Author: breishageorge

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It Takes a Village to get to Graduate School

4/21/2022 BY Breisha George

The Mountain that is Academic Success

            You have probably in some point in your life heard the phrase “ it takes a village to raise a child”. When I hear this expression, I think of all the support it takes to do so from family , friends, teachers, and other people.  Support is vital in all forms of life though not just with raising children.   I recently learned that a ‘village’ of support was needed for me to climb the mountain of applying to and deciding to attend graduate school  Recently applying to graduate programs had made me consider what it looks like to be ‘academically successful’ not just in my eyes but to others as well. For some people academic success is attributed to simply entering through the doors of a college, or maybe having the highest-grade point average, or obtaining a bachelor’s degree and moving on with life.

 The start of the climb to Academic Success

            My academic journey as a whole is far from ‘traditional’ –  I choose to finish high school online and finished two years early. I completed a 60-credit program and become a certified pharmacy technician. I tried my hand at a baking and pastry degree – it wasn’t for me either and I remember at the time seeing a counseling program at the university I was attending however no one in advising seemed to be supportive with me switching programs or staying enrolled. Thinking back if I had my “village”  then it might have been easier to stay enrolled and engaged with the process.  If I would have also had a academic advisor who cared about my long term success and who been a part of my “village” I  might have also found long term success academically at that point in time.

The long  winding way up

    Fast forward to my late twenties, I had still been trying to figure it out what being  academically successful meant to me. My life got turned upside down when I got into a car accident and slowed down my long term plan. I had gotten my associates from a  local community college and then moved on . I knew I was at the point of getting my bachelor’s degree in psychology. One day though I responded to an informational session about a program called McNair. I had no idea what it was about really or how it would impact me.  The McNair scholars program really helps those who want to become successful and obtain a doctoral degree. I decided to apply into the program and go all in on continuing on in psychology .  On my climb to the top of the mountain of academic success I would find the “village” that would cheer me on and encourage me to get there .

Family

         

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My Family Village

   Family is a constant source of support not only  in terms of monetary support  which is nice but doesn’t compare to the emotional support received.  The emotional everyday support they provide that allows for me to feel loved and accepted no matter the choices I make.  Family has long been shown to be a motivator for pursuing academic goals just like how my “village” has been.  It is not only motivation though that my family helps with in terms of support but rather they help me to have the belief to achieve  not only the important goals like getting into graduate school  but also meeting deadlines and passing classes in my undergraduate program are all possible. Their support helps to keep my anxiety in check that support alone is probably the biggest way that I have been able to achieve success.

Mentorship

            The support garnered from my faculty mentor has helped me in so many ways beyond your doing a great job ( although positive reinforcement  helps and my family “village” does as well ).  My mentor helped me not only in a professional manner but in a personal one as well which is  the cornerstone of what the relationship is all about. My mentor made me feel confident and empowered to take on a research study and I the whole entire time doing so I felt successful  and trust me there is a recipe for success when it comes to research ok it’s  more like a rubric! Research really does help  a student to develop a voice and speaking of that voice my mentors support when it comes to writing personal essays and other parts of research really helped to set up future expectations when it comes to graduate school and just getting in.

I Made It! With the Help of My Village, of Course

            Honestly without these two different forms of support I am not sure I would have made it through the graduate school application season. It really does take  a village of support and acceptance from everyone in your village as you begin your quest for graduate school. I am confident that once my first semester starts in the Fall I will be leaning on my “village” still as I make the next climb up a different  mountain of academic success. No matter the type of support “village ” you might have have and how the mountain of academic success looks like to you it is achievable with proper support and guidance. I am hoping in the future to be able to give back and be a even if a one person “village” a form of support on the mountain climb that is academic success.

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Are the long-term impacts real or are they just in my head ?!

By: Breisha George

Here is me the night of my accident at the hospital. I was miserable and in pain. I hit the left side of my head.

