Big Brother Week 6

Joe went to the diary room to have his blood pressure checked & saw the medic for a checkup. Jenn was TOLD she's a pawn by Danielle and yet she continues to badger Danielle. Is she trying to get evicted?? Boogie has convinced Ashley to move to the dark side. She's probably shooting herself in the foot. Now they're working on pulling Joe over as well.

Boogie is pushing for Shane to backdoor Dan and he's also playing the poor card, by saying he's a victim of the economy, "Please don't discard me because you don't think I need the money." Boogie can say whatever he wants but the fact is he had a lawsuit against him by Geisha House. It's why he is going after the money. Boogie telling Shane that he (Boogie) can open the door for him in LA with modeling jobs. Seriously? Boogie is desperate and is resorting to bribery. Boogie saying he wants to be friends after. Bribery should be considered cheating. He also played the 'victim card' to Britney. 'I have a family.. Blah, blah.'

Boogie (to Dan), "I hold no ill will for you in the real world, but in the game, I hate your f'n guts." Frank and Boogie are being total bullies toward Dan. Jenn joins in. Joe speaks up saying he doesn't like the bullying aspect. Boogie is getting loud saying he's not bullying! Joe saying it's just a game!

Danielle/Dan on hammock. Danielle telling Dan that she heard Ashley has been hooking up with Frank. Dan says she should tell Ian. Danielle is also convinced that Shane's letter is from an ex girlfriend. What a psycho. Ian twisted ankle badly on Sunday night and had to seethe medic.

For the POV comp on Saturday, the feeds were down for almost 7 hours! It's safe to say the feeds have been down longer than Jodi was in the house. The last time they were down this long Willie was kicked out.. Well, when the feeds finally came back, Frank won veto. Hmm. Not surprised at all. I'm really starting to think this game is rigged for Frank to win. If he ends up winning this whole game, I will not watch next season of Big Brother. 

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SUNDAY's episode
Shane is leading for HOH, followed by Danielle then Ian. 

Boogie is leading for money and Britney has won safety. 

Boogie has won the money!
Shane still in lead for HOH, Dan and Danielle tied for second. Ian fourth.

Shane is new HOH!! Frank thinks he's safe. Britney is wondering that it might be time to break up the silent six. There are no have nots this week. Jenn hurt her back falling in competition. In Shane's HOH room, he got a picture of sister and his dog Dozer, and a picture of young Shane. His letter is from his sister. Jenn is laying down because of her hurt back. She even cried a little.

Before the competition, Boogie asked Ian who he would put up if he won. 

Boogie: Britney? Ian: No. Boogie: Shane? Ian: Yeah I guess. 

Ian informed Britney and she passed it along to the rest of the quack pack. 

She told Shane to put up both Boogie and Frank. 

Dan/Ian/Danielle are behind him pushing for that too.

Joe tells alot of stories. They sound made up.
Ian asked Ashley out again. Ian let Britney nair his armpits. Danielle held zucchini over his eyes. Afterward he liked it. The girls were hooping and yelling. 
In the DR he said it burns, though. 

Ian cooked Ashley a pizza. Then just say there. They really didn't even talk.. So Ashley asks if he's pooped lately.. In the DR Ashley says they're just friends and she thinks he feels the same way... He doesn't.

Shane pulls Joe to be sure he has his back. Joe says he's game, he will leave the house for Shane. Boogie still clueless about Ian jumping ship and working against them now. After a lockdown, the houseguests find a trail of balls to claw machine. There's a box with a question mark inside it now. Ian knows it means Pandora's box. He's worried. Shane questioning his nominations and is afraid Pandora's box could mess things up. 



 

Shane nominated Frank and Boogie. Boogie looks excited. He's smiling! He says the alliance is over. Britney is happy. She knows the alliance is over. Frank doesn't feel good. Ian is excited and likes that Frank and Boogie didn't see it coming and didn't know he (Ian) had anything to do with it. 

