Volume 124 Issue 129
kansan.com
Friday, April 6, 2012
Skin Situations
AFTER FAILED TREATMENTS, RACHEL FINALLY SEES MORE IN HER APPEARANCE THAN HER SKIN // RACHEL CHEON
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
After her ace improved, Rachel started going out more, including volunteering. Rachel, right, attends a conference with her mom, left, in Seoul, South Korea in summer 2010 where she worked as the host, speaking English for foreign visitors.
have sleek, long hair, black gemstone-like eyes, defined eyebrows, full lips and white, naturally straight teeth. I have features others would envy, but for most of the last seven years, I thought I looked like a monster. Until last year, my junior year in college, I had severe acne and it obscured every other beautiful part of me.
I started getting acne the summer between ninth and tenth grade. During that time, I tried countless natural remedies like honey masks and over-the-counter products that "guaranteed" to work, from well-known brands like Neutrogena and Clean & Clear. I also tried Proactiv and other well known or celebrity-endorsed products. While some products gave me hope by seeing how they helped with friends' acne, they did not help mine, and I sought professional help. After going through two dermatologists and more than 10 different topical and oral medications, my skin actually got worse: oily. red, bumpy, itchy, and occasionally swollen. Some acne, like cysts, were painful to touch, and became deep pits and dents when they scarred.
My third dermatologist asked me to try Accutane, which is typically seen as the miracle pill for severe acne, but also the last resort because of the risk of severe side effects like depression and suicide ideation. I started Accutane in the summer of 2009 while also receiving a laser treatment called Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). The laser felt like a rubber band smacking against every pore of my face. The laser felt like a weapon. During those sessions, I clenched my teeth and literally pinched my hands, thinking it would alleviate the pain from my face.
I don't know if it was a side effect of Accutane or not, but I grew depressed that summer. I washed my face with the lights off because I didn't want to see
myself in the mirror. But I'd have to look to apply medication, and I would cry thinking how ugly I looked. Several times I had to re-wash my face and re-apply medication because my tears had washed it off. After telling my dermatologist how I felt, he took me off Accutane and PDT and started different treatments. They involved Vitamin C injections into my veins and having blood drawn for plasma therapy. But of course, neither was effective.
After seemingly endless failures, I lost hope. For five years, nothing worked for my skin no matter how much money, time, or hope I put in. I would think, "Even the horrible people who murder their own families have clear skin. I stay out of trouble. Why me? Other kids have outgrown acne. Why haven't I?" During my sophomore year, my skin was at its worst. It looked like surface of the moon with red bumps and craters, but I refused
to get treatments; it seemed pointless.
I put on thick makeup. I felt defensive meeting new people, assuming they would pity me for my skin. I hung out with people who didn't comment on my acne; some acquaintances would say, "What's wrong with your skin?" "Have you tried Proactiv?" "You would look so pretty if it wasn't for your skin." It was so hurtful. Did they think I would react with a smile? Hell no.
During the summer of 2010, I went to South Korea to visit my family. My mom was concerned to see my worsened acne, and even more concerned to see that I had given up with treatments. She convinced me to start seeing a dermatologist again. I didn't expect the treatment to work anyway, so it didn't matter to me; whatever. But just maybe, if it did, I would have clear skin. My dad also supported me getting the treatments seeing how much acne affected me.
For three months I got weekly acne extraction, cortisone shots and chemical peels, which formed a potato skin-like layer of scab on my face to reveal smoother skin underneath. I was supposed to avoid the sunlight after each peel for a week. With this restriction and scabs on my face, I locked myself at home and devoted most of that summer to treatments. I took three different pills and used two topical medications, while also being on restricted diet to avoid food that might worsen my acne. When I returned to the U.S. for junior year, my skin had finally gotten significantly better for the first time since years of ineffective treatments.
