone. Library Science and Information Technology (they're often paired together) will continue to exist. It's really cool because you can pretty much make of it whatever you want. For example, if you plan to work in a hospital library, you would take a lot of courses in biology and medicine at college. I could be a music archivist even, so my music knowledge wouldn't go to waste! Anyways, the downside to this is that Wartburg doesn't have library science as a major, so I would have to transfer. Also, librarians have to have master's degrees. As a music therapist graduating from Wartburg, a master's degree is not required! Less time in school and less money spent on schooling. Win-win. But is it a win-win situation if I don't love what I'm doing?

So, in conclusion, if I ever look upset, distraught, or confused, it's probably because I'm still trying to figure out why I don't feel right here. And stemming from that I'm trying to figure out what I can do to feel right about myself. I don't need hugs or anything, but I do appreciate them!

Medical Justice: The Concept of Informed Consent

Informed consent became a major part of medical ethics and legality after World War II when the Nuremberg Code was written. During the war, the Nazis experimented on the prisoners in the prison camps. The Nuremberg Code stated that consent from the participant is essential for the experiment to happen. This doctrine transformed into what informed consent is today. Prior to informed consent, doctors often kept information from the patient in order to remain in control. However, that has been changed much to our relief as patients. Informed consent is defined as the process by which a person agrees freely to undergo a treatment or procedure, or to participate in research. It applies to both therapeutic and research settings. Without the attainment of informed consent, the medical professional cannot begin treatment or experiments. A violation of this right can lead to legal action.

 In order to obtain informed consent, the patient must first be considered competent. Competency is the ability to perform a task, in this case consenting receive treatment or enter into medical research. If the patient is considered incompetent, there is often family available or appointed surrogates who are trusted to make a wise decision for the incapable patient. However, the physician can change the decision if he/she finds the decision to be harmful or the decision-makers to also be incapable of making an informed decision. For the consent to be valid, the patient must also be provided the necessary information by the physician. This includes the purpose of the procedure, the components of the procedure, possible inconvenience and pain, and any risks or side-effects that can result. This information should be shared in a discussion setting with the patient and the family. This allows the patient to ask any clarification questions and discuss anything that may be influencing the choice to consent or not. Sharing the information in simple terms is also important, so that the patient will fully understand everything. The health care professional must ensure understanding is maintained and any changes to the procedure are shared and understood. After the conference, the patient must read and sign an agreement form. In less invasive cases consent is given in a different way. Walking through the door of the hospital or clinic or rolling up a sleeve can display patient consent to blood pressure readings, temperature readings, and blood drawings. More explicit consent is needed for more invasive procedures and medical research.

         

   Many problems can occur with informed consent. First of all, it is only necessary for the physician to provide extra information that the patient requests. Some patients may ask many clarifying questions. However, others may not ask any. This can result in them being unaware of certain parts of the procedure that may influence their decision to consent. The physician is supposed to explain anything that will affect the decision, but the patient may not be known well enough to accomplish this. Another problem is that of reading the consent form. I’m sure many patients do not read into the information fully. Therefore, they are consenting to something uninformed. They did sign the form though, so the procedure can go ahead and take place. One article I read suggests that the consent process include a conference between the physician, the patient, and the family, during which all information is laid out on the table and all questions and concerns are brought up. This way the patient is obligated to fully comprehend all necessary aspects of the research or procedure. During the conference, the article suggests things may be changed if the patient or family sees fit. Lastly, the concept of a surrogate is always confusing, especially when the physician can take over the decision according to his/her preference anyway. The question is always who determines whose decision is in the best interest of the patient? Generally the family’s decision is honored by the physician because they know the patient the best and are trusted to know what the patient would decide. However, as stated before, if their decision seems entirely out of line, the physician can challenge it and appoint a different surrogate or determine the next course of action him/herself.

           

Informed consent has not been around forever, but now it is necessary in all health care practices and goes hand in hand with patient autonomy. Patients are able to make the decisions themselves and preserve dignity and bodily integrity. A section from a book I read predicts that informed consent will be required in more and more situations in medical settings due to the support it has in America as well as the growing number of lawsuits and issues brought to court. A patient shall not be treated without obtaining informed consent from the patient or surrogate unless it is an emergency. “Emergency” is narrowly-defined and very specific. The exceptions to informed consent include the incapability of patient or surrogate, a life-threatening condition, or the need for immediate treatment. Informed consent is not a pliable law in any way, but it may increase its scope as time goes on.   