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WEDNESDAY's episode

Frank was blindsided. Boogie is ready for this. Ian is happy. They think Britney is behind this, but Frank think it's Dan. They go to Shane. He says he heard they were gunning for him and changed his nominations to them last minute. He tries to blame Joe. Frank says Britney and Dan did too. Shane blamed Britney. Boogie says she's playing for her. Frank is convinced it's Dan. Shane says no. Boogie still offers to work with him.

Shane pulls Brit and fills her in. She's mad. She goes to Boogie and Frank. She says she didn't nominate them. She says she heard it from several people. They blame her for Frank as renom and for these nominations. Frank believes it's Dan. Britney talks to Shane. He doesn't get it. He asks why he keeps getting blood on his hands. Frank and Boogie tells Ian that Dan is behind this. Frank tries to pin the blame on Dan. He tells Dan that Frank believes it's him. 

In the HOH, Shane, Britney, Dan, Boogie, and Frank are talking. Boogie is still digging for who the mole is. Britney says she won't say who it is. They don't want to say it's Ian. Dan clams up so they believe it's really him now. Dan says he can't protect Ian too much longer. 

Playing in the veto are Shane, Frank, Boogie. Boogie had HG choice and picked Ian, thinking Ian is on his side.. hehehe. There was some controversy about Frank's pick. He picked a chip and put it back and redrew, 'saying he saw his own name.' I don't believe that garbage. Frank's name shouldn't even be in the drawing because he's on the block and automatically gets to play! Later, he said he drew Ian and had to redraw because Ian had already been picked. He drew HG choice and picked Ashley.

Ian plans to throw this competition. It's a candy land number guessing game. You need three points to win and the lowest each round is eliminated. 

Houseguests can either fold or keep in the game. 
Round 1: Ashley, Ian, and Jenn fold. Frank won, Boogie is eliminated. 

 Frank has one point. Boogie's chalkboard is smudgy.
Round 2: Ashley and Ian fold. Frank won and has two points. Jenn is out.
Round 3: Frank and Ashley fold. Shane won and has one point. Ian is out.
Round 4: Frank folded. Ashley won and has one point. Shane is out.

It's down to Ashley and Frank.
Round 5: Ashley folded..WHAT THE HECK!? Frank automatically wins veto.   
Operation replacement nominate Dan starts. Boogie working hard.
Jenn likes what Boogie is saying. Boogie now working on Britney. 
Oh Lord, he's fake crying. She's onto it.

Jenn talking to Shane. She's pushing the Dan card. Maybe Danielle.
Boogie is talking to Shane and really pushing Dan, saying he's scary.

At the veto meeting, Frank saves himself and Jenn is the renomination.
She's says she's fired up and her game starts now. Riiiiight.. 


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I think Joe went to the DR & complained about something & wanted Frank disqualified from the veto. Boogie & Frank getting psyched up to call out Joe for being a snitch & a power floater. Shane told Joe not to pull a Willie.
Joe to Britney: "IT'S FULLY DOCUMENTED IN DR WHAT HAPPENED - THEY SAID IT HAPPENED, IT JUST DIDN'T MAKE HIM WIN"

They are given some weird thing to practice on in the backyard.
 I'ts probably for the HOH comp during the double eviction.

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THURSDAY's episode 
It's DOUBLE EVICTION!!! 

Jenn is fired up. Welcome to the game. Boogie cussing. Ian says it's hard for him to decide who to vote for. He tells Boogie he's voting for him to stay. The house is silent, awkward, and tense. Boogie is still asking Shane why he did this, they say they feel like yoyos, and call him Dan's b****. Boogie is talking smack and threatening Shane. 

Dan is reading the Bible on couch. Frank  and Boogie sitting around him making fun of him. Jenn joins in. Ian is there too but not saying anything. Dan hopes Ian realizes how much he's paying for protecting Ian. Shane asked by Jenn what's going on, then she's harassing Danielle for answers, and basically talking ALOT of crap all over the whole house. She's a freaking pawn and doesn't get it.

Julie reveals double eviction to house. They don't act very surprised. The second person evited tonight will go to jury (there will be seven jurors total). Jenn last minute speech: grateful, not asking for your pity, vote to keep loyal homie. Boogie last minute speech: thank business partner, hi to son, talks/begs Joe for his vote.

