Culminating blog post

Although I have completed my Capstone project, I'm not comfortable saying it's over and done with. This project grew on me and I believe it'll remain as part of who I am. Throughout the entire project I had to do critical thinking. I knew that if I didn't go out of my way to get things done it wouldn't be completed. Giving up is so easy, but nothing beats the joys of success. Which is only attained through work and effort. I carefully thought of ways to do my project and when would be the best times. During the nutrition classes I often thought of who was speaking, why were they speaking, and how. I paid close attention to many of the details to make direct connections to my research.I contributed with my mentor in any way I could as did she. I helped her set up for presentations and helped her clean up and pack her products. I came up with the idea of talking on the phone with her as a means of communicating and conducting my project. It was a bit difficult to meet with her often being that she lives in Sun Valley. Talking on the phone made it easier to establish a relation. We were able to set up new dates for meetings and brainstormed ideas for the project. Many times she also gave me nutrition lessons over the phone and tested my knowledge by asking questions. I was able to meet professional people who work in the nutrition field and established connections with them as well.

What I gained from this project was everything. I now have the proper information I need to help my family adopt healthy habits and improve their lives. I managed to help my youngest sister see the benefits of eating healthy. In addition to all that I also became more responsible and motivated to do things. I was taught that a person will never succeed and strive if they have negative mind. A successful person will often be surrounded by successful people because they provide good vibes and set the example. I realized that when you communicate with others you open doors. I knew that if I wanted to see a change it had to start with me and it hasn't been easy, but it's coming along.

 I am consciously aware that Amway is a sales company and that I risked getting a project done based on my subject. I took the risk anyhow. I had a difficult time finding a mentor here nearby. There was a specialist who agreed to work with me, but in the end she cancelled because the work was confidential. I was able to overcome my challenges by seeking help with my mentor and really just getting down to business. To find a mentor I spent evenings calling one place and calling another. The first time was scary because I didn't know how to ask or what to say. Then I thought, "Why are you nervous? If you need and want something you go and get it." so I did. I tried and tried until finally I thought of my last resource. I owe her many thanks as well as all those who helped me throughout this semester.

May 6, 2013

The last part of my project was to share the information with a group of people the way my mentor would when she would meet with different individuals. She said she believed it would be good for my presentation at school. It was a good way of getting comfortable with speaking to the public. I agreed and was excited to practice, My mother says I've always been good with people and speaking to them, in fact they couldn't get me to shush up. I'm not much of a chatter box anymore, but I notice speaking or presenting are not my biggest fear. I sort of enjoy it. I concluded my project with a presentation that involved 5 other people. They were very respectful and their body language confessed to me they took the information under strong consideration. It makes me glad to see people make changes for their well being. When I asked my mentor about things I wasn't sure of or didn't understand, she always provided me with an insightful answer. Unfortunately my visit came to an end and I was to come back to the bay. I didn't come back empty handed though:) I completed my project and came back with a more positive attitude as well as a stronger sense of what I'll do with regards to my future.

May 5, 2013

It was Sunday and that meant my stay in So Cal was coming to an end. My relationship with my mentor became stronger, there's a strong sense of reliability between us. I believe it's because my trip down there demonstrated to her that I was serious and willing to do what it took. We attended the second day of the conference and went through another 5:30 hours. I listened and took more notes. I learned the importance of supplements and proper nourishment. Some of the information I already knew, but having an educated and humble person support the facts was more securing. I would say the most important things I learned this day were that nutrition is a very complex area, but every single small detail matters. It's much like chemistry, of course without the harsh chemicals. That's the other thing I learned, you don't need medications to improve your health. If anything those same medications can worsen your conditions. Medicine does not mean it'll cure you it simply means to delay or control symptoms etc. A person's body may be cured by natural and organic means. There's people that have beat diseases like Cancer all because they improved their nutrition.Our bodies are set to rebuild and recharge every so often. Many times we lack the attention and help to our our bodies preventing them from restoring to stability. There's so much information that updated my knowledge in just those two days. I have immense gratitude for my mentor who was kind enough to work with me.

