Application Essay

Application Essay Yet here was Hume, acting like reason didn’t matter. Describe your reading habits and discuss an aspect of a particular book that has been important in shaping your thoughts. Whenever I encounter something new, as my math teacher said, I have a habit of viewing it with the suspicious eyes. Then, why this way is or isn’t working or linked causes me to ponder continuously. However, the classes were the part of the Summer Academy that stuck with me the most. Alfred Prufrock” and learned ancient history from the ancients themselves, we pursued an underlying philosophical thread, examining our readings through the lens of courage. I still have the battered schedule, which I kept in my pocket. Almost every morning I visited the campus bookstore. I bought a copy of James Joyce’s Dubliners, which I managed to snag some downtime to read. For me, the process of learning is full of wonderful and surprising events. As I go with the flow of thinking, I often find myself at far-off place from where I originally started. Sometimes pieces of thought which seem to be completely irrelevant to one another, before I know become connected and make one amazing, completed puzzle of my own making. Trying to single out any one appealing aspect of St. John’s is, for me, like trying to pick a favorite piece in a jigsaw puzzle. Some pieces might be more aesthetically pleasing than others, but none of them can compare to the whole picture. Not more than two years later my literature teacher gave me as an extra reading the book Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. The book accomplished its objective and, with ease and short chapters of many philosophers, introduced me to the world of the big questions and the pursuit of truth. At some point, after reading it, I felt like Sophie as I wondered about my beliefs and values and about the world. When a book is read, a bond forms between author and reader. The author speaks, and the reader listens as they weave together the holes the author leaves them to fill. These unexpected enlightenments, which I call my “Ah-ha” moments, give me butterflies and make my heart flutter. These moments mean so much more to me than memorizing other people’s ideas for exam results. Therefore, the “Ah-ha” moment that gets me excited cannot be overridden by artificial number in my report which my school thinks is so important. I believe that in an academic community that actively places value on collaboration, compassion, respect, and critical thinking, everything else follows. When I was in this kind of community at Saint Andrew’s, I didn’t realize how radical it is to sit at a table and work through problems together. On a physical basis, at six-foot-two, I can barely fit behind them. St. John’s college not only interests me, but draws me in very strongly because it combines in the most natural way, the study of politics and philosophy. Although there are no majors or concentrations in St. John’s, I feel that the Great Books curriculum was created to perfectly suit my interestsâ€"approaching the social sciences with a philosophical lens. While the author’s words may be constant, the reader is the true variable. When you have more than one reader together, you have each dimension they bring to the book . I can’t say that any one of these factors stands out as a single attraction of St. John’s. Rather, it’s the combination of them all that makes St. John’s such a uniquely appealing college. When a student in a sophomore music theory class wanted to ask a classmate a question about the rhythm of a jazz solo, she did, without fear that asking the question would make her seem unintelligent. Everyone in the classes spoke, not to the professor for the sake of a grade, but to each other for the sake of the exercise. On a Saturday halfway into my first semester at Smith, my friend and I went in search of a study room. I took far too many photographs of the displays in the New Mexico History Museum, and I brought home a beautiful little red rock from the hike we took nearby. I recall my afternoon arrival at St. John’s in a blur of adobe buildings, warm placita bricks, and inviting, clean sheets. We visited three academic buildings that afternoon. Almost without exception, every room we peeked into was packed with those little chairs that Will Ferrell squeezes himself into in Elf, the ones with the little writing shelf attached. On a philosophical basis, I chafe against the competitive, individualistic approach to learning that these desks represent.