Votes to evict:
Ashley.. Jenn
Britney.. Boogie
Joe.. Boogie
Frank.. Jenn
Dan.. Boogie
Ian.. Boogie
Danielle.. Boogie
By a vote of 5-2 BOOGIE IS GOING HOME!!!! Woohoo!
He didn't bring a bag. He hugged everybody. Ian said "You're gonna hear some things you dont like. Get to scootin." Boogie, om his way out, told Frank 'Ian is not to be trusted.' (he figured it out that Ian didn't really vote for him). 

Britney's goodbye message for Boogie was AWESOME. (ring, ring) Oh hey Janelle. No, Boogie is not here. (hysterical laughter and pointing) Ian's goodbye message was awesome too. He told boogie everything about quack pack and him telling brit/shane not Dan. "I learned from the best & thats why you're sitting there right now." Boogie takes his hat off and crowd cheers. 
He was shocked and said he's proud. 


HOH comp: Julie gives an event and they must answer if it happened before or after another certain event. 
Ashley was eliminated in Round 1. 
In Round 2, Dan, Jenn, and Joe were all out. 
Frank was eliminated in Round 3. Woooo hoooo!
No one was eliminated in Round 4. 
Britney was eliminated in Round 5.
The final round was a tie breaker between Danielle and Ian. 
The answer is a number, something about guessing seconds. 
They both went over, but Ian was closer. 
Ian is the new HOH!

Ian nominated Frank and Ashley. The veto players are: Ian, Frank, Ashley, Joe, Danielle, and Shane. It's called "Somewhere Over the Veto."  They must run and look for clovers in a pot of gold and bring two back one at a time and then bring back veto. Ian has his first clover. Frank now has his first clover. Joe has his first one. Danielle and Shane both finally have their first clovers. Aaaaand crap, here comes Frank with his second clover. Frank won. This is so dumb.
 
If Frank wins this season, I will never watch Big Brother anymore. It's rigged. He has had too many 'close calls' for it to be just his luck. Did the other boxes even have two clovers inside?? Shane and Joe both had their second clovers running back when Frank won. Frank tells Shane and Britney that he still has their back. He says he's going after Dan. 

At the veto ceremony, Frank saves himself and Ian nominates Joe. 

Ashley's last minute speech: it's been rough, I chose this side because everybody underestimated me, I have heart and I wanna be here.. Is she high?
Joe last minute: motions, no words.

Votes to evict
Jenn: Ashley
Shane: Ashley
Britney: Ashley
Frank: Joe, 'the terrible chef'
Danielle: Ashley
Dan: Ashley 

With a vote 5-1, Ashley is gone. She gives hugs all around. Ashley tells Julie she likes her side ponytail. Back in the house, Frank is mouthing off.
Ashley told Julie she made the house mad. She was a floater and then decided to work with Frank and Boogie. She never knew about Jenn.

Ashley is the first jury member.
Sunday: HOH and nominations
Wednesday: veto
Thursday: normal eviction

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After that episode, Frank goes to Ian still convinced Dan is behind this. Ian agrees. What a dirty rat. Team Ian! They agree to still work together. 

Personal Statement Review - Dr. Davis

After chatting with Dr. Davis on Tuesday, I sent her my personal statement 
(draft 4) and asked for some feedback. My thoughts are in white.

 Her response:

So take everything I say with a grain of salt. 

Like maybe something smaller than a grain...
(oh boy.. I start bracing myself.)

So something small but easy to take out would be the talk about the nail art.
 (aw, Sergei said I should include it!) It doesn't tie in like the tutoring (this is true) and you can put this on your application in another way. (oh!! that's a good idea!) 

It's cool, (yay!) but I just don't think this is the place for it.

Also, I know what you're trying to do in the first paragraph. (okay...) You probably have been advised to do something like you're doing in the first paragraph, (yeah...) but I don't like it. (Aww! I'm so proud of my intro!) It seems like a stereotypical way to try and not be stereotypical. (Well that's dumb.) But instead of grabbing the readers attention to make you stand out, I think it will only make you seem like more of the same. (I disagree. In the beginning, I am trying to convince them to continue reading. Later in the draft is where I make my case for why I stand out.)

