All of this makes me think back to when I used to be so much younger and I used to think I had to lie to my mother just so I could go and hangout with my friends.  Now that I look back on it I really regret it because after all the experiences I’ve been through the people that have always been there is my family.  I had just come back today and had got into a fight with my mother and my brother and said some things I kind of regret and I realized that it’s probably human nature to fight with these people the most because they’ll always be there for you and sometimes getting into fights only makes that bond stronger.  Family always sticks together.

Wrong.  The president is actually in the worst position and with Obama’s proposed stimulus only bad has arose as opposed to the good that was supposed to come and it’s nearly been a year.  Why am I talking about any of this?  It’s only because of how money has become so scarce pretty much everywhere and it upsets me when people are embarrassed because they don’t really have money to do anything and how the children just keep getting younger and younger trying so hard to make money and not just for their own spending money but because their family really needs the money.  Although, it is somewhat inevitable but why does it have to be that there is starting to become a huge gap between the upper class and middle class which is actually looking like more of just an upper class and a lower class.   If history repeats itself then the widening gap between the classes usually indicates a depression which then leads to a great downfall, which scares me.  I guess I’m just hoping everybody takes care of their money without wreckless abandonment.

A big part in why I wanted to be just a pharmacist at first was because I felt that pharmacists didn’t really have much work to do even though that’s definitely not the case for industrial pharmacists.  However, I knew that I would start off as a regular pharmacist so it would be pretty awesome if I could just relax and make a decent amount of money while helping people.  I can’t really decide if it was a good or bad thing but Jason Altilio said that “the pharmacist’s responsibility to the patient is dependent or independent of the physician’s” (358) from the article “The Pharmacists Obligations to Patients” . It would definitely not be pleasant to keep taking orders from the leading physician because then you would always have to depend on him and answer to him and if anything gets ruined somehow then you’re going to have to answer to another person.  However, if the responsibility is just placed on you and another physician has nothing to do with the patient then if you mess up then you’re really screwed with the repercussions as opposed to if the physician was involved and he’d take more of the blame.

The pharmacist is transforming into another species one could call it which is now called the integrative pharmacist.  This type of pharmacist does a variety of jobs and this array of jobs has becoming more common nowadays.  Many people are saying that these types of pharmacists offer a broader and more helpful service to healthcare.  I was wondering what requirements are needed in order to become this “integrative pharmacist and so then I consulted Barbara Howard and her article “A New Breed of Pharmacist is Emerging-The Integrative pharmacist.”  On page 48 she says that “an integrative pharmacist is a licensed health professional who has been educated in the basic sciences of pharmacy and medicine, has graduated from an accredited college of pharmacy, and has obtained additional training in and experience with specific integrative therapies.”  It’s a great thing to be able to be diverse and these types of pharmacists have many different ways in which they could help patients with all different kinds of medications.

The main role of a pharmacist is mainly to just prescribe medications every one thinks but it really is so much more then just that.  Pharmacist’s roles have expanded and this is probably why they’ve increased so much in the specializations with pharmacists.  As Ms. Lisa Nissen said about clinical pharmacists she said that “practice has developed internationally to expand the role of a pharmacist well beyond the traditional roles of compounding and supplying drugs” located on page S29 from the article “Current Status of pharmacist influences on prescribing of medicines”.  It makes me happy to see that pharmacists are definitely stepping up in their roles, however I wonder how this will affect me if I become one myself. Does this infer that I’m going to have to do more work then originally planned?  I really hope not because the industrial pharmacy is really what I want to do so now I have to look more into it.

There are various different types of pharmacist but the industrial pharmacist is the most alluring one to me. This is not only because industrial pharmacists are considered to be the highest paid pharmacist but also because I strongly believe that I would enjoy the challenge that the job description of an industrial pharmacist brings. They are responsible for carrying out a vast number of daily tasks that are instrumental for maintaining the stability and efficiency of the health care system. Without these pharmacist no new drug could be formulated that could cure a particular virus or disease.

Pharmaceutical companies work coherently with industrial pharmacist in order to develop, examine and improve medicines and drugs that the company supplies. An industrial pharmacist typically specializes in exploring and developing only one specific type of medication and it is quite likely that an industrial pharmacist spend  the length of his/her career only researching one or two formulations. Industrial pharmacist can also be held accountable for concluding the active and inactive ingredients within a specific medication.

