Well based on the comments and e-mails I've got apparently y'all seem to think that I think things out further than "have to do this, off we go weeeeeeee" which happens to be my default setting.
But I was thinking about it after reading them (and feeling guilty about my headstrong without direction comments) and thought I'd actually best set some real goals instead of just a wishy washy thing. Not to knock the wishy washy, because the goal there is simply "be healthy", but I feel maybe I should spell out ezackly what I'm doing in case you're silly enough to follow my example.
First up, food.
Food is hard. Everyone has to eat, and no matter how many times you do Optislim at some point you have to put real stuff that you chew into your mouth. We've all seen the healthy food pyramids which are strangely devoid of chocolate, KFC and icecream, but we've developed this mentality that treats are a necessary part of life. Here is my new theory... because life is stressful we feel the need to treat ourselves very regularly. It has to stop. Now. Seen those 5+2 ads on tv? Now be honest (because honestly what you do is no skin off my nose) but do you actually eat it? Do you know what a healthy diet looks like?
Not just low fat, not just low chocolate, not just no soft drink - but do you know how to eat healthfully? Honestly? Maybe you can put together one day's menu, but a week? Be honest with yourself if not with me.
Toast with a spread is not a particularly healthy or vitamin dense breakfast. Half the fortified cereals in that aisle from the supermarket are crap and full of sugar. Breakfast should be one of the main meals of the day and needs to be packed with vitamins, minerals and low GI carbs and protein to get you through the day. And it (breakfast) needs to be eaten. I hate eating as soon as I wake up, so I eat breakfast about half an hour later in the morning when I actually feel hungry. Yoghurt with museli and chopped up fruit is great (watch the sugar and fat of your museli though if buying pre-prepared) and should easily get you through to lunch. On supercold mornings I also love avocado on dense grainy toast or boiled eggs.
Which brings me to the next point - no snacking. This is when people tend to eat biscuits/cake etc. The mid morning sugar dip is often when people have a bit of a break, make themselves a nice warming tea or coffee with a few heaped spoons of sugar and "treat" themselves to "just one" biscuit. If you've eaten a decent breakfast you shouldn't need much around mid morning but if you find yourself starving (remember as well that the hungry growly feeling in your belly is also telling you you're burning off calories) then try fruit. Fruit and vegies. Water filled ones with high fibre are best.
If you're still feeling hungry after an apple, drink water. I find hot water satiates better than cold, and in winter I love a slice or two of fresh ginger and a small squeeze of lemon. A lot of people can not tell the difference between hunger and thirst. How many people honestly drink the recommended 2L of water a day? Unless I'm exercising I know I don't, even though it's my beverage of choice. If, after all of the above you still feel hungry, go for a walk, hang out some washing, do anything besides sit and watch tv or similar. Like a smoker going cold turkey you need to learn some new habits and getting up and about is obviously a double benefit.
You've heard that weightloss tip to carry around a bottle of water with you at all times? Think of it as your Nicorette inhaler. If you feel like you must have something in your mouth take a sip. Don't add cordial, not even the "diet" ones unless there is no other way that you will drink water. I still disapprove but it's better than nothing =p
No softdrink. At all. It's full of acid that corrodes your teeth, empty calories if you buy the full strength ones and additives if you buy the "diet" ones. The bubbles and acid wreak havoc with your digestion and can lead to feelings of bloating and heartburn. If your belly is already heaving you will not be in the mood to eat healthily (even if it will make you feel better) and it's easy to "treat" yourself again. If you're one of the people that has a 2L bottle of softdrink in the fridge most of the time throw it out and do not buy it again. There is NO NEED. Unless of course you enjoy flatulence.
Lunch time coming up. Time to eat a good whack of your vegies and protein. This should be probably your main meal of the day. Avoid thinking of bread as the main part of your meal, ditto rice or pasta. Fresh fruit and vegies are plentiful in Australia and cheap if you buy in season. Even cheaper again if you grow your own. Actually go to a fruit store and look at the produce instead of chucking it into your trolley in a rush. Smell it, touch it, think about what it is. As a hangover from my vegan days I love salads, and I will throw whatever looks bright and colourful into a bowl. If you can't see at least 3 bright colours in your meal you need to add something else.