Presentation: http://prezi.com/a649b3azx7cu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

My Four Year Plan of Action

http://prezi.com/fp2qiw-dvgv_/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

To vote or not to vote?

People tell me I have the right to vote. I think, That's awesome! I love having the option to do things that are potentially influential in life!

People tell me it's my civil duty to vote. I think, I don't want to be forced to do anything I don't want to do. You don't know my life. You don't know my every day struggles!

But for real, I love having the freedom to vote in elections. I don't like being told it's necessary though. Yes, my vote can make a difference. I could cast the ballot that puts one candidate one vote ahead of the other. I am not one of those people who follow the elections closely or watch all the debates. I know who the candidates are, I know their political party affiliation, I somewhat know what issues they're passionate about. I just don't feel interested in politics. Like, at all. I took government my junior year, so I actually have a nice base knowledge about politics and such. It's not that I'm uninformed about that whole process, it's that I feel uninformed about the specific election. Maybe I will take it upon myself to be more involved in the next presidential election, since I will be able to vote. But for now, I will remain uninformed and okay with that. 

I know politics are important. I know I should be more passionate about politics. But I'm not. And I can't just change what I'm passionate about that easily. 

So what if I don't vote? Should I be persecuted for that? I don't believe so. I don't feel that I should vote if I don't know enough about the issues. That's uninformed voting. I could vote for someone just because I recognize the face or like how the candidate's name sounds with "president" in front of it. That's not a good reason to elect someone to be president. 

I could write in someone that I think would be a good president, but then my vote really doesn't matter. I'm fine with having people be involved in politics around me. It's not going to make me more passionate about it though. I'll probably just continue to be uninformed and, therefore, absent at the election. I think uninformed voting is just as bad, or even worse, than not voting. I don't want to offset the election just because "President Newt" sounds stupid. 

Does America even have its own culture?

Tonight at Kastle Kapers the African Congress did a wonderful performance. They were all dressed up in beautiful African clothing and sang cultural songs. It was so awesome. And it made me sad.

Why?

Because I realized that I won't ever have that. America doesn't have a defined culture because we're a mixing pot of a bunch of cultures. Actually, if we were a mixing pot we'd have our own culture. So tossed salad is maybe a better describer for us.

I wish my family had stronger ties to our heritage. I am mainly Swedish and Welsh. My mom recites a Swedish prayer at Christmas and Thanksgiving, but that's the only thing. I think the reason my family isn't so connected to our heritage is because my grandfather was a Marine, and, therefore, has a lot of pride for the United States. I do too. There are so many opportunities available here that aren't anywhere else.

It would be pretty cool to have a more defined culture including all the garb and music style. We probably have all of those things already, but I would appreciate them being pointed out to me.

I had all these really awesome thoughts in my head about what I was going to write about on here, but I can't think of them now. Hopefully you all get the gist of this blog post. I think it's an important point.

My thoughts on The Independent Project

Let's just say I'm glad The Independent Project wasn't a thing at my high school. I wouldn't have been able to participate in the first place because I didn't complete all my graduation requirements until the end of my senior year, since my school requires four years of English and I was also in choir, band, and French for four years. 

The idea is interesting and intriguing. I would love to be a part of such a system, but not at a conventional school. I think a summer program or an extracurricular program would be great for this project. I am a firm believer in getting a general, well-rounded education in secondary education. It helped me explore a lot of different subjects to really find what fits. I always enjoyed school, so I don't have a problem with the current system. In my eyes, nothing needs to change much. I went through 12 years of schooling and now I'm specializing in an area I'm passionate about. It's great these nine students figured out their passion so earlier on in the process and are able to begin pursuing it in high school, but some people aren't that way. They aren't entirely sure what they love to do. Many of the participant's interests were easily self-taught as well. The videographer doesn't need a teacher to teach him how he should direct his mockumentary, it's all up to him. Some of us, however, find passion in subjects that are more lecture-based for a reason. They need guidance in their learning. 

I definitely would not be able to learn things about music therapy on my own. There are so many different parts of it that are covered in so many different resources. It's nice to have an experienced professor guiding me in my education. I personally enjoy lectures. I'm one of those people that takes too many notes and highlights too many sections in a book. I figure there's a reason I'm reading it, and the reason is that it's important. A teacher is able to point out the most important parts of a concept or chapter, something I will eventually need to get better about. Overall, teachers are needed, and not just for advising. 

