Life of a PT student part 2

I'm exactly one month from completing my first term of PT school and the past few weeks have been far from ideal. We had a 2 week period of 5 exams and a lab practical which took its toll on me and my grades. The first week went well but the second week of 3 exams in 4 days is where the pressure started to get to me. Long story short, the results in a specific class was a reality check and with 50% of the course left I've been focusing on bringing my grade up. I've always worn my emotions on my sleeves and it's been evident to my classmates that I had done poorly. I've been spending less time in my study groups and more time studying at the library. I've been placing a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself because I feel the need to bring up my grade. I've also been comparing myself to my peers, while I know I shouldn't it's difficult not to when people around me seem to all be doing well. I find myself constantly focusing on my inadequacies instead of focusing on the thing I am capable of controlling.

I've felt a lot better these past few days and I'm focusing on moving forward instead of focusing on the past. I need to learn from my experiences and to better myself. I have great friends here who want to see me succeed and are pushing me to be better.

A friend left this note on my desk


While the gesture may seem small it meant a lot to me that she cares about how I'm doing. While it's still in my human nature to worry about the future, I'm learning to take things one step at a time. God has placed me here for a reason and who am I to question His plans for me. I've realize that I am blessed to even have this opportunity because many people aren't able to pursue a career they love. While there will undoubtedly be more trials in the future I'm focused on keeping my head up and taking things in stride.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4:6-7 

Life of a PT student

       I just completed my third week of school and my first exam yesterday. Minus the first week of school, the school year has gone by fairly quickly. Moving away was a difficult one for me, it was a challenge to leave all the familiarity of home for a place I had never been to. Throughout my transition from business to PT, I had always fully trusted in the plan that God had in place for me, I felt led to Concord, NH and this is where I'll be for the majority of the next 2-3 years.

           This transition has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has been a challenging one. I had always been more of a introverted person and coming to a new city knowing nobody has been an interesting experience. Being in graduate school almost forces you to be more outgoing because meeting and getting along with your classmates is important in both your academics and social life. The transition here has gone far smoother then I could have ever anticipated. In three short weeks I know the majority of my classmates and have become good friends with several of them. I've had the privilege of meeting people from all over the United States and it's been nothing but a blessing getting to know each one. I was also lucky enough to have two classmates live right down the hall who I get along with really well and study with almost every day. On a typical day, I'm in class for about 4-5 hours and have the rest of the day to relax a little and spend the majority of the night studying. I've learned more in the last 3 weeks than I did in an entire semester in any class in undergrad. I've never had to study this much but I've found studying for this material far better than undergrad. The professors are all extremely helpful and seem to want us succeed which is what had drawn me to the school in the first place.

           The cultural and environmental change from Rockville, MD to Concord, NH has required some adjusting just because I had grown so accustomed to home. Back in Maryland there are plenty of Asian people around and for the first time in my life I feel like a minority. There's only one other Asian person in the class which I am definitely not used to. Some random facts I've learned about NH, Dunkin Donuts dominates Starbucks, there's only one place to buy bubble tea, no korean bbq, sub-par Chinese restaurants, people love walking around with their shirts off (I honestly see it at least once a day), you do not need to wear a seat belt while driving, the state motto is "Live Free or Die."

            I know that this journey won't be easy but I know it'll all be worth it in the end. I know that I was accepted into Franklin Pierce for a reason and I have no regrets in coming here. Every week I have more thrown at me than I know that to do with but I'm taking things one step at a time. I'm trying not to get too stressed out about each class but do my best in managing my time properly. Also, a key for me studying successfully is to take naps before I study. Studying automatically makes me sleepy and taking a nap before hand makes me refreshed before the night ahead.

