Teen Ink~
P-1: I feel that life is to be cherished. No matter whom it is and if you know them or not everyone deserves the pursuit of happiness. Many people die each year from Skin Cancers and many of the 3000+ diseases related to the skin, hair and nails. Also, I don’t feel like people pay a lot of attention to Skin Diseases. Just a couple of days ago, I was talking to one of my good friends relative and telling her about how I wanted to pursue a job in this branch of medicine. She told me that a Dermatologist saved her life because she had a Melanoma. Melanomas are weird skin leisure’s and discolored patches that randomly occur on the skin for many different reasons. I’m from a smaller town in Western Washington and every once in a while I hear stories like that but in those cases, these innocent folks weren’t as lucky.
P-2: I have recently completed a big research project which focused in on Dermatology for my 8th grade culminating project. Some key things I have learned over these past few weeks are related to my five guiding questions. One of my questions was about the types of Skin Cancers related to my project. I learned about Non-Melanoma and Melanoma Cancers. Overall, I found that many of the diagnoses were from sun exposure. That seems very simple to me. Another one of my main guiding questions was how to become a Dermatologist. Many people end up pursuing jobs that go to two or four year colleges. To become a Dermatologist, it takes more than double that after going through programs and internships.
P-3: One day, like I already said, I want to pursue a job as a Dermatologist. I know it takes a long time but I feel if I try hard, I can accomplish anything. I think it would be fun and keep me busy when I graduate high school. Also, I could support a family and not have anything to worry about. It takes dedication but I believe that I have that. I also think it would be a fun, great and entertain experience that would impact me forever.
P-4: One other impactful aspect of the topic I explored described important things that you should know about your skin. One example is to use ointments instead of lotions. Have you ever noticed how drippy lotion is? It’s because lotion is mainly composed of water with a little bit of oil. Water dries out your skin. Also, taking long hot showers dries out your skin! It may feel good while you are in the shower but about five minutes after you get out, you can feel your skin drying up like the Sahara Desert.
P-5: I am starting to realize that there is so much more to learn about your skin and how to keep it healthy. I never really thought about lotions drying out my skin, I just wanted them because they tended to smell quite delightful. I also recently realized that after I learned about this, my skin gets very dry after showers.
P-6: I think the way that I wanted this project to impact me is by still being interested and wanting to go into further detail about my topic. I feel that over the past weeks, it has. I am still very fascinated in this medical branch. At first, I thought that this project was going to be torturous. Overall, I really enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The only thing I’m worried about is a 20 minute presentation!!