Exams

As I sit in the wee morning hours in a freezing gym with about 100 high school students taking their science mid-term I think to myself that I should have been a doctor. I have a high tolerance for blood and gore and I have a LOT of opinions about the practice of medice, but as most things in life there are certain limitations.

To become a practicing physician at a hospital at this point would mean a dedication of about 12 years between having to take every science class under the sun to be considered as a possible applicant, moving to Guatemala for med school since it is the only place that will likely let me in, having to do course work, med school, residencies...I think for me that shipped has passed. Though, I recently did discuss it with Eliot and though he is enthusiastic and supportive of pretty much any another graduate degree (adding of course to the one that I already have that is oh so useful) and even some day a PHD, the med school option is off because we want to have babies soon. Sadly this is a concession I am willing to accept. Plus I think at the end of the day I would like to be a psychiatrist if I go that route and you add in another gabillion years for that specialty. Eh, and the thing is that I don't feel so bad about it. Not going to med school ended up being an okay choice, well in truth I never consider it much when I was younger. I was too...impetous or fickle maybe a better term.

I admire people that knew what they wanted to do at 18 and were able just to do it. I just did something because I was too lazy to do anything else and figured it would work itself out. It sort of did I suppose, and though I like teaching and Berkeley was a good find. Don't get me wrong. I like religion. It's still interesting to me but I would be just as happy baking cupcakes downtown and chatting with the local clientele. I know that I am good with teenagers perhaps because of my personal adolescent angst but that really means I could be an assortment of things when I grow up like a bus driver, rec center worker or manager of the GAP. I figure I will find many things to do through the years so I don't get too bored. For now I watch my students struggle over the complexity of honors chemistry and honors physics. They will probably grow up to be doctors.