Back at it, really

So, a new friend has inspired me to write in my blog again. I was thinking about it today as I walked out of Arabic class. I have had an inspiring week and geography is all coming back around.

I met some faculty that I will have privilege of working with when I begin nursing school in January. They are doing work in the former public housing neighborhoods of Chicago, the places where I did my Geography grad research. They are focusing on how young men perceive their relationships with their fathers (or lack thereof in many cases) in low income African American communities. They filmed the interviews in barber shops on the southside. This is a professor of nursing and public health, my two loves. I'm already psyched.

A faculty heard me talking about my experiences and she said she could see the passion and excitement on my face to work in emergency medicine. It's so awesome to hear.

Aside from that, I've been studying Arabic again. I did this before 6 years ago, but it's like starting over. The poor teacher listening to me read to him today like I was 4 years old. But, he's a great teacher and I feel like I've learned a lot. I want to continue.

I'm scheming on that ONE LAST trip before school begins. The Middle East seems most obvious, but today Cuba came to mind. Hmmm. You never know where the wind will blow this gal. It'll be somewhere, for those of you who know me.

And finally, I went to the library to day and checked out a stackful of books and videos, more so than I have since I was probably 10 years old. I felt as thrilled today as I did then. Ah, the library. My library has just joined forces with all neighboring suburbs and the Chicago system, so if I can't find it, well, I'll have to buy it. And there is one:
http://www.amazon.com/Land-Ayatollahs-Tupac-Shakur-King/dp/0955235928

I can't wait to read it.

I'll let you know how it all goes...I hope.

Anew

I'm starting a new semester this week-18 weeks of undergrad courses to get me into Nursing school and I am excited. I can't wait for Anatomy/Physiology. I wonder what life would be like if I took the same class at 19 years old. Quite frankly, I think I would not have cared, drank a Red, White and Blue and been done with it, but now I can't get enough.

I shadowed a nurse for 2 hours this week. I would've done it for 8 hours, but there were limits for them, of course. It was great. I saw what nurses really do-a lot of which I knew already and some stuff I didn't. A lot of time putting things into a computer (well at some of the better hospitals they do charting on a computer and not writing it onto a chart and they can see what is happening in house-the EHR is wonderful in that regard), the family interaction (which is one of the reasons I want to do this so much) and seeing people in their most vulnerable and fragile state. And they trust you. Wow. Unbelievable. I'm still in, wholeheartedly still in.

Oh yeah, my physiology class came in handy too. I look forward to lots of science classes and all that. I'm going to school 2 miles from where I grew up. My friend said to me today-you went to Marquette for undergrad, UW-Madison for graduate school and here you are a few blocks from home. What if you just stayed here and had done that to begin with. My response was, "I wouldn't have got here if I didn't do that first". The response was both sincere and a little joking because it's trite-"LIFE IS A JOURNEY". When put into the context it was, I wholeheartedly agreed.

I would be lying if I said that I wish I didn't know this at 19 years old and I would have done this. But, I never would have gone abroad to school and traveled, I would have met different people, who know what life would be like for me today. That's the thing about decisions. You are always faced with them and you can choose A or B. For the most part you won't be wrong (unless there's something violent or abusive in either choice), you are just choosing a path. You cannot wonder or look back if you chose another, because you didn't. You make a choice and your life moves forward.

I'm pretty sure if you look on Amazon you can find 59 books listed at $19.99 or less that will tell you what I just did last paragraph. You are welcome.

Oh, and trust me, I have plenty of other "what if" type issues...