I may complain and whine about some of the work I have to do here in Kville but I really do love it here. I love the students, what I get to do, the talented people I get to work with, and I most of all love the support and respect I am given by my superiors. Where else would a graduate student be told to take time off and go back home to do what needs to be done without there being forms to be filled out or committees to appeal to? I love the laughter that is shared on snowy Saturday nights and looking around the room at the brilliant people that surround me. I love the research that I am doing and every so often laugh at myself for getting excited about things I see through the microscope knowing full well that I would have made fun of someone like me before I started this program.
I love the opportunities I have had here ranging from incredible seminars about patient literacy that were a real eye opener, to the physician shadowing I have been able to do, and to the ability to travel to Haiti in March. This past week, the planning started to take shape for a second trip to Port-au-Prince in March 2011. It is a thrill to be helping get things in order and I can't wait to board that plane, hopefully this time staying far away from Newark.
I love all of the various service projects that are available for the students to give back to the community that supports our school and the overwhelming number of students that get involved. Whether it is cleaning up around the city or collecting donations for different organizations, there is something going on at least once a month.
Today's event was Adopt-A-Child which involves a student being paired up with a 12-16 year old child who the Kirksville Fire Department has identified as being from a low income family. My girl was a fiery red head who was 14 years old. Instead of being assigned, she randomly asked to be placed with me. I don't know if that was because of my hair color or what, I guess I should have asked. I spent four hours with her this morning and in that time it reminded me of how lucky I am. I have never been told by my parents that I was unwanted or that I was hated, they always go above and beyond making sure that I am taken care of, and the number of siblings I have is not an unknown. The school organization that sponsors the event gives us $30 to help our child spend and then buses us to Walmart to shop. A part of me wanted to make her get items that were practical but the other part convinced me to allow her to have fun with it and get things that made her happy but weren't necessarily useful. A makeup kit, nail polish, pajama pants, lip gloss, and a necklace occupied our shopping back in the end. Returning back to the school, we had time to make picture frames, decorate sugar cookies, make friendship bracelets or play games and it was during this time that I thought twice about being a pediatrician. Sitting with a group of girls that were all around 14 years old, I became paralyzed as they began talking about "hooking up" with guys and what that meant. 14!!!!!! It made me so sad. That is one of the things I fear the most about going into that field: having to discuss a child's sex life. Another fear is handling teenage pregnancy and we are suspicious that one of the girls may in fact have been. While with the girls, I would watch the clock slowly tick down, anxious for noon to roll around. Reflecting now, I am so glad that I opted to give up sleeping in on a Saturday morning to do this. Everyone deserves to feel loved and cared about. If, in those few hours, I was able to have a positive influence on her life, even if it is just for a few days that she remembers me, it was worth it. Being allowed these opportunities to positively impact a child's life is the best Christmas gift that I can ever be given. I would rather be able to help put a smile on a child's face than to be given the number one thing on my Christmas list. I love that I get to do this.
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