In class there are often kids students following along to the lectures in their own different ways. Some choose to listen and take notes. Some choose to listen and type notes. Some choose to listen and follow along on their laptops with the lecture on both the large projector screen and their laptop in front of them. Then there are the ones who choose to listen to their iPods or instant message or play video games or watch movies. I really don’t understand why the later group comes to class at all. It must be nice to be smart enough to not have to pay attention in class and still be able to pull the grades needed to pass. However, it seems this group is somewhat disrespectful to the professors and very often immature in class. Here is an example of a situation that occurred this week to remind me that not all of these children students should be doctors:
Professor: Type I Collagen does which of the following? A - forms fibrils through intermolecular cross-links, B - is assembled into triple helices in the extracellular space or C - is a homotrimer?
Class suggests the answer is C.
Professor: No, no, no! Collagen is not a homo at all.
Future Physicians: Burst into laughter.
Professor: Shakes his head and moves onto the next question.
5 minutes pass - Professor lecturing on another topic.
Professor: Nobody in this land could have Scurvy because there are so many good fruits around.
Future Physicians: Hahaha!
Professor: Clean up your minds class. FDA says we should each be having a bit of fruit everyday.
Future Physicians: Roaring laughter as the professor tries to carry on the lecture.
Christen (thinking to herself): Are these people serious?! I can not believe how immature these people are….. Do they not realize that the prof is getting annoyed?!
Maybe I’m oversensitive or a stiff. Maybe I’m just grumpy because it’s 7:30 in the morning and I am so NOT a morning person. I don’t have that many gay friends and it’s not that I’ve really experienced much prejudice first hand. But for some reason, I was really bothered by this morning’s classroom behavior. I couldn’t help but wonder what these supposedly intelligent people will be like in practice when their first gay patient comes in for help… or a severely obese patient…. or a patient with AIDS or STDs or whatever sensitive and personal situations that we are undoubtedly going to experience. I just hope they learn to grow up and do so quickly. We are a few months away from beginning to see our first patients.
It’s exam time, so I will be back at the end of this week to discuss some actual adoption stuff. I know most of you don’t care about all the medical talk, but I got this cartoon from a friend and had to share. I think all women and moms might enjoy it. Wish me luck on exams! I’ll catch ya on the flip side!
"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular. It robs us of the chance to be extraordinary and leads us to the mediocre."
~Uta Hager
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For me, regular or usual is not an option. It never was. Sure, there are tons of things about me that are regular, typical, boring, average (insert word here). However, I spend a great deal of time living a life that is irregular and planning for more life that is even more irregular. As crazy as it may seem to some of you, I get excited about my life becoming even more unusual. That’s what I’m working so hard towards.
- It isn’t that typical to become a doctor. In fact, only 0.29% of the United States population are doctors. That is 1/3 of 1%. Pretty uncommon when you think about it. Of those, less than half are women. I feel proud to be working towards a career that is atypical and even prouder that I will represent women in a traditionally male work force.
- It is not common for high school sweethearts to get married either. In fact, only 2% of couples who started dating when one or both were in high school end up married. Of those marriages, 70% fail in the first 2 years. Guess we’re not ordinary in that sense either.
- It is not usual to live in a foriegn country. Most people live in the same area they grew up or at least in the same state. In fact, there are over 300,000,000 Americans. Less 4 million have ever lived outside the country. That’s only 0.013% Pretty uncommon.
- It’s also pretty uncommon to adopt. In the US, 2.5% of the population is adopted children. That’s about 1.6 million out of 300 million people. Of the 1.6 million adopted children, only about 20,000 were Russian born.
Our choices / lifestyle are not for everyone and I’m not saying that we’re doing things right or better than anyone else. I’m simply saying that I enjoy the lifestyle I live. I’m happy to be married to Frank and planning to adopt from Russia. I’m happy to be studying to be a doctor while living in a foreign country. I wouldn’t change anything about my life and when I found the above quote, it made me think.
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All of that said, of course I desire the usual things - a healthy, loving marriage, children opening gifts around a grand Christmas tree and a long line of stockings hung above the fireplace, cooking a special meal in a large kitchen for a group of good friends, traveling with Frank to unusual places and exploring other cultures, planting a garden, going to school plays and basketball games, etc. Those things are important to me, too. It’s just that there is a whole other side of me that desires to do something a little more. Something extraordinary. That’s what gets both Frank and I excited and that’s what keeps us going.