Here's before/after pictures of my room

Turning The Page

It's a surreal feeling to have just finished all of my per-requisites, these two years have flown by so quickly and its hard to put my feelings into words. I went back to look at some previous blog posts and it was two years ago when I made the decision to go back to school. ( titled "I Must Be Crazy " if you're interested ) These two years seem to have flown by and it seems like I just the other day I was still employed with Accenture. There have been some stressful times with school and applications but I've learned a lot about myself as a student along the way. I know I still have a lot of learning to do as far as my study habits but while they've improved over the past two years I still have a long way to go.

It's hard to imagine in three short months I'll be moved into a new city and state,  likely to be Concord, NH. As of right now, Franklin Peirce University is where I've been led to go. Up until a week ago, I had only been accepted into one school but in the past week God has opened up some more doors for me. I turned down Wheeling Jesuit University who offered me a spot in their program which starts next week. I wasn't particularly fond of the area and the school/program itself. Midwestern University also contacted me last week asking if I were still interested in the program and for a potential interview this upcoming week. It's such a blessing to have been given more options and now more then ever I need to consider where God wants me to be and which school will be the best fit for me.

As of right now, I'm preparing myself to move to Concord, NH. I've never visited the area yet which only makes it that much more nerve wracking. I've messaged a handful of students who are currently in the program and every one had good things to say about the professors and curriculum which is very reassuring. My biggest concern is having professors who aren't willing to work with their students in times of need and don't necessarily have an "open door" policy. Every student I've spoken with has persistently stated all the professors are extremely helpful which is really comforting to me. I am extremely thankful that every student I messaged was more than willing to answer all of my questions. I've also spoken with  a few students who will be in my class and they all seem really friendly. I'm hoping for a roommate/classmate who's also a believer because I know having that support will be important during stressful times and throughout all of PT school. I was fortunate enough to find a classmate who is a believer and was equally excited to find out that I was one too. We've already discussed exploring churches in the area and I'm glad that I'll have somebody go to church with. I'm currently still searching for a roommate and I can only hope that I find one that I get along well with.

I'm excited/anxious to get PT school started but am also nervous about what lies ahead. I've lived in this area my entire life but I think it'll be good to move out of my comfort zone and gain some life experiences. Regardless of what lies ahead I'll be certain to work persistently in my studies and work to glorify God. I'm looking forward to starting the next chapter of my life and excited to see what God has in store for me next.

The Jeremy Lin Effect

Warning: This is a long post

The biggest craze recently has been all the excitement surrounding Jeremy Lin. Although I may come off as "obsessed" with him or I post too many things about him on facebook, my reasoning goes far beyond his on court success. The success he's had on the basketball court is something that will be talked about for years and it's something I've been fortunate enough to experience but there is much more to it.

I've read countless interviews and articles about Jeremy in order to learn more about him and about his history. After learning about his past, I have the utmost respect for him and everything he represents. Recently, many people have become a fan of Jeremy Lin only knowing the surface of who he is, the first Asian American to ever play in the NBA. Many celebrities are beginning to give him recognition for turning the Knicks season around while shows like PTI, Around The Horn and Sportscenter seemingly offer endless coverage. Pro boxer Floyd Mayweather went as far as to tweet, "Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise." This especially rubbed me the wrong way because Mayweather likely knows nothing about Jeremy's history and why exactly his story is so special.

Here's a brief summary as to why I have grown to become a fan that goes far beyond his Asian heritage. He went to Palo Alto high school in California and lead to them a state championship. He was not highly recruited by any colleges regardless of division even though he was named to the first-team all state. He sent personal workout videos of himself to numerous colleges hoping to get scholarship offers, in the end only two schools offered him a spot on their team Harvard and Brown. He had his heart set on going to Stanford but God closed that door and he eventually decided on Harvard. While playing a Harvard, a notoriously poor basketball program, Jeremy and his teammates turned the program around to make it into a winning and respected program. Even when he played against big schools like UConn or Georgetown, his abilities were always there.

