Three Questions! (December 14)

SA node

1. Lately I have turned in my Frankenstein Essay and almost finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray in English. In Anatomy, we started the Cardiovascular System and got all of our packets.
2. I've learned that a baby's heart starts beating alone, without the help of an electrical impulse! Pretty crazy stuff!  This is due to a piece of tissue, called the SA node, that regulates the pace of the heart, the pacemaker. When someone's heart beats irregularly, a pacemaker is inserted that takes the place of the SA node.
3. Next week I play on studying like crazy for my finals in every class. What a joy! And on top of all of that, I just got sick. High school is flying by, but I'm looking forward to a break from this semester .

SA node image from http://drugline.org/img/term/sa-node-13124_3.jpg

Three Questions! (December 7)

Skyfall Poser- Because who doesn't love Daniel Craig?

1. Lately I've been pretty overwhelmed with school. The last couple weeks have been pretty intense, and I still have finals to study for. I've completed my anatomy packets and studied to the Endocrine/ Reproductive System test. I also went to see Skyfall this weekend, which I enjoyed. I recommend seeing it.
2. I learned how hormones work, and what happens when they are hyper/hypo secreted into the body. I also learned that the reproductive systems are SUPER complicated and childbirth is pretty..graphic. In math, we started chapter 7. So far we've done area between two curves and 'integrals as a net change'.
3. Next week I need to finish writing my written portion of my French final, finish my Frankenstein Essay, and keep on with my reading of Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm really liking it so far. Oscar Wilde's writing is pretty awesome. I also must take the end of course exam for English. It's pretty stupid that we have to take a test over material that we have no foreknowledge about. Pretty stupid indeed.

Skyfall Poster from http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2012/10/23/review-skyfall/

Hormones & Stress!

Student Stressing

As well all know, stress can be unhealthy and quite frankly, stressful. Even animals endure physical and physiological stress. But what is stress? Stress is a condition that the body is in due a stressor, which is a factor that changes the body's internal environment that can threaten life. Short term stressors are those that cause the body so put necessary processes, such as digestion, healing a wound, and fighting infection on hold for a few moments, a "fight or flight" response. This can be when you need to make a split second decision to save your life. Animals running from predators is an example of short term stressors where the body returns to its normal conditions after the response is initiated. A long term stressor is a chronic condition where the body is constantly under stress, usually psychological stress. Long term stress is dangerous to the body and can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems, ulcers, and premature death. The immune system is also compromised because of chronic stress and can lead to increased risk of infection.
There are many ways to reduce stress. These include deep breathing, relaxation, and mediation. For help with stress in school there are other strategies. Not that I am an expert in stress reduction (I have my fair share of school stress), but I have found some ways to reduce stress, at least for a little while.
1. Stay organized!- Knowing what you have to do helps the feeling of assignments and duties hanging over your head.
2. Relax, using deep breathing - as mentioned in the stress video we watched today, deep breathing can calm the body down and alleviate stress.
3. Have some fun- doing some school work before a fun day and some after makes you feel that you got something accomplished before something fun.
I have found these tips helpful but still have a long way to go! Stress is hard to get rid over, especially with finals week quickly approaching!

Student stressing image from http://www.cliving.org/stress%20control%20students.html

                                          Check out these stress reducing tips:
            http://www.totallystressedout.com/06-relaxation-01-exercises.html

Three Questions! (November 30)

Endocrine System- Next Week!

1. This past week I've been super busy. I studied like crazy for the Nervous System test and got a little behind in math because of that. Then I did a bunch of math to catch up and started writing a Frankenstein Essay and started studying for my French final. Very busy indeed. Apparently these next few weeks aren't going to be any better. But I have to admit I would be bored without things to do (but maybe not this many things). Then I went to a French Club luncheon and the campus cleanup.
2. I learned a lot about how the brain works from my studies. I also learned partial fractions, tabular method, and more U substitution in Calculus. I also learned we're covering four chapters in three weeks in anatomy.
3. Next week, I'm planning on doing the same thing as last week. We're starting Endocrine System in anatomy, which should be fun. I will have to study for a math test on Tuesday, though. I also want to start making sure I've got everything covered for finals week.

Endocrine System image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system