   If you have followed me on by blog or just on many of my different social media mediums you know that a few years ago I was in a motor vehicle accident that impacted my life in several ways. Not only did it change my career goals, but it changed my overall mental and physical well-being. So,  I thought to myself when asked to choose a topic for my Perception class -y’all know that I’m chipping away at my bachelors and hope to carry on in graduate school next fall.  I thought what better topic then one that has so many impacts on all our senses and daily lives. I had gotten a bad concussion from the accident and still suffer from some of the impacts of it. Even with so much focus on concussions especially within sports there is so much more we don’t know about the actual long-term impacts of concussions and much more research that needs to be done.

Post-concussion syndrome occurs from a mild traumatic brain injury and is accompanied by a slue of symptoms that can range from impacting a person  physically to emotionally. Typically like me someone is diagnosed when symptoms linger for longer than three months. (1)  Additionally, some studies have pointed out that they believe the reason symptoms hang around permanently for some is because the neurotransmitters sustain damage.   For me post-concussion syndrome has altered some of my senses not just temporality  but for the long haul. I have hearing loss in one of my ears, which I had an audiogram test to confirm.   Hearing loss is common amongst those who experience a concussion many people only have temporary loss for a few months.( 2)  For those whose hearing loss lasts longer typically end up having damage to their auditory pathway . The auditory pathway is what consist of many parts that basically take sound from point a to z.(3) I still struggle with migraines mostly stemming from the concussion. I even had to advocate for myself that my migraines were legitimate and not just “ in my head “ and thanks to trust a trusty brain MRI that showed my flaring migraines I was able to show it was in fact there and had suffered an injury.

Here is what my actual audiogram results looked like!

So, I did some more  digging on the topic. I wanted to know am I the only one out there who struggles from the reminisce of post-concussion syndrome after a few months? Turns out I am not alone in fact in this and that there are people out there who have presented with a similar pattern of symptoms  forming and oddly enough the study I read more on  highlighted that if after three years someone had not recovered the impacts were indeed permanent. (4)Wow ! Even more interesting in this was that the more symptoms someone had the less chance of recovery was indicated.  It also pointed out that those pesky  headaches were the most common of the symptoms .  It should be noted as well that no one’s journey after a concussion looked the same and that everyone’s recovery differed.

Another interesting thing the study mentioned was about recovery and treatment . I know early on I tried doing physical therapy to elevate my neck and back pain and it ended up helping some of my Post Concussion Syndrome symptoms.   Vestibular positioning therapy was used mainly because  it tackled so many issues like dizziness,  nausea , inner ear issues, and other things that were occurring. The study showed that the different therapies worked for the different types of people they were studying. It also mentioned other forms that I had/ still do now like yoga, mediation , and exercise.  The study also highlighted the fact that there is need for treatment early on for patients to have a better chance at recovery. 

 I will note that my primary care physician and the first neurologist I saw did not take my concussion seriously. I ended up getting a second opinion due to the fact my MRI did show my migraines and that I still had symptoms after six months that were impacting me. I also want to note some  things to do after a concussion which helped me( I am not a medical professional ).

  • Get Quality Sleep and Listen to your body within the first few days .
  • Avoid noise and light . No screentime !
  • Water is your friend as is a balanced diet .
  • Give it a good week before trying  your normal routine . If you notice things don’t feel right then seek out more medical help.

So , I guess I reaffirmed what I always knew. Post-Concussion Syndrome and the long-term impacts are REAL and not just in one’s “head”. I  hope in the future maybe even I could research into concussions and the impacts on mental health.

References:

(1)Smaakjær, P., Wachner, L. G., & Rasmussen, R. S. (2021). Vision therapy improves binocular visual dysfunction in patients with mild traumatic brain injury. Neurological research, 1-7.