He went undrafted and only received one offer from the Dallas Mavericks to play on their summer league team. He played sparingly behind their starting point guard who got hurt before they played the Wizards. Jeremy was able to get more playing time in that game and played extremely well against that years first pick, John Wall. He eventually signed with the Golden State Warriors and rarely saw the court his rookie season. He was sent down to the developmental league numerous times during his rookie season. He spent time in the off season working on his game in hopes of getting more playing time in Golden State but before the season started, they cut him for "financial reasons." He was then picked up by the Rockets who cut him a week or two later. The New York Knicks signed him but he never saw playing time as the last man on the bench and they also sent him down to the developmental league. On February 4th, 2012, almost out of desperation, Jeremy got to play significant minutes which seemed like a "no lose" situation because of their terrible. At the time, they were considering releasing him because his contract wasn't guarenteed until February 10th. Little did they know, on February 4th, 2012, Linsanity was born. As soon as he got put in the game, he hit the ground running and there Linsanity, Linderlla, Linning and 49503940 other nick names were introduced.

I didn't write this post for the sake of writing a summary about Jeremy Lin but rather about everything I've learned about myself through watching him. As everyone knows, Jeremy is devout in the Christian faith and accredits everything he's been through to God. He has openly expressed that his path to the NBA has "God's fingerprints all over it." He's stated that many things had to happen in order for him to get into the NBA and none were by coincidence. I was fortunate enough to meet him after the Wizards game a couple weeks ago and he was nice enough to take a picture with me and sign my ball. Although I wish I got to talk with him a little, the experience for me was more than I could've asked for thanks to Josh. Anyways, after every game he's played in, reporters always ask him questions and he always talks about the team and coaches efforts and thanks God for the opportunity to play the game. Even after all the success he's experienced, he remains humble and I hope that he remains that way because he is such a role model to many.

I watched a video about his testimony (posted below) and he spoke about how he used to play for the stats, for winning, for the acceptance of others and several other reasons. He now says he plays the game for sheer enjoyment and ultimately to glorify God. I recently had an incident with a friend where I lost my temper (definitely not the first time) and I said things I didn't mean. I don't believe this was coincidence that I watched the video a few days later and believe that God is trying to open my eyes to seeing the bigger picture. I told myself that after I healed from my ACL surgery that I would be less competitive and play for the enjoyment of the game. I quickly lost that mentality and hope that I grow and become better through this experience.

You may know that right now I am in a extremely stressful time as I've interviewed with a few schools but have been wait listed by all of them. All my peers that have applied to PT school have already been accepted and a few days ago I was feeling extremely down and worried about why I keep getting wait listed. I've been waiting to get an interview from my number one school, UMD Eastern Shore but there was some major communication issues with their front desk about them getting my grades and my frustration only grew. I began to seriously panic and doubt whether I had made the right decisions to go back to school. I realized that this entire time I've failed to lift this experience up to God and after listening to Jeremy Lin's testimony, it reminded me that every experience I go through happens for a reason and that God does have a plan for me. Although this is a simple lesson it's one that I often forget and one that needs reminding. I'm going to continually lift this entire PT situation into God's hands and trust he will get me to where I need to be. I know there will be times I will panic/worry about it's something I will continue to work on.

So as weird/stupid/dumb as it may sound, the Jeremy Lin craze has been an eye opening experience for me. I hope through all this I change my attitude for the better, become less short tempered, more open, more caring, more loving/compassionate, more trusting, more accepting, less hating/doubting (learned this after thinking about what Floyd Mayweather said) and many other things I need to and plan on working on. I'm excited to see how Jeremy's inspirational story will continue to unfold and the things he'll do in the future both on and off the basketball court.

Jeremy's story goes far beyond being the first Asian American in the NBA. I hope that his journey is inspirational to many as people continue to witness everything he represents.

"But I am a firm believer in 'Everything happens for a reason.' ... I mean, things happen in life and not just to me. These types of things happen to everyone. It's not being vulnerable; it's just looking at life the way it is from a realistic standpoint. I'm a believer in God and I believe that he puts things in your path for a reason."

Milwaukee Bucks point guard
-Shaun Livingston