After pondering and debating about it for a great portion of my freshmen year of college , I have reached the  conclusion that allows me to confidently state that pharmacy, more particularly the  industrial aspect of it, is the correct  job for me. Well, if I wanted to help and save people’s lives why didn’t I choose to become a doctor?  That is actually an extremely simple question to answer. It is because; when I reach the stage in my life where I have my own family, I would like to spend quality time with my spouse and children. As a doctor I would be working long hours and would be unable to satisfy this desire. Also, I am in a pharmacy program which means that if I stay focused for a number of years, I have a guaranteed job waiting for me. However, if I chose to become a doctor nothing would be certain. I would not know for sure if any medical school would chose me after my four years of undergrad and the only process of becoming a doctor might get exceptionally long and complicated. The whole reason I chose pharmacy as my career is quite clear however why industrial? Let’s just say I have a knack to discover and build new things and industrial pharmacy is on the forefront of development and research.

And a few days ago he actually came to my house to surprise me and I was excited beyond belief because here was my best friend that left eight months ago and he’s here standing in front of me, so obviously the first thing I say to him is “let’s play ball and chill.”  That’s what our days would always consist of and he came to play ball a little rusty at first but sure still had it but after spending time with the group we used to hang out with it just showed how everybody had changed.  It’s as if I felt like everything would always stay the same but it’s the real world right?  Although, it’s scary and sad it’s also exciting and makes you a stronger person and I realized that as everyone else seemed different I probably seemed different to them as well.

I guess that’s why Drake’s saying “Oh yeah, I’m doing me” because at the end of the day it seems as if every man is for himself? But I refuse to believe that because my friends are my brothers and family is always there at the end of the day.  So obviously, you have to do what you need to do to be comfortable but when you see your old friend why don’t you just sit with them and see what’s going on with their lives because even though you may not connect as you used to, every body has a different story.  I love hearing all different people speak because the way people can be so similar but so unique is amazing because in the end everyone has the same motives.

My name is Safwan Bhuiyan and I am in your English 1000C class. I am a freshman here at St. John’s University and my major is Pharmacy.  I grew up in Plainview, Long Island.  I live with my dad, mom, older brother, and younger sister.

Ever since I was little I have loved playing basketball.   I was introduced to basketball when I was five years old at the park when my dad told me to just shoot around.  When I play basketball I’m in my element, I feel invincible- like I can do anything just me, the ball, and the hoop.  My favorite team is the Cleveland Cavaliers, my favorite player LeBron James.  I don’t watch much T.V. but I’m a fan of the NBA so I will watch that if it’s on.

Besides basketball my interests include Islamic studies.  I am Muslim and my religion is Islam.  I believe in one god, Allah.  I follow the Qur’an, the holy book and pray five times a day.   Every night I go to the masjid where they pray.  I am very in touch with my religion, however, I don’t always follow it the way it’s supposed to be which sometimes makes me sad.  I love my family a lot, especially my mother, because I could tell that she loves me so much, even though she spends most of her time yelling at me, I know it’s only because she wants me to do the best that I can and leave all the distractions behind.

At the age of thirteen I realized that it was really time for me to start thinking about what I wanted to do with my life.  Unfortunately, it felt as if my world was crashing down on me when I started to find out that a 5’ 6” Bengali kid that goes to Plainview Middle School in the suburbs of Long Island probably won’t make it that far with his basketball career.  Especially with parents that felt that basketball is just a game and can never be anything more to them than that.  I remember those days when I was like “Ma, I’m pretty good, I think I might pursue basketball” and she would reply back disgusted scrunching up her nose saying that “there’s no way that you can do anything with basketball, it’s just a game.”  After going through this argument for a few years I was finally disheartened from chasing that dream.  I realized that it was time to go a different path, to really focus on school and make something of myself and not the next Michael Jordan, even though at that point it would’ve been the greatest feeling in the world.  This was a great transition period for me, as I opened my eyes I became more down to earth, fading away from my little world in my middle school.  I began to read more articles on many different topics and this is when my father and I became really close and he became a huge influence on me.

I never really knew what I wanted to be when I entered high school even though when the parents would ask me I would say a “doctor.”  I think it was the way their eyes widened and brightened that made me say it so often.  There were countless discussion I would have with my father’s friends who were doctors and they would tell me how much schooling they had to go through and how the lifestyle can be good at times but at other the quality of life is just terrible especially when you’re on call.  As I would stand there talking to them with a fake smile on my face and acting like I cared, it slowly progressed to me not wanting to do anything with being a doctor.  I felt like there really wasn’t anything that I could do that could please this community and even though I tried to say that I didn’t care.  All I really wanted to do is something that’d please not only my parents but myself as well because why would I want to live a lie?  It feels like that’s just doing an injustice to yourself, torturing yourself with something you wouldn’t want to do.  This is when my father came into my life greatly when I first became a junior in high school, this was crunch time for me.

