arghlblargh!

Anonymous asked: the japanese language uses only a few particles for tons of mutiple things. i'm currently learning japanese and it's really hard to know when to use what particle since they all seem the same to me. can you explain when to use which particles?

Hello.

I’m sorry, but if it was possible to answer such a question thoroughly in a single text post, I don’t think people would have to pay for language classes.  However, I can give you general rules of thumb:

• は // wa:
  • ~is/am; used for general opinions about a topic known between the speaker and listener
  • noun は adjective/verb/descriptive-noun
  • EG:  tori は tobu (birds fly)
• が  //  ga:  
  • ~is/am; used to describe something unknown to the listener
  • noun が adjective/verb/descriptive-noun
  • EG:  watashi が dekiru (I can do it)
• に  //  ni:  
  • used like “to”, it signifies a change towards a direction 
  • noun/location/adjective に verb
  • EG:  kirei に narimasu (will become pretty)
  • EG2:  kuruma に iku (will go to the car)
• へ  //  e:  
  • also used like “to” or like “for” on envelopes/letters, this signifies a direction towards something
  • location へ verb
  • EG:  higashi へ ikou (let’s go East)
  • person  へ
  • EG:  Julie へ (to: Julie)
• で  //  de:  
  • used to indicate where something is occurring or how something is being done; when placed after a noun or means of transport, it means “by”, when used after a location, it means that something will/has taken place there
  • means-of-transport で verb
  • EG:  kuruma で ikou (let’s go by car)
  • noun で verb
  • EG:  jibun で dekiru (i can do it by myself)
  • location で verb
  • EG:  kouen で aimashou (let’s meet at the park)
• と  //  to:
  • “and”
  • EG:  sore と kore (this and that)
• を  //  (w)o:
  • used to indicate an action on a noun
  • noun を verb
  • EG:  mado  を aketekudasai (please open the window)
• の  //  no:
  • signifies the possessive form of something
  • noun/pronoun の noun
  • EG:  okaasan の yasashisa (mom’s kindness)
• から // kara:
  • used as “because” or to indicate a change (in location, preferences, etc)
  • reason (da)kara consequence
  • EG:  kawaii から eranda (I chose it ‘cause it’s cute)
  • noun/verb/adjective から noun/verb/adjective
  • EG:  koko から soko (here to there)
• より // yori:
  • used to compare things, it’s roughly “<”
  • noun より noun
  • EG:  hana より choko (chocolate over flowers)

And there you have it.  It’s an incomplete list with very shallow explanations, but it’s the best you’ll get from me while I’m studying for my own exam.
(╯°Д°）╯︵/(.□ . \)
Still, I hope you find this helpful.  Good luck!

What’s med school like?

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Anonymous asked: Hi! I'm currently a sophomore in high school right now going through hectic schedule decisions and I would like to be like you going into the medical field! Do you think it's worth it? Is it a lot of work? What classes should I take now to lessen the burden in med-school? Sorry for bombarding you with questions, I just don't know what to do right now! ): Thanks!

Hello!

1. Do you think [going into the medical field is] worth it?
   Honestly, I’m only half-way there, so I can’t say for sure, but I’d like to think it will be!
2. Is it a lot of work?
   Yes, but it’s manageable.  It’s like memorizing a million Pokemon-stats.  It’s not that difficult if you like Pokemon, but…this analogy is sounding nerdier by the minute.  :-|
3.  What classes should [one take in high school] to lessen the burden in medical school?
   Hm, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Physics, and AP English Literature, if they’re available, are really great subjects to help you prepare for university.  In fact, they’re near identical to the courses you’ll be taking as a freshman in college (that should help you boost your GPA for when it really matters).  If Anatomy or Sports Med is available, they would also be fun to take and would do a good job preparing you for all the prefixes and suffixes you’ll have to deal with in the future.  However, there’s no real high school class that I’m aware of that’ll actually prepare you for med school…(sorry!)
4. “I just don’t know what to do right now”:
   Just have fun (without letting your grades drop xD)!!  Um, but if your grades aren’t >4.0, don’t freak out, because although it’s not ideal, you can still pretty much go to any university and have any major and still get into a good medical school.  Just make sure to complete the prerequisites, have a great college GPA, and do wonderfully on your MCAT (which is easier said than done (´･_･`)).

