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lauradi7dwRegular readers (the tiny bunch of you) know that I've been taking Anatomy & Physiology at
UMass Lowell. It's kind of shocking that three weeks into it we're 25% done. I remarked to Arthur yesterday that the pace could best be described as "ripsnorting." We're averaging more than 100 pages of text and a couple of tests a week, one each for lecture and lab. I am learning a lot, but wonder if more would be absorbed by going slower. We were set loose early last night, after the test, so I made it to the last bit of practice.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
callyperry asked what the ultimate goal is. I allowed as how being a physical therapist might be a good thing, but a better answer would have been "knowing how my body works."
I spent the last couple of years that Florence was in high school wondering what I'd do after she moved out. My usual thought was to learn to be a librarian - after all, library assistant was a constant volunteer post for at least ten years, I like finding things out, and I like reading. Still, I had some reservations, and never got my act in gear to get started with library school courses. Florence actually left, Arthur & I had a lot of empty nest unhappiness (oversimplification), and I took myself to a "life coach." She was very enthusiastic about my interests in recycling and social justice and encouraged me to consider ways to work those into a more full-time thing. Other people had suggested similar stuff, and one friend had thought about my vegetarian lifestyle and decided that I should become a nutritionist. My gut reaction to these ideas was pretty much "yuck." The coach sent me home with exercises to do, to puzzle out really where I should focus. As I worked through them, I realized that one common thread is interest in movement - dance, tai chi, pilates, walking, ringing. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to know exactly how it works. It was after that revelation that I started thinking of what might be useful, but really, what made me excited enough to register almost immediately for classes and wait impatiently for them to start was the idea of understanding muscles and joints. (so of course I was irritated when chemistry and cells and stuff started showing up again. The only lab science I took in college the first time around was Botany, and I was disgruntled then to discover that I had to understand ATP. 34 years later and it hasn't gone away. That's life, I guess (joke, sort of)).
I'm worried about my lack of scholarly abilities, but I'm grooving on it enough that it irritates me to have to postpone taking kinesiology until I learn some Physics. argh.
UMass Lowell. It's kind of shocking that three weeks into it we're 25% done. I remarked to Arthur yesterday that the pace could best be described as "ripsnorting." We're averaging more than 100 pages of text and a couple of tests a week, one each for lecture and lab. I am learning a lot, but wonder if more would be absorbed by going slower. We were set loose early last night, after the test, so I made it to the last bit of practice.
callyperry asked what the ultimate goal is. I allowed as how being a physical therapist might be a good thing, but a better answer would have been "knowing how my body works." I spent the last couple of years that Florence was in high school wondering what I'd do after she moved out. My usual thought was to learn to be a librarian - after all, library assistant was a constant volunteer post for at least ten years, I like finding things out, and I like reading. Still, I had some reservations, and never got my act in gear to get started with library school courses. Florence actually left, Arthur & I had a lot of empty nest unhappiness (oversimplification), and I took myself to a "life coach." She was very enthusiastic about my interests in recycling and social justice and encouraged me to consider ways to work those into a more full-time thing. Other people had suggested similar stuff, and one friend had thought about my vegetarian lifestyle and decided that I should become a nutritionist. My gut reaction to these ideas was pretty much "yuck." The coach sent me home with exercises to do, to puzzle out really where I should focus. As I worked through them, I realized that one common thread is interest in movement - dance, tai chi, pilates, walking, ringing. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to know exactly how it works. It was after that revelation that I started thinking of what might be useful, but really, what made me excited enough to register almost immediately for classes and wait impatiently for them to start was the idea of understanding muscles and joints. (so of course I was irritated when chemistry and cells and stuff started showing up again. The only lab science I took in college the first time around was Botany, and I was disgruntled then to discover that I had to understand ATP. 34 years later and it hasn't gone away. That's life, I guess (joke, sort of)).
I'm worried about my lack of scholarly abilities, but I'm grooving on it enough that it irritates me to have to postpone taking kinesiology until I learn some Physics. argh.
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no subject
Date: 2007-06-09 02:39 pm (UTC)ATP is interesting. Really. Energy is stored inside a chemical bond, and released again on command in a very carefully controlled manner. It's like a tiny, controlled atom bomb. Physics is a useful thing - really quite interesting too!
Something to keep in mind when being confronted with biological systems for the first time, is that they are MUCH easier to grasp the SECOND time you see them. Anatomy and Physiology is pretty horrible for everybody. It becomes much easier to put into perspective when you meet it again in subsequent courses. Biology is very cumulative. (So's every subject, really.) The more time spent on it now, the happier you will be later.
Isn't it interesting, though, how other people will come up with career ideas that ought to be a perfect fit for you, and all you can do is say "Yuck". Some things just don't appeal.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-19 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-20 02:57 am (UTC)The private one in Arlington (who is quite expensive but offers a sliding scale) really was most valuable in making a couple of self-confidence suggestions and telling me the name of the book I needed to use. (which I can't recall right now - I got it from the library instead of buying it but I'll try to track it down). It is true that some coaches come in to micromanage if that's what the client wants/needs (like if your goal is to get a new job, calling you with reminders about interviews and stuff) but what I needed was a few suggestions and a nudge forward, not frequent nagging or assistance.