It's been two years since then, and I continue treating my skin with medications and peels. Now my skin is clear enough that when I see myself, I see the beautiful features that have always been there instead of the acne. When I see others, I don't worry that they only see my skin and think I'm ugly. I have been battling acne for seven years. It took me five years to find a treatment that works, and two more years to get my skin to be as clear as it is now. This encourages me whenever I feel hopeless and want to give up. When I think of my long relationship with acne, I'm reminded that if I really want something, I've got to persevere. But I also know that even if I get what I want, I have to keep fighting to keep it.
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Dollinger also said the money saved through this process went
"I think what this group is doing on campus is fantastic," Dollinger said. "This is better than about 98 percent of the things we spend through the reserve account, but that does not mean it's right for this account."
free after years of violent connects
with Missourians.
The temple, which is one of 137 in the world, was built in Kansas City, Mo., to accommodate the 100,000 church members in Kansas and Missouri. Before the temple was built, they traveled to Omaha and St. Louis to reach the nearest temples.
Christina Edwards, a graduate student from Dubuque, Iowa, is the president of the University's Latter-day Saints student organization. She said temples are a sacred space to members of the church.
Sacred ordinances, like wedding ceremonies and baptisms for deceased relatives, take place in the temple, which also has areas for instruction on the scripture and personal reflection, said William Walker, a Church authority.
POSTE/KANSAN rs. A table of
mg will be allowed to enter the temple. Tour reservations can be made online at kansascitymortontemple.org.
"We occasionally get comments that the LDS church is very secretive about things, but really we think we are open," Walker said. "It's not a secret matter. It's a matter of being sacred."
— Edited by Corinne Westeman
"I'm going to miss working with students," he said. "But this opportunity came along, and I feel that it's a wonderful way to be helpful."
pass a bill limiting student election chalking to registered coalitions or candidates. Currently, Article XII of the Senate's rules and regulations doesn't regulate chalking, but after this semester's election, coalitions can't chalk until they are officially registered with the election commission, a nonpartisan panel that oversees student elections. The change was made because the commission had some concerns with early chalking.
Dennis Karpowitz, an associate professor of clinical psychology, is retiring at the end of this semester to serve as one of two counselors to the temple's president.
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Aaron Dollinger, a liberal arts and sciences senator, likes the project but didn't believe it should be financed through the reserve account.
AES' biodiesel fuel project converts used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel, which is used for lawnmower equipment, the inflatable figures at football games and portable power for Potter Lake. But the process also makes a byproduct, glycerin, which program co-director Ilya Tabakh said can be made into liquid soap with this equipment.
AES has produced more than 5,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel and Tanakh thinks the soap-making initiative will push the student organi-
This bill asked for another $15,000 from the Senate's reserve account to fund soap-making equipment.
Next year, students can expect to wash their hands with student-made liquid soap on campus. Student Senate approved the bill that finances the Alternative Energy Society during its regular meeting Wednesday night.
But the bill concerned some senators as they debated whether AES provided a "long-lasting impact for students," a requirement used to justify funding from the reserve account.
tunity to upgrade our processor a little bit and add soap to our portfolio," Tanakh said. "Hopefully this will set us up to be sustainable at this level."
But the bill passed after other senators contended the group
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
chalking is anecdote, said Aaron Harris, a liberal arts and sciences senator, referencing past coalitions that started chalking early.
to the University, not to students, and that it didn't contribute to a long-lasting impact for students. He suggested that the funding be taken out of the sustainability portion of student fees instead of the reserve account.
Another bill passed by Senate updates Senate's budget code by introducing language that puts unwritten practices into its rules and regulations.
Index
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
Senate also passed bills granting funding to student organizations.
Vikaas Shanker
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
contributed a long-lasting impact by reducing the carbon footprint of the University for the biodiesel project, and said that the sustainability fee wouldn't cover the expenses.
— Edited by Corinne Westeman
Don't forget
contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Dallv Kansan
Today's Weather
Student Senate coalitions can start active tabling today. That means coalition members can approach you on campus.
Sunny
HI: 66
LO: 48
Have some fun in the sun.