Good luck!

Anonymous asked: Just out of curiosity, when did you decide to become a doctor and study med? cause I have less than 2years of high school left and I still have no idea what I want to do in the future. ><

Ah!  No matter what I answer, it really doesn’t matter since you don’t necessarily have to know what you want to do until college (or even halfway through that)!

Take your time figuring out what you want to do.  Really.  Not only does a lot of tuition go into your thoughts, but so does your whole bright future.  Don’t start to limit it now!!

Go through high school and if you know you want to continue to higher education, go to university.  In fact, if you can afford it, I highly recommend going to college, because you really learn a lot about the basics of various occupational fields there and it’s the best place to discover what you want to do in life.  Take all the basic courses, explore the electives, and then I’m sure you’ll find your calling.

To answer your question though, I was about five when I started wanting to become a doctor.  I had my own reasons—family deaths, personal medical history—but they weren’t really anything to distinguish me from almost any other person out there.  Knowing I had to excel in school to become a doctor, I followed “the doctor’s path” and earned straight A’s and tried to be well-rounded by joining many clubs and sports.  Then in high school, I had this mindset that I was already in “the doctor’s path” so even if I wasn’t really sure why I wanted to become a doctor anymore—outside of the fact that I still did want to help people (though there are many ways to do so) and that it seemed to make my family proud—I continued with what I was doing.

However, it was in college that I officially decided I wanted to become a doctor.  I mean, I’ve always been good in the sciences, but being good in biology or chemistry is so basic that you only get a hint of what medicine is like.  It was when I started taking the upper division courses, especially neuroscience, when…omg, my jaw hit the floor.  It was SO.  FASCINATING.  I couldn’t get enough of learning about the mysteries of the brain.  But you know, with medicine, once you’re involved in one subject, you can’t really help but go into other subjects.  I mean, to fully understand neurochemistry, one had to go into biochemistry, and from there physiology and anatomy, or in any order actually, since everything is interconnected.  It’s like an infinite web of knowledge that traps you once you show any true interest.  I knew I had to have more and the paths that opened themselves to me were research and becoming a doctor (or both).  So I volunteered in both activities: at the hospital and in a lab.  No offense to the lab people, but I personally think I’m more a doctor person.

So all in all, while I was already on “the doctor’s path” with a major in Psychobiology (because it fulfilled all the med school prerequisites), it wasn’t really until my junior year that I knew for sure that I wanted to become a doctor more than anything else.

I hope I didn’t bore anyone with that long story and that someone out there actually finds it helpful.  :-)  Good luck, anon!

Anonymous asked: Hello! I'm a recent fan of you blog and was just wondering, why do you want to be a doctor?

Hello!

I guess this is a morbid way to begin, but if Death were to ask me, “Do you want to live?” I would answer yes. Yes, because there is so much I long to do and so many things I love doing. I love puzzles and games, swimming, running, laughing. I enjoy helping people, tutoring them, learning new things together. I love playing (though maybe not so much practicing) the piano and fooling around on its keys, discovering new melodies. After playing the piano for twenty years, I love doing anything with my hands and fingers: sculpting, drawing, typing up stories. I’m fascinated with imaginary worlds and adore reading and discovering new ones. And our bodies are like universes in that it’s like you can zoom in infinitely and continuously discover amazing things. Like, how do our bodies adapt to the millions of pathogens we’re exposed to every day? How do we recover? We can look at the body, the organ systems, the individual organs, the tissues, the cells, the things they secrete, the components of those secretions and combinations thereof. It’s incredible. We’re incredible. And as amazing as we are, we’re insignificant compared to the rest of the universe. There are mysteries upon mysteries and as fantasy author Neil Gaiman stated, “thousands of worlds” within our bodies, our minds, and our surroundings. It’s an exciting place to be for those who are curious. And can you imagine? I can do all the things I enjoy—work with my hands, solve mysteries, learn ineffably fascinating facts both medical and personal, and yes, save worlds—as a doctor. What more could I want in an occupation? What more could I want in life than to make such a difference?

These are the reasons why I’m studying hard to become a doctor.  :-)