If this is translated to a large scale, I worry for the educators out there. They won't be needed as educators, they'll be needed as advisers which is a somewhat different task. The teachers have so much knowledge about a subject they may never even touch upon while mentoring a member of The Independent Project. 

I think this system is a great idea. It encourages group work, accountability, and hard work. Most important of all it instills within the participants a sense of passion for a subject. They research something they are truly interested in. It's a great thing. However, I don't think it's a feasible system, especially in the high school. It should be more of an outside thing. Many of the students went to college to major in the exact thing they used for their "individual endeavor" or "individual study." I think students can wait to explore the topics they're passionate about until college. College is a time to pursue those subjects, so The Independent Project isn't necessary to allow students the chance to be passionate about what they're learning. 

Standardized testing

So much emphasis is put on the SAT and ACT. 

But when it comes down to it, why is it so important? The information we are tested on isn't going to be very relevant when I'm a music therapist. It's relevant when I'm a junior in high school though because this is the way colleges quickly compare one prospective student to another. 

Perhaps it would be beneficial if the colleges placed less emphasis on these standardized tests first, and then the rest of us will follow suit. We stress so much about taking a three-hour test that won't even matter in five years. You know what will matter? The knowledge we learn and retain. It is this kind of information that is important for our entire life. 

The same is true with grades. We place so much emphasis on them. But why? The grades don't matter. When we are hired out of college, the employers won't know if you got a B+ in a class or a D on one of your tests. They'll only know what skills you have. It's the skills that are under the spotlight for the rest of your life. 

This is going to be really hypocritical of me, but next time you get a grade that you are disappointed about, evaluate first whether you feel you completely grasp the material. If you do, then the test doesn't matter because, let's be honest, sometimes test material doesn't relate at all to the subject matter. 

Harrison Bergeron

In my humanities class last year we read "Harrison Bergeron," a riveting short story about the concept of equality. In the mid to late 1900s, there were a lot of movements for equality. However, how far is too far with equality? Before reading this tale, I didn't know there could be a limit on equality. I always believed that equality was a necessary and positive part of life. Now I know I was incorrect.

Some people are born with greater abilities in certain areas than others. This is not a bad thing. We often encourage others to excel in areas they naturally are better at. Then there are those who lag behind. We don't let them remain less successful though. Instead we try to force them into improving skills they aren't necessarily meant to improve. Our society doesn't think it's okay to not be good at something really. But people do specialize in certain areas naturally.

Harrison Bergeron was too good. So they put handicaps on him to drag him down to the neutral level created by the government.

That's just not fair.

If you want to explore this concept more, watch "2081", a short film based on Kurt Vonegut's "Harrison Bergeron."

Education can't be perfect for everyone

Education is such an important part of our society. We take it very seriously and make changes when changes need to be made. Students need to learn and teachers need to teach. However, the education system will never be completely satisfactory to all who are a part of it. There's no way to cater to every person's intellectual abilities. We each learn a different way. It would be quite ridiculous for a teacher to change teaching methods every 30 seconds in order to give attention to all the different needs of the students. Learning with technology has boasted the ability to create specialized learning, but I'm not a fan of exclusively learning via iPad. I like the old-fashioned chalkboard (or whiteboard) method that includes a physical teacher. 

As we grow older, classes become more difficult and teachers don't tend to our every need and struggle, at least not without the student expressing their desire for extra aid. Growing older carries with it the burden of more responsibility. This applies not only in financials or time management but to academics as well. Last year in  AP Calculus BC (a class I LOVED by the way, you math majors :)) I struggled with certain concepts or just wanted to have certain rules reiterated to me. I didn't ask questions in class often because the teacher articulated to us many times that there was a lot of information. I instead took it upon myself to go in before school and ask the teacher questions. He actually greatly appreciated my efforts to learn. He said that he'd much rather someone come in and receive clarifications about coursework than watch someone struggle yet not care enough to make the class easier. 

Certain classes, teachers, and teaching methods may be difficult for me. I don't expect the teacher to change his/her ways in order for me to learn more effectively. Instead, I will take it upon myself to seek extra help, whether it be in the book or through educational material online. Being a good student is something I strive for, and I think I succeed in it as well. If you are ever struggling in a class my first word of advice would be to contact the professor. I'm sure they'll be happy to help. They all want you to succeed, for if they didn't they wouldn't be teaching you at all.