Everyone told me that when you step into eleventh grade, it isn’t a joke anymore, school wasn’t what it used to me.  I would just laugh when I heard that but as I looked at my fellow peers it really seemed like everyone was just on another level studying for these standardized tests like the SATs and ACTs.  While, I felt like ridiculing everyone, they were actually the smart ones and they seemed so sure of themselves which colleges they wanted to go to and what major they really wanted.  The time kept getting closer and closer and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I went on with the approach that if you do well in everything that you can do whatever you want.  Even though it was a very smart approach, there was one problem, I was never willing to put the work in because I felt as if I was just working for no reason.  I began to apply to many medical programs such as Sophie Davis and Brooklyn Medical for their direct programs.  However, I never really pursued it as I thought I would as the research of careers and school went on the more I strayed away from medicine.  The worst part of this was to hear, “Oh why don’t you become a doctor? You could really be a good one.”  I just wanted to say because I really didn’t want to, it was something that just didn’t click with me and obviously I was concerned because I was applying for all these medical schools and really I didn’t even want to do it.  So I went to my life counselor also known as my mother and asked her what I should do with my life.  As she smiled and laughed her warm laughter she told me to talk to my father because he was a very smart guy who could tell me a thing or two about growing up and what to do about your life.

It was my father who opened up my eyes and was a great influence upon me.  He told me that pharmacy was a path that would suit me well because in his words exactly “you don’t do as much work as doctors but you help people out in a very significant way.”  Those words right there were pretty much what I needed to hear and that began my pursuit of perfection.  I applied to St. John’s pharmacy and it was actually a last resort of mine but when I found out I was accepted it opened up a door for me and really tempted me.  After telling my father, he took me to work with him at Interfaith Medical Center located in Brooklyn and allowed me to experience the life of a pharmacist.  I wasn’t even going to lie, it was really boring just sitting in the basement and looking at medications and I couldn’t even last more than a month over there and I was just like I can’t do this, its way too boring for me.  However, my father told me to keep on the pharmacy route and talk to industrial pharmacists.  My uncle who is a pretty well set man when it comes to money told me about industrial pharmacy because he had become a pretty successful one himself.

This was the final chapter of my journey of what I wanted to be.  I had decided that industrial pharmacy was the way to go because it was everything I wanted to be all in one.  I want to socialize and meet many different types of people and industry is a great way to do that as well as being a businessman surrounded by many different personalities, you’re also involved with the latest medicines and people’s lives are in your hands.  No doubt about it, it’s a great deal of pressure but what is life without pressure? Just a boring span of time, I feel, if you’re on this world why not try to make it a better place then how you entered it.  It was a very complicated and confusing road but I believe that industrial pharmacy is the way for me to go because it has been through these experiences and research that I believe it is the best fit for who I am.

Personally, whenever I write in my free time, it’s usually I’m making up poems or raps.  I do this because I feel like it’s the best way for me to express myself and it’s also really creative, opening up my mind and letting me discover certain things about myself.  When you take the time out to really reflect upon things especially yourself, it can open up your eyes a great deal.  I guess this is why I’ve taken a great inclination towards writing and it’s a great way to use those SAT words you memorized for no reason either.  So next time you feel some sort of emotion, don’t punch a wall and break your hand like a certain someone I know.  Just breathe, sit and write away.

I’m very open with my parents and especially my ma.  My Ma, my little sister, and I would always hang out when I was younger.  This caused me to develop a very strong bond with both of them.  Whether it be going to the park so I could shot around some basketball for a little while or to going to the grocery store so we could get vegetables for dinner that night, just being together helped us gain trust and understanding with one another.  Although I’m older now and I don’t hang out as much with my mom as I use to when I was a little boy, we still take long rides in the car together and we still have that understanding and trust between us.  My ma’s so cool, she even started talking like me. It’s funny when my friends meet her and they love how she talks in slang.  I know that my parents are some of the most important people in my life and I should never take them for granted.  They raised me from when I was young and gave me everything I needed and still provide for me until I can stabilize my future and hopefully help them out as well and give them love and care in return.  In conclusion I think being a son is a very important aspect of life and I will always try to give my parents what they have tried to give to me.

• Basketball
• Food
• Working out

1. List the main parts and/or roles in your life.  For example, I’m a teacher, a husband, a father, a runner, and much more.

• Son
• Student
• Brother

1. Make a list of places you know well.

• My neighborhood
• Nassau
• Queens

1. What is your major?  What do you hope to use it for?

My major is pharmacy.  One day I hope to be an industrial pharmacist and be able to help people with making great strides in research of medicine.

1. Make a list of topics that you wish you knew more about.  Or, what are some classes you wish were offered and that you could take?

• Pharmacy
• Industrial Pharmacy
• My parents minds

1. Do a sample schedule of your life.  Try out a school day, the weekend, summer, and a holiday.  At 8:00 a.m. you….  And then you…

• 12 p.m- wake up, eat breakfast
• 3 p.m.-7 p.m.-Work
• 7 p.m.-1 a.m.-Basketball/hanging out

7. List some political/social issues relevant to your life.

• Economy
• Israel conflicts
• Pharmaceutical/Health Industry