(2)Chen, J. X., Lindeborg, M., Herman, S. D., Ishai, R., Knoll, R. M., Remenschneider, A., … & Kozin, E. D. (2018). Systematic review of hearing loss after traumatic brain injury without associated temporal bone fracture. American journal of otolaryngology, 39(3), 338-344.

(3) https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/auditory-pathway

(4)Hiploylee, C., Dufort, P. A., Davis, H. S., Wennberg, R. A., Tartaglia, M. C., Mikulis, D., Hazrati, L. N., & Tator, C. H. (2017). Longitudinal Study of Postconcussion Syndrome: Not Everyone Recovers. Journal of neurotrauma, 34(8), 1511–1523. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2016.4677

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Florida is always For Me!

Why I will Forever Vacation in Florida

I love Disney and Star Wars is up there as well actually in general I love vacationing in the mecca of tourism that is Florida. At almost thirty with no children of my own is that weird and should my travel tastes evolve? I do not think so and I bet I could find a ton of other men and women who do not think it is and probably have some reason for why there love the “magic” and the scene in Florida. I have my main reason being when I was in a shitty period of my life Disney was my gym, therapy, and only place I could get decent bread I would track miles and smiles on social; I would feel as though I was always on vacation, and for me it always provides clarity when I go there. Somehow my inner child and dreams surface and I go heavy into planning and changes when I return home.  Florida for me in general just brings sunshine and happiness. I love the southern hospitality and all the places I always find when I am there.  SO many that I still have not seen and even Walmart seems like an adventure.  While I like going other places Florida remains a main stay and will for years to come.

 Now I make it a point to afford to go at least three times a year and I stay up to date on everything I can in the theme park world. Maybe for me it is a connection to a happy place in my life – I lived in Orlando and loved my time there. I worked in the industry and have an admiration for the top-notch service provided and understanding of the demand.  People who make so little give up so much of their own lives to create memories for others. Something you would not truly appreciate or enjoy unless you saw what it was like.  It is not easy giving up holidays, family moments, and other countless moments yet still people do it.  I am a fan of all theme parks for that reason and I love new openings and seeing the industry thrive from the places on I drive to whatever Disney might add to everything in between.  It has also given me an appreciation for wanting to give the smaller parks or midway attractions a chance in smaller secondary markets. Someone who worked in Boston I know what it is like to have a homey midway attraction become the heart of a place for people to go! I appreciate the museums, aquariums, and other spots of New England even more so than I ever did.  Finding the appreciation in service and small moments of travel are everything and can spark wanting to see more closer to you!

Or it could be my family enjoys it and it is something we all have in common. We have discussions and make plans. it brings us connection and genuinely happy conversation.  For me as well every time I go with someone else, I love the reactions of the small details they have never seen, food we have never tasted, or place we have not slept. It makes making memories a blast and meaningful.  I for sure do get some odd lucks from people when I say I am going to Florida – I get the oh, Disney again!  I do not care though I know I am doing what I enjoy.  Florida in general gives me that essence- who does not love coming home with $1.99 neon t shirts for the whole family.  Also, can we talk about the fact that for the most part the social media community is engaging and supportive. It creates traditions and pathways as well on its own.

Let us face it to theme parks and experience were meant for adults. Not all rides are for children, drinking is acceptable, and darn it we deserve to destress with some sugar and popcorn!  The only let down might be the rain fall that happens daily from 2pm -5pm but even that can make for an excellent store or photo op.

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Weight Loss Surgery

Wellness is not a one size fits all method or way of life. Nor is how someone manages weight. Of course, we all know the basics of living a healthy lifestyle has to do with nutrition, movement, sleep, water, stress, and various other factors. However, we all do not have the same journey when it comes to health especially if you struggle with heavier weight or weight gain. I know for me I have always straddled the fence of wanting to give up and just indulge in ice cream and pasta every day and night and not care about my health. However, several years ago my whole mindset shifted on health and wellness. I knew I did not want to be m unhealthy in any facet and that I needed to come to terms with my condition (PCOS) and just stop muddling along and take action.

