That One Important Piece
After completing this assignment, I believe that no one should ever say, “I don’t belong”. Every single one of us is part of something greater and bigger than ourselves no matter how significant or insignificant we may think it is. We are that one important piece that helps build that big beautiful picture. I have always been involved in different communities, but I never spent the time to really examine and understand the strong connection they all had to the world of writing. Without writing there would be no communication, the one thing that sets us apart from animals; the community itself would cease to exist. The academic, personal, professional, and civic discourse communities that I am involved with make me who I am today; they have helped shaped me in those four aspects of my life.
Being a Pharmacy student here at UTEP is the academic discourse community in which I am involved. Because I am majoring in Pre-Pharmacy it is standard that I be advised by Mr. Klein; he is the head of the Pharmacy Program at UTEP. It is also typical that one joins PPO, the pre pharmacy organization. By joining this organization, it helps with the chances of getting into Pharmacy school, plus it’s a way to get involved and help out ones community. Volunteering is extremely important when you decide to major in Pre-Pharmacy. It is also key that you plan on keeping a 3.0 GPA or higher, pass the PCAT with a 75% or higher, and try your hardest to get into UT or any other Pharmacy school. Along with all these responsibilities, the expectations of being a student in general are also taken into account. It involves countless essays to be written, along with research papers, emails, letters, and transcripts to teachers, friends, and other universities. It is also important at UTEP and in the field of pharmacy to be familiar with the terms LARTS, UGLC, PPO, and PCAT.
Being a part of the Ramos family is my part in being involved in a personal discourse community. In my family we aim to keep the lines of communication open, be as honest as we can with each other, keep an open mind and be understanding, and lastly instill a sense of independence within each of us. These unwritten goals that my family has have helped us stay close; they aren’t easy to follow but in the end it’s worth it. My family values our religion; it is customary that every Sunday we go to church and have a nice breakfast afterwards. We try our hardest to respect each other’s opinions and feelings even when it is extremely difficult. Although at times we can’t stand the others presence or sound of their voice we still manage to have dinner with each other and embrace the value of unity that we have in my family. We pray before each meal thanking God for all he has done and constantly ask for help in our daily lives. In my family, it is also standard that we send texts to inform each other of our where a bouts; it is inconvenient at times but it does help to instill a sense of responsibility to each other.
Because of my family’s strong faith, my civic discourse community is my involvement in the Young Adult Ministry at my Church. We are constantly trying to figure out ways to help those less fortunate than we are; we want to reach out to the community. At the same time, the meetings that we have every Tuesday help us to stay strong in our faith. Most people label me as being a Jesus freak, and I say call me what you want. We are constantly sending out texts, emails, making posters and flairs, and sending letters to companies and businesses’ to help our efforts in organizing fundraisers and volunteer work. This particular discourse community helps me maintain and stay true to myself. At every meeting we pray before anything and we read scripture and apply it to our daily lives; it is a time for me to vent, question, discover, laugh, and understand. As a group we respect each other and also try to uphold the values that our faith teaches us.
Lastly, the professional discourse community that I am involved with is the new Pharmacy Internship I started this summer at the Texas Oncology Center. My internship has helped exposed me to the career I hope to peruse. At the pharmacy we are a team of five that aim to administer chemo treatments to patients, work efficiently, be polite and courteous, and most of all help the patients on their road to recovery. It’s a fast pace environment and we are constantly writing memos, emails, letters to suppliers and companies, billing patients, and filling out prescription forms. While I was there, I had to become familiar with their particular pharmacy jargon; words such as piggy bag, script, bac water, and controlled were constantly being used. This is the newest discourse community in my life, but it is has been exciting and extremely enjoyable.
Without writing in all of these different discourse communities the group itself could not function. I have come to appreciate the beauty of the written word. From this assignment, I have also come to realize that I am that one important piece that helps make these discourse communities what they are, no matter what my role is. It is invigorating to realize I am a part of something so great. We all need a reminder of just how a part of something we are, that we belong. I am very pleased and honored to be able to say that I belong and am a part of these discourse communities.
