Leen, hope you (and everyone else) had a good sleep. It's my impression that Leen sleeps on a somewhat different schedule than most of us. I would love for Leen to tell us a bit more about what her life is about (well, workwise...don't want to be too nosy) and plans for the future. I believe I may have missed something but gather that LLL (Lovely Lass Leen) may be a nurse working in an ER but intending to be a doctor?
Really interesting article from the Washington Post. No huge surprises for me, though. I'll admit/confess to watching the Bachelor/ette since the second season (well, except that I couldn't stomach Prince L past 2-3 episodes), and during those years I've figured out a few things. Still, nice getting some confirmation as to the "nuts and bolts."
What was real to me in Bach'ette 5 (or any other season) were the interactions person to person...not foolproof, we all have our personal emotional filters. Yeah, then there's the editing.
Like so many, I could FEEL the power of the interactions between J and R. What I have to wonder about at this point is if I was seeing a falling-in-love vibe with Reid and a this-guy-is-so-much-fun-and-so-adorable vibe with Jilli. I'm admittedly confused. I would have picked either Reid (first choice) or Kiptyn for Jilli, but maybe that's who I would have picked for myself? [Happily married...my pick firmly in place].
More thoughts, but there's stuff I must attend to.
Scotty
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Scotty!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you made it over here!
Yes, my circadian rhythm is upside down. You're right, I am in the medical field though not a nurse and not yet a doctor. I'm like an intern, working in an ER. I assist the physician with procedures (I stapled someone's scalp closed a few days ago), writing the patient's chart through the visit, and providing basic patient care. How I got here is a very long and winding tale (our M knows some of it), with pit stops in teaching and public health in Africa and business administration most recently all of which came after undergrad and grad schools. What can I say? I'm a sucker for education. I think, though, I've found my way.
Life's about the journey, not the destination, right?
All of those detours shaped me, gifting me with experiences that have widened my heart, strengthened me to not break in the face of trauma and grief and death, and hopefully, will make me a better doctor whenever that day comes.
I'm in the midst of a big decision right now, so this post helps me process.
Leen
Leen - Thanks so much for filling me in. Wow! By my calculations (recalling a previous post or 2 on the DH thread and that you just had a birthday) you might be only 29. You've been a very busy young woman to fit all that in! You must also be stunningly brilliant and have an amazing energy level!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 31 I seriously considered making a run at becoming a doctor myself. However, I was newly divorced and had a baby son not much over a year old. Somehow I became clued in that my age could make me less competitive in a pool of applicants, so I wrote pretty much every medical school admissions director in the country, laying out my qualifications and candidly describing my situation.
I asked for and received an interview with the director of the UT medical school at Memphis. However, he informed me that he was setting up interviews also with the heads of departments of several ancillary areas, e.g., nurse anthesthetist, physical therapy, nursing, etc. The interviews lasted a very long day, but were enjoyable. At the end of the day, I met with the department heads as a group, who all agreed I should be a doctor. Finally, I had my interview with the director of admissions, who said, amazingly, that I was a good-looking woman and he thought I should remarry and stay home and take care of my baby!!! This was in 1971...don't think that would be said nowadays!
I did decide not pursue the medical school path, mainly because I was pretty sure I would need to turn my son over to my parents by the time I began residency (wanted to be a surgeon...wasn't sure in what area). Several other schools let me know I would be competetitive among their applicants...just decided not to go for it.
Whatever decision you're needing to make, try to look ahead 10 to 20 years and think how you envision your life whichever way you go.
Your mention of stapling someone's scalp made me cringe...had four staples put in my scalp a few months ago. It wasn't a horrific experience only because I happened to end up "wasted" when out dining and drinking with a group of friends that I ride horses with...nothing was going to bother me at that point. I was having sooooo much fun, then took a fall in a parking lot when we were leaving. I wasn't the designated driver, of course. Really embarrassing the next day when I was all sobered up. The two friends I was riding with took wonderful care of me in getting me to the ER and calling my husband, and the next day they even assured me that, given the right circumstances, it could happen to anyone, with the implication (but not admission) that it had to them! Still, I deserved zero sympathy! Apparently, the whole time I was in the ER I was in a no worries state...how could I let that happen to me?!