All in all I don't think it's bad, but I would try to show more of you. Be genuine. Don't just say things you think they want to here. Yes, you will have to do that. But I think you want to be as honest as possible. So maybe you know you've always wanted to be a doctor and shadowing has confirmed that further, but how does your story differ from anyone else? (that's where I'm having difficulty..pinpointing what makes me standout) I think you're probably pretty interesting (aww! thanks!!) and you should focus on that. Even talking about something that you've struggled with more and overcome might add some pizzazz. (hmm..what have I struggled with?..being super shy?) I just think they are going to read a 1000 essays where someone has always wanted to be a doctor and shadowed some people. (well yeah when you put it like that it sounds bad) I think you're selling yourself short (aww!). You've got more than that. I'm not sure exactly what it is (apparently I don't know either), but really search for it. You need to sell them. Not just tell them why you want to become a doctor, but why should they let you in...

Again, overall I think you've got some great stuff (I like the clarinet bit). (yay!)

And also remember that grain of salt I mentioned...

If you want me to read through any other drafts or talk about it more with you, let me know. (yay! I will definitely take you up on that offer!) These things are REALLY hard to write!! (you can say that again..)

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She was not as harsh as Sergei and was not as passive as Dr. Wood. I think Dr. Davis gave me some great constructive criticism and I will consider them all when working on my next draft. Gee, I wonder how many drafts I will end up having!? 

Personal Statement Draft 4

After receiving feedback from Dr. Wood and Sergei, I made this draft. 

I have crossed some things out because I'm still deciding about changing them. 

This draft is below the character count limit of 5,300. SUCCESS!       

          It was beautiful as it lay in my hand, despite the swelling and abnormal coloring. The excitement within me was growing. I gently rolled it around in my hands, trying to convince myself this was really happening. I had waited so long for a moment like this; a moment experiencing the marvels of the human body hands-on. As the heart monitor occasionally beeped in the background, the tiny camera plunged into the patient’s abdomen. Fascinated by the complexity of the human body, I was thrilled to experience my first look inside a living human. It finally came into focus; we were looking at a swollen gallbladder. Carefully, it was removed via the navel. A nurse handed me a pair of gloves and placed the warm organ into my open hand and I wanted to jump for joy. I was actually holding an organ. I was holding an organ that only minutes before had been part of this patient. This was incredibly exciting to me. Holding the gallbladder ignited my desire to shadow more. Eager to experience medicine closely, I observed multiple surgeries. But I realized there was a problem. Shadowing surgery, while incredibly interesting, lacked patient contact for me.

           In elementary school, they ask what you want to be when you grow up. Surrounded by future princesses and monster truck drivers, I said doctor. Growing older, the other answers turned into future veterinarians and lawyers but mine never changed.  I wondered if it was just because that’s what I had always said and I didn’t want to consider another answer. I started to question myself and my future. But the experiences I had observing surgery banished any doubt that I had and showed me the real side of being a doctor. Shadowing is thrilling and leaves me wanting to see more; wanting to have my own experiences as a physician. I dug deeper pursuing my interest in shadowing, looking for patient contact. I shadowed Dr. Carson at his private practice of internal medicine. While I was there, I was asked how I want to practice medicine some day. I hadn’t put too much thought into it at this point and said I was considering working as a hospitalist to see a wide variety of patients every day. I spent the majority of the day talking to the receptionist about how the office works, watching the nurse check blood pressures, and observing Dr. Carson himself diagnose patients. When I left that afternoon, I felt like my answer to the receptionist’s question had completely changed. Watching Dr. Carson interact with patients, I could feel how genuinely he cares for each one. My answer changed because I realized I want a patient base that I can know as more than just a medical chart. 