I think the reason salads get such a terrible reputation is because people don't know how to dress them. There are cheap "lite" commercial salad dressings, which are fine, but I prefer to make my own. Aside from anything else it always tastes better when you get to choose your own flavourings. Salads are also awesome when you add your favourite herbs. I have a never ending love affair with mint and Vietnamese styled salads so chuck it and chili in with everything. Lemon juice, salt, pepper, a teaspoon of good mustard and a teaspoon of good olive oil for skin and hair and you have a fantastic base dressing.
Protein in a salad/salad sandwich/wrap is pretty easy - boiled eggs, lean chicken or pork, cheese, beans, lentils all work and require very little preparation. If you're not up for making a salad dressing buy tins of tuna in sauce and mix them through. Add lots of greens so you have a large meal in front of you, filled with fibre. Then look at your large bowl and contemplate this - there is likely to be about half the calories in that large, colourful bowl as there would be in one standard Mars Bar. You'll notice there aren't really any processed carbs in that lunch, and that's typical for me, though I often have a lavash bread wrap with the above crammed into it. I doubt in either case though you'll be feeling hungry for quite some time.
Afternoon tea. 3pm is the killer, your sugars are dropping, you're starting to feel a little bit tired/weary... if you're at home you can distract the kids with Playschool while you have your cuppa or if you're at work you can duck out to the vending machine for confectionary goodness. Assuming you actually ate your big lunch and chewed it carefully and balanced it right, you shouldn't be feeling starving right now, just in need of a little sugar spike. Again fruit is your friend, as is one of my favourites - chopped up raw vegies with tzatziki or similar. Good grazing food but still full of vitamins and minerals. If nothing else I really want you to look at the food you're about to put in your mouth and think about what it is and what it has to offer you.
Dinner is much the same as lunch, but try and eat before 7pm if you can, unless you're in the habit of going to bed quite late. Don't let eating be the thing you do right before bed as you have very little chance to digest your food. In winter this is hard but avoid making most of your meal carbohydrates, especially pasta or rice. They're not hugely nutrient dense foods and they can make you feel bloated and heavy. I'm not anti-carb by any means, but I think we rely on them too much as they are quick, cheap and easy meals. Although pretty boring, the standard meat & 3 veg of generations past actually makes much more sense.
I don't eat dessert often, but occasionally have a massive sweet tooth after dinner. I've found yoghurt + muesli is great but if I need decadence this is my new favourite which I justify by riding extra hard the next mornign - I melt 4-6 chocolate buttons (dark is best but white also very tasty) in the microwave until lovely and smooth and melty which I dip assorted cut up fruit (strawberries are the definite winner) into. It's a tiny amount of chocolate, but is so nice to savour, as opposed to gorging myself on a cadbury bar. Note this is not every night but an occasional treat.
Now at this stage I'm sure some of you are shakign your heads and saying "all things in moderation". But I am challenging that and saying that some things do not need any moderation at all. It's like telling an alcoholic that they can get plastered in moderation, or a smoker trying to quit that they can have a pack every now and again. If you are overweight, then you do not need any of the "bad" foods, and they will give you very little. At best they will lift you up for 30 minutes before crashing your blood sugars and making you feel tired, grumpy, irritable and depressed. Does this mean I will think you're evil if you have chips for dinner one night? No, not at all, in fact we had pizza on Tuesday night. But it was a lazy choice which I freely admit, and it could so easily have been substituted with a low fat curry from our favourite takeaway. I'm not beating myself up for it - but I do have to think about it, the number of calories consumed, and how much extra work that I don't particularly want to do to keep me on the path.
When you're conscious of what you're eating, even when it's not nutritionally sound, it tends to be easier to moderate. The biggest issue I have with "everything in moderation" is that so few people seem to understand what a moderate amount is. Eating one treat a day is too much. Eating a treat because you've been working hard is a bad idea - food shouldn't be a reward, it should be a fuel.
Perhaps the most salient piece of advice I can give on the food issue is that you have to find something else to treat yourself with. Hot bath, a facial, a wax, a sleep in on the weekend, a massage from your partner, sex, a haircut, a run, something that can make you feel good without repercussions. My favourite of all is probably flowers, something about the scent reminds me that life is so worth living and I want to get as many years as I can. We only get one shot at this.
