Who Am I & What Am I Doing Here?

My name is Summer Britton and I'm a senior at Johnson & Wales University, working to obtain a Bachelor of Sciences in Biology. I was originally born in Vancouver, Canada and am now a duel-citizen. However, I've spent the larger part of my life in Fairbanks, Alaska which I consider home. 

I have a love/hate relationship with telling people that I'm from Alaska. Alaska is my home and it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, but... to people that have never been, it is a difficult place to describe and do it justice. So, my advice to people is to visit it themselves and go in the summertime and no, I have not seen a polar bear or a penguin. 

Besides my identifier being that I'm Alaskan, I also play ice hockey!! I play for Johnson & Wales University and I'm also an alternate captain. Hockey is my passion and if you were to ask me during the school year what I do in my free time I would tell you my free time is limited and all of my time is put towards school, hockey, work, hanging out with my friends, and catching Zzzzzs. (:

I am excited to embark on the journey of completing my thesis. However, I will admit I am a little intimidated in the process and researching. The previous research experience I have comes from my other classes, mostly my core biology classes. In my genetics class I wrote a research paper on the human papilloma virus (HPV), it's causes and the importance of vaccination against it. I also wrote a research paper in one of my honors English classes about the stigma surrounding mental illness. Besides that, I read A LOT of research articles last spring, on the topics of molecular biology in one class and invasive species in another. Both of which were dense readings. Overall, the largest researcher paper I've completed was 7 pages. 

I'm looking forward to becoming a RESEARCHER rather than just completing a research paper from a narrow list of topics in which I'm not totally invested into. My goal is to take this project on in little steps and essentially gain some knowledge in something I'm really interested in and passionate about!

And now to brainstorm:
1. The Dream Topic 
    - For the past year or so I've been thinking about this topic for my thesis. I'm very interested in the health education that students in middle and high school obtain. I think the further I went through life the more I realized how much information there was out there that I never knew. Some adults are so afraid to give teenagers the entire picture out of their own fear, that teenagers aren't being kept safe. I believe something more needs to be done and I'm not sure what that more should be yet, but I'd like to found out. 
2. A Safe Topic 
    - I guess a safe topic would be something regarding mental illness as I've already completed an 8 page research paper on the stigma behind mental illness. I could definitely see that topic lending itself to a longer paper because the problem continues to be an issue in everyday life, especially in the media. 
3. The Crazy Topic 
    - Hmm and the crazy topic that I'm not sure could be a scholarly research project... I really can't think of anything because all I do is eat, sleep, and play hockey. All I can think about right now is eggs benedict. My crazy topic will be eggs benny ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Or breakfast food. 


Catch ya next time, 

        Summer B