          Outside of medicine, I have a variety of interests and activities. I have been playing clarinet for almost nine years and it has greatly impacted my life. My high school band director, Mr. Barnett, taught me not only to be a better musician, but also to be better a better person. He taught me the importance of perseverance by pushing me to practice and continually improve, highlighting the truth behind the words practice makes perfect. I learned responsibility and dependability because he placed me in several leadership positions. The things I learned through band bubbled over into other parts of my life. For example, I auditioned for a music scholarship at Berry. I have never worked so hard for anything in my entire life. I practiced for hours every day, until I finally reached the point where my fingers seemed to move by themselves. My audition performance was the best I have ever played my clarinet. My perseverance and hard work paid off and I was incredibly proud of myself. While I’m at school, I tutor fellow students in biology and work as a teaching assistant in a biology lab. Both of these jobs challenge me academically and teach me how to communicate better. The very first girl I tutored left a great impression on me. She made an A after failing the class the semester before. She was so grateful to me and it warmed my heart to know that I helped her succeed. In my free time, I paint nail art. It gives me an outlet to express my creativity and I love the challenge of painting difficult designs. I take pictures and keep them all on my blog, Tip Top Nails.

           Perhaps my answer to that familiar question never strayed from medicine because I was meant to care for patients and I was only slowly realizing it. I have gained insight into myself along the way. Whether it was not giving up while practicing a hard piece of music or tutoring other students in biology, these experiences along the road of my academic career have molded me into the person I am today by teaching me valuable character traits like discipline, compassion, integrity, and the true value of hard work. These skills have prepared me for the challenges of being a doctor, such as working long hours and seeing many patients. My aspiration of becoming a physician has been reinforced multiple times, each experience more exciting and meaningful than the previous. My perspective has been broadened to include the desire to have more patient interactions. With the right focused purpose behind my desire, I can only look forward to what lies ahead with eager eyes.

Words of Wisdom

So.. Dr. Davis is my favorite teacher, by far, that I have had at Berry. 

Possibly my favorite teacher ever, for several reasons. 

I had her for organic chem last year, both semesters. Yesterday, I ran into her in the science building. We chatted about my MCAT score and I told her I was considering PA school instead now. She told me not to give up. I don't know if you could consider PA school giving up. Giving up on med school, yes, but not on being in the medical field. I kinda see it as a.. detour. She told me to take a year off and work/volunteer in a hospital/doctor's office to get experience and retake the MCAT. Working in that setting would benefit me no matter which route I took. It could beef up my med school app and I would get the required experience hours for PA school. 

I also met a new teacher in the biology department here while talking to Dr. Davis. His name is Mr. Mingone and he walked up to talk to her, but ended up talking to me after she had left and giving me lots of advice.

I highly value Dr. Davis' opinion. I also believe her husband is an MCAT teacher for Kaplan. So here's what I think I might do now. I will graduate in May. I'll take a year off and find somewhere to work/shadow/volunteer. This will get me the hours I need for PA school and also beef up my med school app. Aaron can get the job he wants to finally have and we can start saving money towards a wedding and starting our lives together. At the same time, I can be studying (long-term) for both the MCAT and the GRE. Then take them both in 2013 or 2014. Apply to PA school in April 2014 (when CASPA opens) and to med school in June 2014 (when AMCAS opens). Maybe we can squeeze a wedding into 2013 or wait until the next year, as long as we're married before I start school. 

Geez, I feel like we are going to be engaged forever.

Back up plan options:

(if both med school and PA school both don't work, oh Lord!)
Phlebotomy.. I heard it only takes two years. 
Nursing.. Eh. This would be the LAST resort. 
Research.. Possibly with stem cells. Fun! :) 
Teaching.. biology, of course, on the high school or college level. 

Cough, cough at Berry College.

I really wish I could figure this all out. Everything is still up in the air. 

PA Essay?

Well, I have been working on my personal statement for a very long time now. 
I am on my fourth draft and now must somehow tweak it to suffice as a PA essay. I found some helpful information about PA essays. 

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Here are 11 things that definitely should not go into your PA school essay.

Writing about how you want to be a doctor after being a PA, 
or would prefer to be a doctor to being a PA, 
but can’t get in, can’t afford it, are too old, or anything similar.  

Even if this is true (and if it is, you need to do a lot of soul searching before launching into the PA application process) sharing it is just a bad idea. Physician assistants don’t see themselves as wanna-be doctors, baby doctors, or the-closest-thing-to-being doctors. They are a proud and skilled bunch, who almost always would prefer to be physician assistants to anything else – including a physician. Sharing your past or present desire to become a physician in your PA school essay will only call your commitment to the PA profession into question.