OK essay and ranting over - I'll be back later with the exercise/fitness post. I also haven't forgotten to post stats, but have to work out some sort of table widget html thingo so that it looks neat.
Showing posts with label You asked. Show all posts
Showing posts with label You asked. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Saturday, 5 July 2008
Why I haven't been posting
a) I have nothing to say
b) I've been sleeping 14+ hours a day
c) I have very bad bronchitis
sucks to be me
b) I've been sleeping 14+ hours a day
c) I have very bad bronchitis
sucks to be me
Saturday, 1 March 2008
The Gleam
Part two of Nina's topic...
I am a dreamer. I always have been. Even in the midst of conversation I often drift into dialogue with my own ethereal whimsy while maintaining social grace. It takes little to distract me from everyday things, and if I get a whiff of The Gleam, then I am lost to it, beholden to its call.
I was about 15 when I first found an old copy of Tennyson's poems that had belonged to my father at college. A small red, cloth bound book, pages the colour of weak tea in very plain print. It is not a beautiful book to look at, it is very simple. But inside, o, the beauty and the song that leaps off every page... The first time I opened it, I flicked straight to the poem I knew - The Lady of Shalott, and thrilled to its melody. Even now a good 18 years since I first read that poem those opening stanzas still reveal The Gleam
The introduction to metaphor, the abililty to describe things so beautifully - "that clothe the wold" - that description is so perfect. It brings a vivid image to my eye instantly. It is why I love Tennyson.
But the second stanza, the melody is the breeze, it darts forth and gently raises the hair on your arms such that you yourself are dusking and shivering by the river that flows to Camelot. I still am entranced by the beauty of this work, and have spent many a day hiding in some greenery or other looking up at blue or misty skies and feeling the wind tumble and play at my feet like a kitten as I drank it in. But once I had finished the LoS, I began to delve further into this slim book of poetry, and found still more works that enthralled and enraptured me. One of those was Merlin and The Gleam.
Obviously, from the title of this blog, The Gleam resonated with me. The mention of it throughout the poem teased me, called me to it, but those final words...
...I cannot describe how they inspire me. The passion in them - the absolute need I have to pursue The Gleam, La Vie Moins Ordinaire, whatever I name it. It is something greater calling me. I see it glimmering before me, sometimes I actually dance in its light. I can only describe it as this is why people believe in heaven. A glimpse of something so ascendant it must be of another world. But to me it is incredibly unholy as well - it is earthy, primal, primitive, pagan.
I see The Gleam sometimes in the purple haze of dawn, when I awake before I am fully conscious and see the smokiness on the horizon and know as the cool jovial music of twilight pervades my soul that I have a window to somewhere other. I smell it in the balsam of the forests when I run through the trees of my ancestral home and I chase it with eyes sparkling and amber. Some days I catch it, and it runs through my veins quick and golden and light and I hover in some space that is not quite of this world. I am almost always alone in my pursuit of The Gleam, I have tried to explain it to LH and lovely though he is, he does not see The Gleam. He is happy to follow me as I chase, but he doesn't quite see the gold that we're after. Others don't understand it at all, and it is the most precious thing that I possess so I don't share it often.
I can't make it come before me, things that one day will have me lost I will another barely notice. I possess only the ability to see The Gleam, not to bring it to me, or I would spend all of my time drunk with its beauty. It comes most often when I am lost in my imagination and dreams, though being around beautiful things always brings it closer. I am always on the search for great beauty. And in the meantime I dream and spin fancies and imagine - the castles in the sky where LH and our little pixies will live. I've asked him what he imagines our perfect home to be and he simply says that if I am there... then that is his perfect castle. I adore him for that, but I wish he knew of The Gleam.
I am a dreamer. I always have been. Even in the midst of conversation I often drift into dialogue with my own ethereal whimsy while maintaining social grace. It takes little to distract me from everyday things, and if I get a whiff of The Gleam, then I am lost to it, beholden to its call.
I was about 15 when I first found an old copy of Tennyson's poems that had belonged to my father at college. A small red, cloth bound book, pages the colour of weak tea in very plain print. It is not a beautiful book to look at, it is very simple. But inside, o, the beauty and the song that leaps off every page... The first time I opened it, I flicked straight to the poem I knew - The Lady of Shalott, and thrilled to its melody. Even now a good 18 years since I first read that poem those opening stanzas still reveal The Gleam
On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
The introduction to metaphor, the abililty to describe things so beautifully - "that clothe the wold" - that description is so perfect. It brings a vivid image to my eye instantly. It is why I love Tennyson.
Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.
But the second stanza, the melody is the breeze, it darts forth and gently raises the hair on your arms such that you yourself are dusking and shivering by the river that flows to Camelot. I still am entranced by the beauty of this work, and have spent many a day hiding in some greenery or other looking up at blue or misty skies and feeling the wind tumble and play at my feet like a kitten as I drank it in. But once I had finished the LoS, I began to delve further into this slim book of poetry, and found still more works that enthralled and enraptured me. One of those was Merlin and The Gleam.
Obviously, from the title of this blog, The Gleam resonated with me. The mention of it throughout the poem teased me, called me to it, but those final words...
Launch your vessel,
And crowd your canvas,
And, ere it vanishes
Over the margin,
After it, follow it,
Follow The Gleam.
And crowd your canvas,
And, ere it vanishes
Over the margin,
After it, follow it,
Follow The Gleam.
...I cannot describe how they inspire me. The passion in them - the absolute need I have to pursue The Gleam, La Vie Moins Ordinaire, whatever I name it. It is something greater calling me. I see it glimmering before me, sometimes I actually dance in its light. I can only describe it as this is why people believe in heaven. A glimpse of something so ascendant it must be of another world. But to me it is incredibly unholy as well - it is earthy, primal, primitive, pagan.
I see The Gleam sometimes in the purple haze of dawn, when I awake before I am fully conscious and see the smokiness on the horizon and know as the cool jovial music of twilight pervades my soul that I have a window to somewhere other. I smell it in the balsam of the forests when I run through the trees of my ancestral home and I chase it with eyes sparkling and amber. Some days I catch it, and it runs through my veins quick and golden and light and I hover in some space that is not quite of this world. I am almost always alone in my pursuit of The Gleam, I have tried to explain it to LH and lovely though he is, he does not see The Gleam. He is happy to follow me as I chase, but he doesn't quite see the gold that we're after. Others don't understand it at all, and it is the most precious thing that I possess so I don't share it often.
I can't make it come before me, things that one day will have me lost I will another barely notice. I possess only the ability to see The Gleam, not to bring it to me, or I would spend all of my time drunk with its beauty. It comes most often when I am lost in my imagination and dreams, though being around beautiful things always brings it closer. I am always on the search for great beauty. And in the meantime I dream and spin fancies and imagine - the castles in the sky where LH and our little pixies will live. I've asked him what he imagines our perfect home to be and he simply says that if I am there... then that is his perfect castle. I adore him for that, but I wish he knew of The Gleam.
Nina's Topic
My question... where is your favourite place to be in the world (your happy place), and why?
Whenever I think of Happy Place I always think of Happy Gilmore which sadly is a movie that I love even though it is Adam Sandler and very very B grade. But I digress. In previous posts I've detailed the fact that I have moved around a lot, therefore I've not had really that one place that I could always escape to. There have been some constants that always make me feel at peace though. So the physical places...
1. Suttons Beach at Redcliffe. This is a little family beach that opens onto yellow/orange granular coral sand and green seaweed where the air is saltier than just about any other beach I've ever visited. There is often a discernible odour of dank seaweed and there are almost always gelatinous jellyfish washed up on the sand. There is almost no surf being as the beach is protected by the islands and to get down to the sand in the first place you have to climb down steep concrete steps. But in spite, or rather because of all this, it is one of my favourite places in the world. We had barbeques and picnics here under the ancient pine trees, I walked this beach with Nana and found unspoiled shells and rock or glass rolled smooth by the surf. Shiny opalescent mussel shells with their smelly beards. I made sandcastles in the coarse sand and decorated them with the seaweed.
It is also the place where I go to be close to my grandparents. Their ashes were scattered off Woody Point and I love taking the girls to run on this beach so that they can be close to their Great Grandparents who would have loved them so much.
2. Lamington National Park
This is one of my favourite places in the world to be. The drive up through the winding moutains is incredible, sheer drops off the side of the mountain into temperate forest and then subtropical rainforest. In parts the road actually winds a single car width through the forest as it treks and crosses back in places so steep and so precarious that your heart will be in your throat as you drive it. Especially if it is a misty afternoon. We always go via Tambourine, where the tourist strip is abundant in artsy stores, coffee shops, markets and stores that sell fudge. It is impossible to come home from one of these trips without a crisp packet of fudge in weird and wonderful flavours.