May 4, 2013

I absolutely enjoyed my trip down south to Bakersfield. I took the Amtrak all by myself! I was very excited  to see my mentor and work with her. We attended a conference that same day I arrived. We met with her co-workers and I was allowed to sit and listen I even took notes. I'm glad I did because It was a lot of information that I wouldn't have remembered. We met up with some pretty important leaders and I was introduced as always. I met a professional Nutritionist Luis and was very inspired by him. He knows so much and is very glad to share his knowledge with people. Participating that day even though I was tired made for it to go by quick. I got in minutes past 5 hrs, I was sure the next day would be better!

April 29, 2013

This day I completed a total of 2;00 hrs speaking with her about my research and asking for advice and guidance. She had me speak with my father about his eating habits and reasons why he chose to eat the way he did. I explained to him what i had learned so far and showed him images and video clips of what could happen to him if he wasn't more careful with his choices. He seemed to be intrigued about the information. I was hopeful he'd take it under consideration. He knew I wasn't making it up or anything. For some reason people seem to feel that way about suggestions made to their well being. Like if one was just exaggerating about the situation. However, they don't exaggerate much when they pay a visit to their doctor's and are informed that they have to take medications to keep their blood pressure under control and such. Well that's what father had to do. He was diagnosed with high levels of everything and was taking chemicals, because that's really what they are, when he could just simply cut down on his intake of sugar,salt, carbs, etc.This is one of the reason why I'm very glad I did my research on nutrition and health. It's information that will benefit not just myself, but my family. On May 4-5 I was expected to go down to Bakersfield and attend another event.

April 29, 2013

I was panicking because I had yet to complete my hours, I had other things going on and I just about gave up many times. A lot of time went by before speaking with my mentor again. She had me do further research on my own to keep up with terminology and basic conditions. I learned what vertigo and osteoporosis are. Those are two things I had heard of but never really knew what they were.

March 30, 2013

I met with my mentor and I was able to observe her work with several individuals. It was really neat! She was so attentive and respectful to the people. She was vary patient as well and positive. Betty introduced me to them and I explained to them that I was working on a school project and if they permitted that it would be great to sit along and be part of the gathering. I learned this day how to deal with people and help them out. I also learned that people don't care much about their health until it's brought to their attention by their bodies. At the end of this weekend I had accomplished 3:45 mins. We arranged to talk again in a couple days.

March 28, 2013

I spoke on the phone with my mentor for 2:30 hrs after not having much contact in a few weeks. I finally called her and checked in with her. We agreed that it'd be just as productive to talk over the phone. We spoke for a while and concluded with what my next step should be for the project. We were to meet that following weekend.

March 16, 2013

This is my second meeting with my mentor and it's also my Birthday weekend!:D

We had planned to sit down and discuss health issues associated with nutrition. I should probably mention my actual project was supposed to be to take a class at skyline. Of course it was just my luck that it got cancelled. Working with my mentor One-on-One was much like taking a class and discussing the topic. This day I learned that there's four pin points in our bodies that lead to a list of illnesses. Those four key points are: Lungs, Liver, Pancreas, and the Kidney. If you lack care to any of these it may result in high blood pressure, cholesterol, slow digestive systems, etc. These are common results, but it may be much more serious and complicated. I was glad to learn something new and interesting this weekend. I completed a total of 1:30 minutes with my mentor. We set to see more of each other soon.

Start of mentor hours January 26, 2013

Saturday January 26
 I began my Capstone Project with Luz Ramos; I call her Betty as that's her first name. We attended a Convention in Richmond, CA with my mom and her son. I spent a total of 5 hrs this day. It was a very exciting and beneficial event. Hundreds of people were there, mostly people who were associated with the Amway company. My idea of the project was to shadow Betty and get direct experience working with individuals and their health. I received legit information based on nutrition and ways to improve a person's health simply by adjusting their nutritional needs. I did a lot of listening and sitting during the event. However, after it we were able to look at the nutrition products and diagrams. We were also allowed to try the products and take samples:) I looked forward to the rest of the project after the first day. The attitudes were positive and encouraging to do something beneficial for yourself and those around you. I admit I wasn't too sure at first about my project, I thought it would be of little use help since my mentor wasn't licensed. I'm glad I was wrong! I learned throughout my own research that many nutritionists are self taught and that there's a difference between a Nutritionist and Dietitian. Betty was very helpful and kind we planned to meet again in March.