Your political or religious beliefs. 

 The trouble here is that you never know what type of person might be reading your PA school essay. If you are a republican, your reader might be a democrat.  Religion caries the same risk, but usually in the form of the reader being nonreligious or atheist, as opposed to possessing faith as you do. Better to steer clear of this area.

Discussing your MCAT/GMAT or other test scores.  

As in number 1, above, you aren’t applying to be a physician or a manager. Don’t think that your high medical college admissions test score will have them saying, “Wow. She must be smart. Let’s admit her!” Instead, they’ll say: “So why is she applying to be a PA?” The only possible exception to this rule is if you attended a medical school and chose not to continue. In this case, your reasons for doing so could be very important.

 
Long explanations of problem areas on your application.  

 If you must explain a weakness, do it the right way, and be brief. If you launch into a lengthy explanation, your PA school essay will 

only draw more attention to the problem.
 

Any talk of salary.

 The only thought this will invite in an admissions officer is that you are doing it for the money. Obviously, a good salary is a major motivation for applicants.

 But talking about it in your PA school essay can only hurt your application.

Talk of how medicine is the only subject that interests you in school.
 There’s more to being a PA than medicine. PAs counsel patients, manage clinics and hospital units, write notes and articles, communicate with insurance companies, and much more. Their work is multi-dimensional, and this line of thought shows you to be one-dimensional.

Humor that criticizes others.  

It’s great to share a funny anecdote, 

but the only safe person to poke fun at is yourself.

Talk of being a PA because it is easier/quicker than 
becoming a physician (or anything else). 

 First off, there’s nothing easy about PA school. Second, though it’s two years shorter than medical school, there is an expectation that as a PA you will be lifelong learner, because you can’t master anything in two years. Implying that you like to cut corners or take the path of least resistance in your PA school essay says nothing positive about your character.

Sharing your desire to work simultaneously as a PA

 and something else (massage therapist, psychologist, etc.).   

A few braves souls are multi-talented, but at this point you don’t know squat about being a PA, and to claim you can do it along with something else as well is cocky beyond repair.  It could imply that you lack focus, or are applying on a lark.  Wanting to “dabble” in medicine shows you don’t take it very seriously.

Criticizing the PA profession in any way.  

 Sound crazy that anyone would? It happens all the time. Keep your non-positive opinions to yourself, Ms. Know-it-all. They don’t want to hear them.

Sharing any personal problems that you have not overcome, 

or at least learned to deal with.   

There’s nothing wrong with having problems. But if your life is an ongoing, whirling, sucking vortex of depression, don’t bring it up in your PA school essay.  If you lost both your legs to a landmine and haven’t accepted and dealt with it, don’t bring it up. If you’re in the middle of a painful divorce, don’t bring it up. PA school is intense and admissions officers avoid admitting anyone who might become overwhelmed by the combined stresses of school and personal problems.

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Here are the top 5 avoidable PA essay pitfalls. 

PA Essay Pitfall #5: Clichés  

A cliché is a phrase or expression that is tired and overused. The rule is: AVOID CLICHÉS LIKE THE PLAGUE! (That’s one, if you hadn’t noticed – it helps me remember the importance of this rule). If you aren’t sure if something you write is a cliché, ask yourself, “If I only wrote part of this, could the reader finish it?? Clichés are amateurish and predictable, which makes your essay (wait for it…) predictable, something you don’t want to be. Hunt for them, and reword them using an original, unpredictable turn of phrase (make up your own). 

 
 PA Essay Pitfall #4: Lack of Specificity 
It’s far too easy to be vague when writing an essay. You know what you mean, and it usually seems like it should be pretty straightforward to everyone else.  Right? Wrong. BE SPECIFIC. We see this in many areas of PA essays, but most commonly in descriptions of experiences and people.

 Bad: My son sees a wonderful pediatric physician assistant at our family medical clinic. He exemplifies the profession, and it’s these qualities that I hope to emulate as a PA. That’s nice. But what qualities is the writer speaking of? Wonderful? Talk about vague!  Instead, fill in the blanks for them. 

