Things I learned

[in college]

This is me bestowing my sapient wisdom. AHEM, here goes:

• very possible to graduate college without ever taking an 8:00 a.m. class
• dates don't count unless you can make it past #3...the 3rd date hump. it's vital. and rare.
• making your bed every morning gives some semblance of order to the day
• a bachelor's degree is often worth more than the actual major
• it's smart to choose your major based on the proximity of its main building to your apartment
• biking to & from class each day is a viable form of exercise
• Some boys are just creepy, despite their RM status.
  
• love your student discounts (e.g. $180 ski season passes, hola!)
• take lots of videos, not just photos (i wish i had done this)
• At the end of each winter semester, purge your closet and give trashbags filled with clothes to DI
• TRUST NO ONE.
• just kidding
• don't sweat the small stuff when it comes to classes and schoolwork...it really doesn't matter that much (unless you're trying to get into byu's nursing program)
• Dishes don't wash themselves. when cooking/making food, wash & clean EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY. this even extends to morning cereal bowls. Or it will build up in the sink for days, weeks even. And everyone (roommates, not husbands) pretends it isn't their mess. [sorry, a rant; can you tell this was one of my biggest pet peeves?]
• selling plasma may seem desperate, but cash $$ is exciting.
• call your parents at least weekly, because you love them
• call your grandmother too
• [most] kids who make comments in class are brown-nosers (this one's from aaron)
• Stay at school in the summer (my happiest memories are from may/june)

That's all for now; after 4 years i should have more but i can't think of any.

p.s. one month until my fake graduation, boy howdy!
p.p.s. fake because i won't technically get my diploma til august

Disease Dialogues: Malaria

Today i will blog about a terrible parasitic disease for my global health class. It's called malaria. Funny thing about malaria- it's not something you or I ever think about. Before i became a public health major, i thought it was only found in tropical jungles in africa. That's actually mostly true, with 80% of the cases today occurring in sub-saharan Africa. Other places of high infection rates include the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Indian and Pacific Ocean Islands, and the Amazon Basin. Yikes! That means that 40% of the world is at risk for malaria! These countries have on average a 1% lower GDP because of malaria, and in sub-saharan Africa it is the leading cause of missed school and work days.



You can't talk of the dangers of snake poisoning without mentioning snakes. Infection occurs when a person it bitten by an infected anopheles mosquito, and then the parasites enter the bloodstream and reproduce asexually. You heard me right, asexually.



Some quick stats:
*350 to 500 million cases of malaria occur each year
*approximately one death every 30 seconds due to malaria
*90% of malaria deaths are of children less than five years of age
*90% of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa

While we may count our many blessings our feet are securely planted in healthy, safe, american soil...because speaking of which, on the glass-half-full side, malaria has been eradicated from the US, Europe, parts of Asia, and the Soviet Republics. But there's no reason it has to stop there...

This disease is dang preventable! These are some things I would do if I lived in sub-saharan africa:
*kill the larvae with insecticides...yes, the babies. They are death breeders in training you see.
*reduce human & mosquito contact by using insecticide-treated bed-nets & indoor residual spraying. Holy effective.
*Make people wear long-sleeved shirts and pants...i know it's africa, but lives are at stake
*advocate staying indoors at night (AC is preferred to keep mosquitoes from nestling)
*Visitors to at-risks countries can take chemoprophylaxis drugs to prevent infection

So there you go. Should you ever visit countries where malaria is present, remember this blog and perhaps you can train other people on ways they can stay mosquito-free. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.