Blog designed to follow me through all the trials and tribulations of dietetics, physiology, heart-stopping exams, and college in your mid-late 20s.
All things DIET, food, lifestyle, exercise, recipes, and health food reviews.
I do not like venison. Buffalo is not as snowy as I thought it would be, but it is Buffalo and I will probably eat those words as time progresses. My anxiety is stopping me from doing many things, including laundry. I am afraid to ask for letters of recommendation. Depression SUCKS --> I already knew that, but I have been reminded. Enteric coated microcapsules can be awesome. Mint, chocolate, and milk all increase the likelihood of heartburn/GERD. Job growth for the dietetics field may increase more than 16% over the next 4 years, more than the increase in new dietitians being churned out from DPDs and CPDs. It only takes an extra/unburned 10 calories per day to gain a pound of fat per year.
Week Two DONE!
And it has been a bear.. I do not have much to say this week as I did not start writing this post until a few minutes ago instead of writing it throughout the week. HIGH STRESS and the resurgence of depression almost back to premed level have really hampered my progress this week in classes, learning, blogging, and filming.
One good thing this week was my success in the first cooking lab of the semester. Pan-seared Salmon with pan-roasted root vegetables with cranberry chutney and mint was complemented by the professor and tasted divine. It was American Indian/Native American and Native Alaskan culture week.
Also - I wanted to add a little line about What I Tried this Week.
Venison, acorn squash, using my card in the parking gate, using the industrial dishwasher, and going to a future Resident Adviser meeting.
Next week: Week 3 of Classes. Asking for letters of recommendation/reference. Human resources meeting. Schedule for work and possibly first day. Meeting with scary adviser. Meeting with Financial Aid.
Oh yeah, its snowing..... Yay Buffalo.....
Recent Videos
Room Tour and Food Allergies were featured this week.
Some people are loving, some people are hateful,. And some people are so hateful, they do not deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us. When it comes down to it, friends and family are ALL we have, so treasure them. You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to, you have to choose whether it is going to be a destructive or constructive something.
YOU ONLY REGRET THE THINGS YOU DON'T DO!
Life is hard enough without looking over your shoulder all the time. Make sure YOU are not the reason someone else is looking over their shoulder. Being on either end of that interaction is not the way to live.
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This week has tested my strength and my ability to overcome both aspects of my anxiety and depression. It started out not knowing whether I moved into the correct room or not, I WAS. Thank gods. Then it transitioned to two days of uncertainty and waiting.
I am living on campus, and that may or may not out for the rest of my time here. Having this level of anxiety is stopping me from doing this again. It has to stop.
One my first day of classes, I only had two classes. I also had to buy a parking permit and obtain an ID. Turns out the incredible debacle of getting the parking pass turned out just fine but it was a an incredibly stressful five hours. Getting my ID, which should have been very simple, ended up being another trial, but it also worked out fine. SO I made it through my first day.
Wednesday was also stressful : job interview, dietetics luncheon where I knew no one, and class with my intimidating adviser.
Thursday and Friday were just fine.
I want to say I haven't learned anything academically this week, but that probably is not true. OH - one thing - Calcium ions make heartburn (GERD, Gastric reflux) much worse. So that old adage of drinking milk for a sour stomach = worse sour stomach/burning. Caffeine, alcohol, mint does the same.
Also found the grocery stores in the area ✔
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Next week: first full week.
All of that being said, make sure you live this one life the way you want to. Do what makes you happy and that will help others be happy as well. As long as you are not hurting anyone else or yourself (or throwing someone under the bus), you can do it all. Believe in yourself and in the goodness of others.
Love you all, as always, and I will have much more next week, Promise. Plus Food Allergy video and Suicide video up on YouTube.
Anxiety is a beast. Sometimes it can help you and other times, it is the thing that takes you down hardest - worse than any of the perceived terrible endings you had thought of. You can think of everything bad that could possibly happen, but it is the spending so much time in your head that causes you the most trouble.
So, we can either get out of our heads completely and totally go with the flow; or, we can change our overactive imaginations into tools that can help us..
When I figure out how to do that, I will definitely let you know. For now, enjoy these musings on paranoia versus imagination.