Is Morgellons Disease Real or Imagined

Is Morgellons Disease Real or Imagined Basics Print Is Morgellons Disease Real or a Delusional Disorder? By Naveed Saleh, MD, MS twitter linkedin Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, is a medical writer and editor covering new treatments and trending health news. Learn about our editorial policy Naveed Saleh, MD, MS Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Richard Fogoros, MD on April 15, 2015 Richard N. Fogoros, MD, is a retired professor of medicine and board-certified internal medicine physician and cardiologist. He is Verywells Senior Medical Advisor. Learn about our Medical Review Board Richard Fogoros, MD Updated on February 21, 2020 Science Photo Library / Getty Images More in Psychology Basics Psychotherapy Student Resources History and Biographies Theories Phobias Emotions Sleep and Dreaming In recent years, a very small yet vociferous patient population has complained of skin infestation by either parasites or inanimate matter along with related somatic complaints. People with convictions of such infestation report poor or non-healing skin sores (skin lesions); itchiness (pruritis), and sensations of stinging, biting, and insects crawling on or under the skin (formication). These people also claim that thread-like fibers are excreted from these skin lesions. Despite this condition having neither any established diagnostic criteria and treatment nor any formal institutional recognition, among members of the lay population, this dermopathy has been termed Morgellons disease. Emerging Research and Controversy About Morgellons Disease This condition is controversial. Many dermatologists and psychiatrists believe that Morgellons is, in fact, delusional parasitosis, a psychiatric disease.??  More specifically, such experts point out that delusional parasitosis is a monosymptomatic psychosis, and formication is a common complaint among people with psychiatric disease. Furthermore, cases of Morgellons disease often clump among couples and other family members suggesting shared psychosis. Newer research is exploring whether Morgellons disease is caused by the bodys reaction to an infectious agent, the Borrelia spirochete that causes Lyme disease.?? The filaments may be composed of keratin and collagen, a reaction by the skin cells, and colored due to the presences of melanin. Much of our knowledge is based on case reports, case series, anecdotal accounts and a limited number of retrospective analyses done by catchment health-care institutions including the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente. Undoubtedly, and as is the case with many  other diseases, more research needs to be done on Morgellons disease. Characteristics of People With Morgellons Typical characteristics of people who complain of Morgellons disease include the following: Middle-aged??Symptoms lasting more than 3 yearsDisability caused by this conditionCo-morbid psychiatric diseaseIllicit drug use??Doctor-hopping with hopes of finding treatmentA steadfast belief that the disease is medical in nature Of note, few people with complaints of Morgellons disease initially present to psychiatrists  and instead are referred to psychiatry only after being seen by a dermatologist or emergency physician. Morgellons disease came to wider attention among health professionals in the early aughts. Because complaints of Morgellons disease increased shortly after Internet use became ubiquitous, many people have called it a disease spread by the Internetâ€"a disease that patients ascribe to only after reading other personal accounts. A common complaint among people with Morgellons disease is that fibers can be pulled from skin lesions. In a 2012 PLoS ONE article titled Clinical, Epidemiological, Histopathologic and Molecular Features of an Unexplained Dermopathy, researchers at Kaiser Permanente examined 115 people with complaints consistent with Morgellons disease and found that on skin biopsy, lesions contained no parasites or mycobacteria.??  Instead, materials procured from skin usually consisted of cotton-like material mixed with pus, and skin changes were most likely caused by excoriation (scratching) or arthropod (insect) bites. These findings seem to suggest that these fibers come from clothing. However, other research has found that fibers more meticulously collected from deeper in the skin are composed of collagen and keratin and may be colored by melatonin.?? They might be produced by the body due to a reaction to the Borrelia spirochetes. It is also notable that people with spirochete infection often develop brain involvement, which can produce psychiatric symptoms. Final Thoughts on Morgellons Disease Without a doubt, people who complain of Morgellons disease suffer. More specifically, a majority of people with this condition complain of chronic fatigue and a host of co-morbid conditions including depression and substance abuse. We still are unsure how to treat people with Morgellons disease. A very limited amount of research has shown that people with Morgellons disease may benefit from antipsychotic medication. However, because many people with Morgellons disease (and some researchers) truly believe that the etiology is infectious, its often difficult to convince these patients that psychiatric treatment is a good idea. Some experts have gone so far as suggesting that clinicians essentially trick patients with Morgellons disease into taking psychiatric medications under the auspices of therapeutic privilege or therapeutic exception.??  A better solution probably involves psychiatrists working with dermatologists as a therapeutic team to provide guidance and treatment. A mere 200 years ago, before the advent of modern medical research and evidence-based practice, physicians believed that four humors â€" yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood â€" struck the balance of health.  Without a doubt, weve come a long way from these early views of physiologic homeostasis; nevertheless, we still have much more to learn about disease and the human body.  In light of our still limited comprehension of the ineffable complexity of health, we must be careful to refrain from outright dismissing possible pathology no matter how unlikely.