I for one will say I love fitness and its never a struggle to get some type of movement in daily. I have a love hate relationship with kitchen. I have however found a way to love it more by planting a garden and loving what I eat daily because I put effort into it. For me though all the effort I was putting in was just not calculating into results – I did not even see many non-scale victories.  So I made a choice to look more into weight loss surgery and how it could potentially help reverse some of my PCOS ( there is no cure no matter how much a DR wants to hand out metformin ) .

What is PCOS?! –  it is a disorder that can be confirmed by having a lack of period, hair growth everywhere but your head, and sometimes cysts on the ovaries, and various other markers.  For me it has always been a tell tall sign with lack of periods, weight gain and hard to shed the pounds, hair (hello, stock in a razor company, and thinning hair.  It also hosts other difficult things lime migraines and low energy and things that mirror a chronic illness. Many women do not even know they have it and most doctors have certain go to things to help treat – Ill touch more on that a different day.

For me I knew that I needed to do something – that losing a larger percentage of body fat would help it. But what had I not done already that would be different this time? For me I made the step to investigate weight loss surgery. I want to say this is NOT THE EASY METHOD it is only a TOOL.  There is a process for it and varies with insurance. For me I had to have six nutrition visits, a psychological evaluation, endoscopy, blood work, and chats with my support system. Hopefully, the beginning of 2021 I will be going in for Gastric Bypass.

Online you will see tons of information on different surgeries (please note I am not a DR yet or a nurse).  The most common are Rouxen-Y Gastric Bypass   and the Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.   Gastric Bypass rearranges your GI tract and allows for food or majority of it to bypass the stomach and small intestine. A pouch is created, and the top of the stomach and the new lower section of the small intestine is connected in.  It allows now for food to bypass the tract that absorbs calories and nutrients.  The other most common and newer procedure is Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy it essentially removes most of the stomach and closes the remaining part and creates a vertical sleeve like shape.   Of course, there are side effects and much to learn after the procedures are done – which I will be covering.

Overall, I decided on this path because I owe it to myself to want to be the healthiest version. So, I hope you stay tuned into my journey and with all that is to come.

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Staying On Track : Workout Focus on Vacation

While it may seem super easy to slake on your routine while going on vacation it can sometimes create a downhill track to the progress you have been making if on a wellness journey. I for one know what it is like to restart on wellness journeys as before I was a wellness coach myself! While vacationing should be all about fun and you definitely should not limit yourself to some excellent food I say carve out that time to still get your work out in! Here are my got to steps to making sure that happens.

Pre Plan

Make sure before you even head on vacation to express to whomever your traveling with that a part of your line up is working out.  If you’re like me and sometimes used to travel for work, try and look at what meetings you have and plan for before or after you day gets started.  Also check out where your staying and see if they have gym that works for you! If not, there are tons of on demand work out services that offer work outs you can do in a limited space and time.

Have Fun and Change it Up

Groupon is a great way to save money and maybe a even better way to try something new with your fitness routine. A lot of times Groupon has walk in deals for different classes. Sometimes you might even find at your hotel activities that can substitute for a workout like playing football or other sports. That’s also a way to get the whole gang involved if you’re in a family setting.

Set a Goal and Track It

                Try and plan the time that your going to work out and how many times while on vacation. Then make sure your checking it off even if its on a phone reminder list or good old fashion crossing it off a day planner. Also, I seriously promote work out selkies and staying accountable with social media.

When All else Fails Walk

I am a big fan of walking and frankly sometimes if walking to locations is reasonable it can save a ton of money. Make a goal to walk an extra 1-4 miles a day and trust me you will still get a quality work out in. It also could serve as a way to see parks and other historic places at your destination.

Those are the best tips we use while on vacation. Have any more we would love to hear from you in the comments or on our social media feeds! Let’s face it the better we feel the more fun we can have.

