Companions

After visiting with my aunt in Dallas, I've really been thinking about companions... My aunt has reached the point in her life where her friends are now dying. She is 12 years older than my father and pretty much our grandmother on his side. (Our grandparents died when we were young.) She is watching those close to her suffer from cancer or suddenly leave here with heart attacks. I can't imagine how difficult that is. However, this is a reality that many of the aging population face.

Back in the day, older women would take on companions in their old age. The young women were left in their care. They would travel and take their companions with them. The young women would gain knowledge from these older women and maybe an inheritance when the older woman had passed. In our society, this is lost. While there are some cases where this still exists - i.e. children living with and caring for their parents, I think that the overall idea has somewhat changed. The exchange of knowledge between the young and old has diminished in our culture.

While the old may fart unexpectedly or carry on from time to time, I do believe that they hold life experiences and perspectives that could broaden people's perspective. So, I petition that we bring back companions. Why not have someone to keep you company? I like company. :)

Warning - this is very sentimental - don't judge

My friends are wonderful. I am unreasonable when it comes to what I believe is inevitable. They are able to:

1. convince me that I am being unreasonable (no small feat - mind you)
2. reason with me (a.k.a. give me a sunny outlook)
3. make me laugh when I need to
   
4. get me to realize that I'm not alone (yet another feat)
5. bring me out of a slump

All of these things are very useful. And this is my shout out to those who have made my days brighter:

• Bonnie - really? Is there anything that you don't do for me?
• Kacie - talking me away from the edge
• Sarah - you are wise in ways that most people underestimate. I do not underestimate you. Much love lil' sis!
• Allison - you are always positive (how do you do it?)
• Elizabeth - you make me laugh! :)
• Shannon - you deal with my ranting and crazy conversations while studying (No one should see that crazy person. You deal with it quite well.)
• Michael - you didn't hang up when I was crying (I'm still amazed.)
• Peter - "just keep swimming" - you are amazingly reassuring; even more - I believe you!

There are many others that keep me going, but I don't want to bore you. Thank you to all who put up with my craziness. God bless!

Words...

From one friend to another to me:

"One day, we'll look back at med school as just a big misunderstanding."

Here, here!

Intelligence

What is intelligent? Smart? Brilliant? Genius? All these words have slightly different meanings. Most people have brilliant ideas, whereas others are brilliant. The brilliant idea is good enough to sustain a family for a lifetime. For example, inventors have changed the way of life. Who would have thought to put glue on the back of paper so that is stuck to things? Not me. The inventor - brilliant. Brilliant people stand out in a crowd, beg to be noticed, merely because they are wonderful and intelligent. Brilliance suggests a bright shining light, like a brilliant actress. We have many "brilliant" actresses and award them Oscars.

Smart people exhibit undeniable book smarts. This term is reserved for the highly academic who are highly specialized in their respective fields. Some that jump to my mind - E.O. Wilson - amazing biologist and philosopher. He is smart - he looks at the world around him and makes observations that no one else would see.

Genius - now that's a word that is usually associated with IQ. Einstein is a genius that almost every person knows. If not from a textbook that mentions his theories, then from his all too famous picture with his hair haphazardly hung around his face.

But intelligence hold a completely different meaning that is not relegated to "brilliant," "genius," or "smart." These people hold more than book intelligence and emotional intelligence. This intelligence could pertain to any subject or field. I would like to believe that each person is intelligent in one area of expertise. Our culture certainly promotes this theory - each person should pick one thing in which to excel. I think that of all labels given to a person for their achievements, intelligence would be the most accurate. For only some are smart, genius, or brilliant. I believe that each is intelligent in his or her way.

Insanity finds a way

Good conversations usually happen when I'm completely exhausted. Ok. Maybe just conversations where I laugh like a kid playing outside. The fact that most of these hilarious conversations happen in the library.

Last year, I was usually camped out in a friend's room acting like a lunatic. Now, I'm in the middle of the library talking and laughing about something silly while everyone else on the floor is trying to study. Now, my craziness may leak out and infect all those on the floor. Then, no will be able to study!!

Maybe I shouldn't write when I've been studying all day, and it's late at night.

Putting away the computer now....

Wind and Other Matters

I had all my windows rolled down on my way home from school. It was lovely. The wind is really strong due to all the storms blowing in for the week. :) As I was rounding the corner where the frat houses are, a huge gust blew a ton of little leaves through my window. I had leaves flying in my window, past my face, and out the other side. It was excellent.

P.S.
I also went for a walk and returned an hour and a half later. I really, really have not concept of time. I should probably work on that. Truly, the wind was amazing today. I like a good gust that might take you off your feet.

Guess what?!

I am officially excited! I got an email from one of the producers of "From the Top," a radio show on NPR. Sadly, it is not for my flute playing skills. However, it is for something much more interesting.

Gib, Katie, Elizabeth, and I went to a taping of "From the Top" a couple of months ago. It was wonderful. The kids that they had on the show put me to shame. A 10 year old that played piano almost made me cry it was so beautiful. They are doing a series where different people write in to dedicate songs to significant people or teachers in their lives. At the end of the show, we all had the opportunity to fill out a card and propose a dedication. The producer emailed me this morning and wants to talk about what I wrote. He would like to discuss doing a recording for a show!!

Really, I love NPR. How awesome is that?! Elizabeth and Gib made fun of me for taking too long to fill out the card... Who knew that they would like my dedication?

If you're wondering - I dedicated the song to my parents. After growing up with the two of them singing and playing piano all the time, I appreciate the love that they gave me for music. Little did they know that it would include my perfectionism in the form of anger - I dedicated the song to my parents for putting up with me, even when I threw my flute across the room...

I wonder why he thought that was interesting... Oh well, at least I didn't break my flute. :)