Number One

So, this is my new blog. I don't do well with blogs, because I always forget to update them. BUT I mostly use them for myself, as a way to organize all of the stuff that's going on in my head, and I'm having one of those moments right now. And the old blog was just...old. I'm starting a new chapter in life, and need a new blog! So, here it is. A lot has happened lately, and here's a bit of background info: I just started medical school a little over a month ago, I'm now living in Iowa City, I'm single (meh.), and still not sure where life is going to take me. My last blog talked a lot about my struggle with religion and faith, and that might come in some here, but the main point is that I'm still not sure where I stand. Work in progress. So, the thoughts going on in my head. Well, most of them are concerned with the future. Boyfriend, travelling, career, where I'll live, etc. etc. But I'm also trying to read an article for my global health class (I have to at least pretend to be productive so I don't feel bad about not studying for anatomy), and it's challenging me. Just like our reading a few weeks ago did. And I love it. It makes me think about how less fortunate the rest of the world is, and how I want to go out there and see it. Fix it. HEAL it. The number one desire of my life is to see all of the places that I want to see, and along with that, I want to heal its people. I know, that's the generic "doctor" answer/desire, but really. There's no better way to put it. And since starting school I've realized that it's not just healing it, but teaching the world to heal itself. Goes along with the quote about how giving a man food only feeds him for a day, but teaching him to farm feeds him for his whole life. I want to do that, only in a medical sense. I'm not discounting the importance of volunteers and service in the medical field, that is essential. But nothing is ever going to get better if we don't go out there and CHANGE something. And this is where it ties into my future. I want to go abroad this summer, and Carver (my med school) can probably place me anywhere I want to go. Well, those of you who know me well know that I don't do well with a lot of options. So I need to narrow them down, and one way would be to look for a program that is focused on education and change, instead of just practice and treatment. I would also like to practice my spanish, but that's also a bit terrifying as I'm no longer quite so confident in my skills. And really, this post is going nowhere, so I think I'm going to cut it off right there. BUT I will end it with a quote from my reading, which is actually what got me thinking in the first place. Enjoy :) "Almost half the world's population (2.6 billion people, mostly in rural areas) lacks access (unpaid or paid) to even the most basic sanitation and must resort to using pit latrines, fields, and ditches. This leads to water and soil contamination and increased rates of communicable disease, especially diarrhea. Water and sanitation-related illnesses kill some 3 million people each year and are among the leading causes of preventable mortality and morbidity. Diarrhea alone causes 2 million annual deaths, mostly among children."-Textbook of International Health: Global Health in a Dynamic World. Birn, Pillay and Holtz