Week 6
1159 words by emilygray
Ok so I am now going to lie, my project implementation is not going as I previously thought it was. I obviously am having a hard enough time taking 17 hours worth of classes and keeping up with all the work and giving my time to a good cause. Also, I had a little wrench in the semester on March 5th with the passing of my uncle. This is the last of 3 children that my grandparents have had to bury. They just buried their second to last son in December. Therefore, with the passing of this final child, they pretty much turned to me to take the reigns as I am the oldest grandchild. So I have spent countless days and hours back and forth to Baton Rouge planning the funeral, running cousins around (one of which my grandparents will be raising there) and trying to be the strong moral support they need. I never realized how hard it is to reach out to people that are unrelated to you and give of your time when you feel and see your own family needing you more than ever.
Because this could ultimately have some impact on my project, I feel it necessary to give a little background and info about my uncles’ recent deaths. My grandparents (dad’s parents) had 3 boys. My grandfather was a heavy drinker and smoker his entire life. However, they were good country folks that worked hard to raise their children right, go to church on Sunday, and ultimately do the right thing. 14 years ago when I was 7 years old my dad died of a seizure that he had after a heavy night of drinking. He had been an alcoholic for years and it ultimately took his life. Jump about 12 years after that and both his brothers became ill with alcohol related illnesses. My dad’s oldest brother (dad was the middle child) lost his life in December and his youngest brother lost his life in early March of this year. Of the 4 grandchildren, myself age 21, Jillian age 19 (dad lost in December), Michael age 17 and Kayla age 7 (dad lost in March), Kayla and I are the only ones right now not going down the same path as our fathers. Jillian and Michael are almost to the point of a lost cause. It truly kills me. I do not know how to be a positive influence in their lives to help lead them in the right direction.
Therefore, through all this personal tragedy, I am wondering if I am not being called or if I should not be volunteering my time as a big sister to a child in a similar situation. I know that alcohol abuse and drug abuse are a huge problem in the world and I am a living, breathing example that you do not have to be that way even if you grew up with it in your household.
Anyway, that is just a thought. I am going to look into maybe a CASA type program or big sis little sis program or something of the sort along with sorting out how I could complete my project involving nutrition. I obviously do not have time to volunteer my time in the original organization that I had planned because they do not have a direct place in our area yet. I am willing to help them start that up but it does not look like it will be happening before the end of the semester. I therefore plan to try to give my time to at least a place like second harvest or even head back to big Baton Rouge to the foodbank for some volunteering. I just need to hurry up and set that all up!
Also, I have not yet made one of the YouTube videos that I committed to previously. I want to fulfill some type of quick grab information about nutrition so I plan to do something and start distributing it at least around school or through a facebook group or website.
How does Biblical studies relate to being a pharmacist? That is quite a tough question to answer. I would say that because such a big part of this class is service, that easily relates to being a pharmacist. Part of your career as a pharmacist is helping and serving other people either indirectly or directly. Anyone involved in the healthcare profession serves the sick whether its through taking time to answer questions about a drug, researching new ways to cure disease, or improve the ways diseases are fought. The real question of how learning about the Bible relates to pharmacy is even tougher to think about though. Knowing about the Bible and its stories is a part of any person’s life no matter what religious background they come from. Therefore, taking a course about the Bible will allow me to be able to relate, talk about, counsel with, etc. people in everyday conversation after I have completed my degree for my professional career. Also, knowing where you come from and your history helps you as a person know more about themselves. In knowing about yourself, you are able to relate to and help other people. Considering a significant part of being a pharmacist is counseling those in need, knowledge of myself and where I come from will help me relate to others and know where they are coming from. Also, the Bible teaches countless stories about relationships. Relationships are a part of everyday life no matter the career. Being knowledgeable in how to handle different relationships and situations in everyday life is a very useful tool. The Bible teaches how to handle these relationships and this will help me interact with everyone on a day to day basis.
Feminist Criticism is a very useful tool in looking at the Bible from another perspective. The Bible was written by men for men in a male-dominated society. Therefore, women are not always cast as positive figures. Over the centuries, men and others alike have misinterpreted how women were represented in the Bible and used this as a way to validate and justify treatment of women. By using feminist criticism (a little “girl power” thought), these misinterpretations can be clarified and some actual positive portrayals of women can be brought to light!
I have to say that I am pretty pleased with my performance on the mid-term. The study sheet pretty much laid out exactly the format of the test so there really was not any surprise for me. I made an A and the points that I did get off were only the few things that I did not thoroughly review. For the final, I will make sure to review all aspects on the study sheet as listed and hopefully bring my grade up to an even higher A for sure! Overall though, the test was perfectly fair representation of the material covered in class and I certainly cannot argue with that!