Thanks so much for your response -
Scotty
Okay, Leen. It's time to add to the list of why Reid should date you.
ReplyDeleteSoon-to-be-a-doctor – check
A wonderful writer – check
Volunteered in Africa – check
I'm wondering if the big decision you need to make is whether to do your residency in Philadelphia?
Scotty,
ReplyDeleteThat's excellent advice for anyone making a major decision - to consider where it would put you decades from now.
I'm sorry that medical schools were so backwards in the '70s. It's good to remember just how far we've come since then in so many ways.
Jim
My dear Scotty~
ReplyDeleteWOW to you, friend. Thank you soooo much for your insights. It echoes so much of my own internal struggle, sans children. I hope you've found contentment; you deserve it.
At 29, what can I say I want for my future?
A husband? Some kids?
International health work?
Do I see myself in a US clinic or in the African bush, hot and sweaty but happy?
Do I want a standard 12 hour shift job, so I can still raise kids with Reid ;)?
Or do I see myself just deeply in love with a man committed to improving the lives of the most disenfranchised and war-ravaged without building our own family?
Or, dare I even say it, do I want to do it all alone?
Or, or just pitch the whole thing and write, write, write all day, day,day? Or even return to teaching?
Sigh. Decisions.
It took me a long while, for a lot of reasons, to get to this next place, but I'm at this next place: I know, for sure, that I want to share my life with the love of my life. For a while, I pushed love away. For different reasons. But, now, now I can say that I pray for him, and I pray for us, and more, I pray that when he and I are ready (note, Jillian, "he and I", not "him and I") we'll be lead to each other. And it'll be whole and good; ultimately, it'll makes us better humans. So I know that much. The other details, not so much :)
There's much more to the story. If you want a more in-depth explanation of how I got from college to here in 7 years, email me at leeninandlaugh@gmail.com.
Thanks, again, Scotty, for taking an interest in me,
Leen
P.S. Papa Jim, if ever I do meet Reid, you're coming with. Bring my checklist. ;)
Leen, I wish I had more energy to respond to your message with the thought that it deserves. Will you ever cease to amaze me? One thing I ask: after you publish Volume One of your autobiography (Leen: the Early Years), I would like to have the first crack to adapt it to the screen. Joanne can ask if Scarlett is free to play you.
ReplyDeletePapa Jim
Hiya, Papa~
ReplyDeleteNo worries. I know tired. I'm tired right now :)
I'll wait should you want to write more. Should you want it, I'll send you an email called "Leen: the Early Years" sometime in the next few days.
I picked up another shift tonight (glutton for punishment am I). But, soon, long, languorous days await for me to drop down deep into scripted lines of genius.
My pillow calls me,
Leen
Dear Lean (No Longer an Agent of Disruption, not here anyway),
ReplyDeleteI would be honored to read "The Early Years" when you've had time to catch up on sleep and then on writing. My blog e-mail is atalloakbb@gmail.com. I hope you and your pillow had a good night's sleep.
Papa Jim
Dear Leen -
ReplyDeleteYou made a post on the day I was flying to Michigan, where we have a cottage. Maybe I could have checked onto this site from up there, but I neglected to write down and bring with me my password.
Wow...life-altering decisions. Even if you at some point realize you made the wrong decision, please don't do what I did and spend at least a couple of decades beating up on yourself for making the "wrong" one...absolutely non-productive and futile. I knew I could have and probably should have done more with my life, career-wise. I, too, wanted to be a contributor, but I ended up being a supporter. Not my vision of myself, even though supporters are important, too.
Since you haven't yet met your mate, I would suggest you make your decisions as though it's just you...well, it IS just you thus far. When you meet your mate (and I certainly believe you will), he'll fit himself into your life st least as much as you'll fit yourself into his.
Take care, precious one -
Scotty