But nothing compares to actually getting out of the car into that sweet, gentle, brisk and damp mountain air. To feel the breeze whip your hair while inhaling the delicious tang of balsam. To rug up the girls and wander into the forest. To listen to the trees and to feel my heart sing that I am *home*. To watch the bustling Japanese tourists excitedly taking photos of scrub turkeys, and the bored Australian tourists with their smokes dangling from their hands who neither see nor feel the actual forest.
I hear music in the forest, I hear voices and I believe that fairies and elves are not fantastical constructs. I know the Elfling feels it too because both of us look different in the forest - something makes our eyes sparklier and our ears just that little bit more pointed. At O'Reillys plateau there are two things that thrill my soul - the first is the treetop walk that allows you to walk about mid canopy through the forest. About halfway along this walk is a tree with a steel ladder that ascends up to about 110 feet off the ground. Often there is a crowd gathered around the base of this ladder, but many are too spooked to climb, especially when the wind is blowing and the tree is swaying. But last time we went, the Elfling at all of 3 and a half climbed up the ladder with her Daddy so that they could look out into the vast crater formed by the McPherson ranges and feel her spirit come alive as well.
The second thing that buoys me is at the edge of the plateau looking out on sheer drops into the canyon is a botannical garden full of beautiful exotic plants that flower and bloom amongst winding stone tracks. Here in the middle of the forest a secret windy garden clinging to the edge on the mountain. When I am there I cannot but dream and thrill to my soul.
I only discovered these particular national parks while living with my husband, but my home is amongst trees, and my spirit dances whenever I am there. I cannot describe in words how light I feel, or how my heart lurches when I smell the sweetness or the breeze begins to tease tendrils of hair at my neck. How golden my eyes shine and how unearthly I feel.
Next post I'll talk about the happy place that is within me, and can't be reached by plane, train or autmobile...
Whenever I think of Happy Place I always think of Happy Gilmore which sadly is a movie that I love even though it is Adam Sandler and very very B grade. But I digress. In previous posts I've detailed the fact that I have moved around a lot, therefore I've not had really that one place that I could always escape to. There have been some constants that always make me feel at peace though. So the physical places...
1. Suttons Beach at Redcliffe. This is a little family beach that opens onto yellow/orange granular coral sand and green seaweed where the air is saltier than just about any other beach I've ever visited. There is often a discernible odour of dank seaweed and there are almost always gelatinous jellyfish washed up on the sand. There is almost no surf being as the beach is protected by the islands and to get down to the sand in the first place you have to climb down steep concrete steps. But in spite, or rather because of all this, it is one of my favourite places in the world. We had barbeques and picnics here under the ancient pine trees, I walked this beach with Nana and found unspoiled shells and rock or glass rolled smooth by the surf. Shiny opalescent mussel shells with their smelly beards. I made sandcastles in the coarse sand and decorated them with the seaweed.
It is also the place where I go to be close to my grandparents. Their ashes were scattered off Woody Point and I love taking the girls to run on this beach so that they can be close to their Great Grandparents who would have loved them so much.
2. Lamington National Park
This is one of my favourite places in the world to be. The drive up through the winding moutains is incredible, sheer drops off the side of the mountain into temperate forest and then subtropical rainforest. In parts the road actually winds a single car width through the forest as it treks and crosses back in places so steep and so precarious that your heart will be in your throat as you drive it. Especially if it is a misty afternoon. We always go via Tambourine, where the tourist strip is abundant in artsy stores, coffee shops, markets and stores that sell fudge. It is impossible to come home from one of these trips without a crisp packet of fudge in weird and wonderful flavours.
But nothing compares to actually getting out of the car into that sweet, gentle, brisk and damp mountain air. To feel the breeze whip your hair while inhaling the delicious tang of balsam. To rug up the girls and wander into the forest. To listen to the trees and to feel my heart sing that I am *home*. To watch the bustling Japanese tourists excitedly taking photos of scrub turkeys, and the bored Australian tourists with their smokes dangling from their hands who neither see nor feel the actual forest.