Better: My son sees a wonderful pediatric physician assistant.  He is quick with a smile, puts my son at ease, and has the integrity to tell me when he makes a mistake.  For this, I trust him, and hope that I can one day follow his example as a physician assistant who is kind, engaging, and honest about my abilities.
 
PA Essay Pitfall #3: Weak Conclusion
Your conclusion (your last paragraph) is the place to take the information you have shared elsewhere in your essay and sum it up, get poetic about it, or give the reader an idea what is next for you. The best conclusions leave the reader thinking about your essay long after they finish reading it. There should be no new information about you here! Give the last paragraph a hopeful feeling, and end with a powerful, even unforgettable sentence. The conclusion is like paying the reader for reading your PA essay.

PA Essay Pitfall #2: No Theme
A theme is a common thread that runs through your essay, binding it together so that no matter what you have shared, it all feels related in some way. Themes are subtle, but not so hard to use. You just pick one idea about you or your experiences that you really want to stand out above all others. Then weave little references to it into your essay. Make sure to start you theme in the first paragraph. You don’t need to state it specifically in every paragraph, but in the end (your conclusion) you should find a way to return to it for emphasis. For example, the theme I used in my own PA essay was about how I wished I could do more. It allowed me to talk about my experiences and explain why I wanted to become a PA – so that I could play a bigger, more important role in patient care.  Because I wished I could do more. Without a theme, your PA essay can easily become a blob of unrelated information, like a jumbled list. A theme gives it focus, purpose, and art.

PA Essay Pitfall #1: Boring Introduction
This is the biggest one we see, by far. Starting an essay is like seducing a lover. You want to entice them to “go all the way” with you. But seriously, who wants to read an essay that begins with “I have always wanted to become a physician assistant because…”? Boooooriing! Instead, use a fact, quote, or anecdote to kick things off and pull the reader in. You can even try something unexpected.

Example: “Her face was dusty with pulverized concrete, and she was in a daze.  I was blocks from ground zero on 9/11/01, and the experience became my baptism into the trying, sometimes painful, and always rewarding world of medicine.” 
[Goes on to explain the scene some more...]

My personal statement might need more tweaking 
than what I had originally thought...

Noah's Ark

 

This made me smile. I had to share. 

Summer Is Over

Well, yesterday Aaron moved back to school.. and now I'm all alone. 

...for a whole week until I move in. 

I can't believe the summer is over. It went by super fast. 

I procrastinated and did basically nothing! I didn't even shadow! 

I did take the MCAT and get back average scores. 

I did talk to Dr. McDade and decide to try PA school instead of med school. 

But that's pretty much it.

These past few days leading up to it have been rough. Aaron was trying to pack things and scrambling to do last-minute things that had been put off all summer and I was in the way just trying to spend as much time with him as possible. I was with him most of Wednesday and Thursday. Friday he promised me that we would get up early (8am) and spend the whole day together. He got up even earlier to take his car to get serviced and then I got up at 7:30am to meet them breakfast. We did get to spend the whole day together; and then he took me home after midnight.  

Saturday morning I woke up at 5am to go to his house early since I wasn't planning on going because I would have to drive myself. We loaded his car, ate some cereal, watched tv, checked to see if he had everything, and then left at 10:30am. We stopped at a Taco Bell for a quick lunch - ohmygosh it was so good. I haven't had Taco Bell in months. We checked into his off campus apartment around 12:30pm and looked around. The lobby was nice. They have a pool and a small gym. Aaron's apartment has a big kitchen, laundry room, huge living room area with a small dining table. He has his own room and giant bathroom, just like his other three roommates. It was sooooo nice. I was definitely jealous. My little townhouse will feel so dumpy and small compared to that now.  

I was right. On the way back, we stopped to peek at my townhouse. We could see in a window at one of the bedrooms. IT IS SO SMALL. It has two tiny closets, two beds, two desks, and two short dressers that have two drawers. We are really going to have to rethink this now and scale back the stuff I'm taking. But, I am still excited because now I can start packing my stuff. I made a packing list and I have itching to get started!