Wildlife are both easier and harder to spot in the snow. The snowiest place I thought we'd see was actually the least snowy. Ohio has some darn awful drivers. On ramps to I-90 in parts of Montana have cattle guards on them. Wyomingans farm deer. People in Wyoming and not afraid of mischief done to their tiny oil wells. Indoor waterparks are a big deal in the northern plains of the US. People in Indiana are proud to be Indianan. The fog is dense in Indianapolis. Peoria, Illinois, smells like Fried Chicken. Ohio has beautiful bridges. I am not as brave as I sometimes pretend to be, but when it comes down to it, I can get things done.
I guess I am ready to get back to business as usual.... I am scared to death, but I am so ready to have a routine and to move on with my life. I had a panic attack last night and that was another scary adventure. Right now, I am doing slightly better. I am laying down on my bed watching the Seahawks (hopefully win) against Atlanta and dreading the morning when I have to figure out what comes next. Tomorrow is check in day and I have to figure out if I moved into the right room this morning. So far my impression of this school's housing procedure is that they expect you to know what to do without any information.
But I will stop that negative train of thought right here....
I am looking forward to Tuesday when classes start. If I am in class with papers do and reading that I can focus on avoiding, the time will go by much faster and then I can begin to worry about what is going to happen over the summer. Which reminds me that I still have to register for Summer. Which means I have to go meet with my advisor who scares the crap out of me. And I also have to get at least 3 forms signed so that my financial aid package (which is still being revised) can go through, so I am not stuck with a $20000+ bill in the next week. In addition to that, I have to decide whether I am going to shell out the mucho bucks to buy all 6 textbooks I am going to need. And all of the things I have to do to maintain my car, and how much worse the snow, ice, and salt makes it.
This is how my brain works: too many thoughts that all lead to another though and they are usually all negative.
Silver linings DO NOT come easily to me. Stressful thoughts DO.
I just have so much to do. And the anxiety is eating me up.
Back to the positives.
I am starting a new life and a new journey to the end of school, rather than a journey to the beginning of school. And there is no better feeling that that of moving forward. I have some ideas for new videos on my YouTube channel (migraines, thyroid meds, thyroid diets, etc..). I have a job interview for Wednesday.
Money is tight, my nerves are stretched thin, I may be in the wrong room. But I am moving forward. First big hurdle = crossed.
Starting next week, there will be more diet content on the blog. Thanks for hanging in there everyone!!
I am off to start my Masters to become a registered dietitian in Buffalo, New York. It is an emotional journey and really hard for me to come to terms with after all that has happened before this long journey started and since.
This road has been filled with obstacles both in and out of my control. But it is time to let go and let _____. Whatever happens at this point is meant to be. I have to believe that everything happens for a reason and I am beginning to believe that I cannot force my destiny but I cab steer that journey in the direction of a fate that is acceptable to me.
I hope you all join me in this journey of self discovery, self confidence building, and self recovery.
I can do this. I must do this. New Years Resolutions must be worked on continuously. Even thinks I can do this but me. NO knows. Everyone KNOWS I can do this, except me. Dairy may be causing my bouts with Gastritis. Low Blood Pressure is another menace of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
New Years Re-Solutions are important to me. This year more than ever. I need to forgive myself and move on with life, living in the present. You do not live if you are continually fretting in the past or paranoid about the future. And much like in dreams, where you pinch yourself to know it's not real, we need a device to ensure that we are focused on what is real in the here and now.
As I go forward (literally and figuratively) on my journey to Buffalo and beyond to my Masters and my life, I am coming up with that device to remind myself that the only thing that matters is what is going on in the moment and the decisions made in that moment. Currently, this is where my dancing resolution comes in. Dance, paint, run, so something to get out of your head and into the present.
Tonight will mark the first literal leg or step of the journey to school. We are currently in Montana about 1/4 of the way to the final destination (no pun intended). The car is full, read overstuffed, and we have 4 days of the journey left. Buffalo Baymax and I are taking pictures whenever we stop to try and document and take advantage of everything that this roadtrip has to offer.
Will update as I can, and continue to post videos as I travel. See New Years Re-Solutions video and Crohn's Supplements I use to stay in remission video below and always if you search my name on YouTube (Shelby Slenkamp)
I hope you like this new weekly blog post series. Of course, as soon as I get settled into my new place I will be posting the reviews and video accompaniment posts. Until then, remember to be kind and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@seskamp) and subscribe on YouTube.com/seslenkamp