I hear music in the forest, I hear voices and I believe that fairies and elves are not fantastical constructs. I know the Elfling feels it too because both of us look different in the forest - something makes our eyes sparklier and our ears just that little bit more pointed. At O'Reillys plateau there are two things that thrill my soul - the first is the treetop walk that allows you to walk about mid canopy through the forest. About halfway along this walk is a tree with a steel ladder that ascends up to about 110 feet off the ground. Often there is a crowd gathered around the base of this ladder, but many are too spooked to climb, especially when the wind is blowing and the tree is swaying. But last time we went, the Elfling at all of 3 and a half climbed up the ladder with her Daddy so that they could look out into the vast crater formed by the McPherson ranges and feel her spirit come alive as well.
The second thing that buoys me is at the edge of the plateau looking out on sheer drops into the canyon is a botannical garden full of beautiful exotic plants that flower and bloom amongst winding stone tracks. Here in the middle of the forest a secret windy garden clinging to the edge on the mountain. When I am there I cannot but dream and thrill to my soul.
I only discovered these particular national parks while living with my husband, but my home is amongst trees, and my spirit dances whenever I am there. I cannot describe in words how light I feel, or how my heart lurches when I smell the sweetness or the breeze begins to tease tendrils of hair at my neck. How golden my eyes shine and how unearthly I feel.
Next post I'll talk about the happy place that is within me, and can't be reached by plane, train or autmobile...
Friday, 29 February 2008
Donna's Topic
Why Jenn wants to be a doctor...
Hmm, good question. Now to come up with an interesting way to answer... basically, in a nutshell I fell into it. Which is not an interesting answer, and I wish I could say it was my lifelong dream. But it isn't. My lifelong dream involves living in Southern Spain perhaps, painting in a sundrenched stone walled studio with a hammock off the side for much lazing and not much working. Maybe wandering down to the vineyards occasionally to check the sugar content of my grapes and planning my next sojourn through Provence and getting round and ruddy off wine and cheese. Or that's the dream du jour.
Through primary school and highschool I had very flighty dreams. Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, archaeologist, research scientist, interpreter, author. They all had favour with me for a decent period of time, and I still secretly want to be all of the above. So come the end of highschool when we had to put in preferences for uni, we all had to trudge up to the Careers Counsellor and tell him what we were hoping to do, and whether our OPs would match up. And if we were still having difficulty deciding - fill in this questionnaire and it will supposedly spit out your dream career.
And in my interview with the careers counsellor, he looked at my OP prediction (1-3) and said "well getting in is not going to be a problem... what do you want to do?". And my response? "I have no [freaking] idea". I had one course that I was going to apply for, and that was Arts/Science dual degree at uni, precisely because I had no other direction. Arts/Science would allow me to do a bit of everything. The test thing that would supposedly answer all my floundering questions was useless - about the only thing it didn't recommend as a career was hospitality. Though I still scored OK there. The career dude was very unhappy with me applying for only one course - you're allowed to put up to 6 preferences, but being as the required OP for my course was an 8 and that I could have failed all of my end of year exams and scored at least a 5, I wasn't understanding his anxiety on that front.
So I turned up at uni, with no idea what I was going to do, clasping a course guide book and a highlighter and sat down in the great court highlighting stuff that looked interesting. My first semester included French, Spanish, Chemistry and Biology subjects. I absolutely adored the French, enjoyed the Spanish and sort of winged the Science stuff. In later semesters I also studied History, Archaeology, Human Biology and Physiology, Physics, Pure and Linear Maths and enrolled briefly in both German and Russian (dropped because the timetables didn't allow me to sleep until noon). I have maintained for a very long time that my Arts degree kept me sane. It was what a uni degree should be - challenging and philosophical and it taught me to think laterally and openly. Unfortunately though, the great cliche of Arts students is somewhat relevant in that finding a job with my Arts degree would have been quite difficult.
So I went on a career search. This was no doubt influenced by the fact that during my second year, my grandmother (who I was very close to) became very ill and subsequently died from a relatively rare form of cancer, which I spent a lot of nights researching into the wee hours. I had the grades, intellect and personality to study medicine, and I liked the multifaceted nature of the profession. I also, and I can't lie, liked the guaranteed job and income at the end. So I applied, sat the exam and interview and did well and started my degree. And it's only while I've been here and been doing this course that I have really discovered my passion for it.