Progress

I know I haven't blogged lately, I need to start blogging more often. I'm about halfway done with my research paper. It's been stressful and I have felt desperation many times throughout this project, but i have managed to see the light at the end of the day. I know organization is key in this project and I'm working on improving my skills. I have gained more knowledge in nutrition. Like what vitamins we need and how they affect us. I will finish this paper by thursday and keep doing my best.

Capstone Project Update

Wednesday evening I commuted up to Skyline College for the nutrition class I had planned to take this spring semester, but to my surprise, and that of other's, the instructor had canceled the class:( Time to come up with plan B. Other than that I have a thesis to work around which is a great advantage. This weekend i will dedicate to getting my research done and making sure I have at least 5 legit sources. As a quick side note I realized I much rather work with books and printed articles than online because I actually concentrate.

Fiscal CLiff Response

  On new years eve according to NBC politics, " House ok's proposal despite GOP objections." The GOP didn't want to raise taxes, which is one of the reasons they weren't in favor or passing the bill. Democrats on the other hand were in favor of extending tax rates, particularly for the wealthy. They were also in favor of extending unemployment benefits for another year, and the change in alternative minimum tax, which meant middle-class families wouldn't have higher taxes. Unfortunately for the republicans entitlement programs remained the same. And now families of four making $4,000-$4,000 would see a tax rate increase all in effort to "avert the fiscal cliff", even if that means a rise for dividends.


To conduct my research I used the Google search engine and I will be honest it was a little difficult. I mainly used the term "fiscal cliff", i added republican views/democratic views to it as well. What troubled me the most at first were some of the terms used, but after adjusting my results by reading level in the search tools I found it much easier. I also narrowed my research by changing the time setting to results within the past week. I had to look up What acronyms such as GOP meant and that really improved my result's quality. The other thing I tried was  to look at trusted sites like those ending in ".gov" or ".org". If it didn't I checked to see it was a well known page.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/02/16288012-fiscal-cliff-deal-house-oks-proposal-despite-gop-objections?lite
http://nationalpriorities.org/en/analysis/2013/fiscal-cliff-deal/?gclid=CMjovtal37QCFUdxQgodkHEAMA

Fiscal Cliff Response

  On new years eve according to NBC politics, " House ok's proposal despite GOP objections." The GOP didn't want to raise taxes, which is one of the reasons they weren't in favor or passing the bill. Democrats on the other hand were in favor of extending tax rates, particularly for the wealthy. They were also in favor of extending unemployment benefits for another year, and the change in alternative minimum tax, which meant middle-class families wouldn't have higher taxes. Unfortunately for the republicans entitlement programs remained the same. And now families of four making $4,000-$4,000 would see a tax rate increase all in effort to "avert the fiscal cliff", even if that means a rise for dividends.


To conduct my research I used the Google search engine and I will be honest it was a little difficult. I mainly used the term "fiscal cliff", i added republican views/democratic views to it as well. What troubled me the most at first were some of the terms used, but after adjusting my results by reading level in the search tools I found it much easier. I also narrowed my research by changing the time setting to results within the past week. I had to look up What acronyms such as GOP meant and that really improved my result's quality. The other thing I tried was  to look at trusted sites like those ending in ".gov" or ".org". If it didn't I checked to see it was a well known page.

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/02/16288012-fiscal-cliff-deal-house-oks-proposal-despite-gop-objections?lite
http://nationalpriorities.org/en/analysis/2013/fiscal-cliff-deal/?gclid=CMjovtal37QCFUdxQgodkHEAMA