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All Star Sports – Review

Let me first start out by saying I am a 90’s kid now and forever. It is probably what forged my overall love for Disney . As I remember owning all the vhs tapes and the matching t shirt . For heavens sake I wanted to name my younger sister Cinderella ( mom and dad settled with Arielle ) so you can see I’m a true lover ! All Star Sports gives that ultimate 90’s feel and I was reminded of that while looking up at the wall of photos in the lobby in our last stay . I will mention that we have stayed once in April 2019 and in January 2020. Both experiences were a bit different as April we were surrounded by several sports teams and larger groups on Spring Break.None the less the groups were respectful and even asked if we wanted to join in on a football game. January was a lot less hustle and bustle.

While I do believe it is time for some very basic things to be updated it isn’t horrible . The rooms as seen below are standard and the ammenties are basic . However you still get transportation and magic hours . Now I will say it can be frustrating if busses are being combined with the other two All Star hotels . So plan accordingly espicsllt now with Hollywood Studios seeming to be the most popular .

Let me say this though Disney’s value resorts aren’t for everyone . But here at Penny Voyagers we love saving money but still getting our perks from staying on property . I will say compared to our stay at PoP in August I would still pick Sports . The staff is always cheerful and involved . And there’s also ab equal amount of activities to be done as well .

Fair warning though out of all the All Star brands Sports seems to be always booked . Major warning when there is events happening at ESPN most middle and high school teams stay here . It can be a bit rowdy and full during seasons . Also bus’s do tend to take a little bit longer to get to places when things are full.

Pricing though is where they real steal is here . It does steadily seem to be at $100 or less a night . The food is not horrible even from our two times for going food had improved a lot in a year. Overall for the price if you are not wanting sit in the hotel all day and just need a place to sleep and shower I say go for it !

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How We Kick Off The Fall !

Every year our family kicks off the holiday season the same way . Here in New England there are always tons of awesome festivals and fall weekend events to attend . Our favorite by far here at the Pennyvoyagers is the Connecticut Renaissance Faire . It runs from August to Columbus day .

We here always opt to dress up in renaissance get ups. Which of course we thrift . However there are different themes weekends that do occur during the time span which you can dress up as just about anything . We also sometimes recycle our gets up or add pieces for Halloween .

It honestly isn’t an expensive day ticket prices are generally $15 for adults and they have online deals starting in July . Dogs are welcome as well as long as they are leashes . There is plenty of food , performers , shops , and more to do.

Here at the PennyVoyagers we have two personal favorites . The Graces are three lovely ladies who can really sing and bring the adult topics into play as they are 

wenches beer of course !  Also our second go to is Auntie Arwen Spices ! I suggest grabbing the cat knip tea from them and checking out there online shop as they have tons of fresh stuff . 

All and all it’s a really awesome event to go to ! Also note there is tons of local brews and even adult centered nights . However we would say over all it’s a great family event as our age group spans from 4 and up ! 

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Family Time is Key .

Hello Everyone,

We here at PennyVoyagers believe that Family time is key . We relish in the fact that with some proper planning and a bit of savings you can have some well needed moment making time. While we wish we could spend everyday at Disney which is possible if you live in CA or Fl we know we cant ! So we all decided it was time to share our tips, stories, and voyages with all of you so you can enjoy what we have learned. What we want to share today are the top reasons why we love family time and we would love to hear yours .

  1. Family Bonding – Spending time together strengthens your relationships that you have with your family while also creating memories. Also the more time you spend together helps you to handle the curve balls that life throws your way .
  2. Wellness becomes Key- If you haven’t heard the expression health is wealth maybe you have been hiding. None the less building in family bonding time helps to make sure a healthy lifestyle is in play. It might be walking and talking or maybe having a sit down meal together but it keeps one another on track.
  3. Positive Vibes Wins- Spending time together is big for fostering self esteem as well as confidence .

All and all the more time together the better ! Keep on fostering those positive bonds and see how much more fun you can have when you do .