This is an amazing vocation, and I cannot wait to be out there actually practising. I love the interaction with others, I love the opportunity to heal not only patients, but relatives, friends and families as well. I love that I can get such intense personal satisfaction from doing good things. I also love that I never ever stop learning. It is impossible to know all that there is to know in medicine, aside from anything else it is an ever expanding field. It comes with great frustrations and tragedy, as will any job involving actual human beings - but the enjoyment I get out of it is second to none. Being in birth suite in the last few months has been incredible - to be a part of something so life changing in others lives. I am very lucky to have chosen a job that allows me that.
So hope that answers your question Donna! Hopefully I didn't bang on too much *blush*
Hmm, good question. Now to come up with an interesting way to answer... basically, in a nutshell I fell into it. Which is not an interesting answer, and I wish I could say it was my lifelong dream. But it isn't. My lifelong dream involves living in Southern Spain perhaps, painting in a sundrenched stone walled studio with a hammock off the side for much lazing and not much working. Maybe wandering down to the vineyards occasionally to check the sugar content of my grapes and planning my next sojourn through Provence and getting round and ruddy off wine and cheese. Or that's the dream du jour.
Through primary school and highschool I had very flighty dreams. Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, archaeologist, research scientist, interpreter, author. They all had favour with me for a decent period of time, and I still secretly want to be all of the above. So come the end of highschool when we had to put in preferences for uni, we all had to trudge up to the Careers Counsellor and tell him what we were hoping to do, and whether our OPs would match up. And if we were still having difficulty deciding - fill in this questionnaire and it will supposedly spit out your dream career.
And in my interview with the careers counsellor, he looked at my OP prediction (1-3) and said "well getting in is not going to be a problem... what do you want to do?". And my response? "I have no [freaking] idea". I had one course that I was going to apply for, and that was Arts/Science dual degree at uni, precisely because I had no other direction. Arts/Science would allow me to do a bit of everything. The test thing that would supposedly answer all my floundering questions was useless - about the only thing it didn't recommend as a career was hospitality. Though I still scored OK there. The career dude was very unhappy with me applying for only one course - you're allowed to put up to 6 preferences, but being as the required OP for my course was an 8 and that I could have failed all of my end of year exams and scored at least a 5, I wasn't understanding his anxiety on that front.
So I turned up at uni, with no idea what I was going to do, clasping a course guide book and a highlighter and sat down in the great court highlighting stuff that looked interesting. My first semester included French, Spanish, Chemistry and Biology subjects. I absolutely adored the French, enjoyed the Spanish and sort of winged the Science stuff. In later semesters I also studied History, Archaeology, Human Biology and Physiology, Physics, Pure and Linear Maths and enrolled briefly in both German and Russian (dropped because the timetables didn't allow me to sleep until noon). I have maintained for a very long time that my Arts degree kept me sane. It was what a uni degree should be - challenging and philosophical and it taught me to think laterally and openly. Unfortunately though, the great cliche of Arts students is somewhat relevant in that finding a job with my Arts degree would have been quite difficult.
So I went on a career search. This was no doubt influenced by the fact that during my second year, my grandmother (who I was very close to) became very ill and subsequently died from a relatively rare form of cancer, which I spent a lot of nights researching into the wee hours. I had the grades, intellect and personality to study medicine, and I liked the multifaceted nature of the profession. I also, and I can't lie, liked the guaranteed job and income at the end. So I applied, sat the exam and interview and did well and started my degree. And it's only while I've been here and been doing this course that I have really discovered my passion for it.
This is an amazing vocation, and I cannot wait to be out there actually practising. I love the interaction with others, I love the opportunity to heal not only patients, but relatives, friends and families as well. I love that I can get such intense personal satisfaction from doing good things. I also love that I never ever stop learning. It is impossible to know all that there is to know in medicine, aside from anything else it is an ever expanding field. It comes with great frustrations and tragedy, as will any job involving actual human beings - but the enjoyment I get out of it is second to none. Being in birth suite in the last few months has been incredible - to be a part of something so life changing in others lives. I am very lucky to have chosen a job that allows me that.
So hope that answers your question Donna! Hopefully I didn't bang on too much *blush*
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