I’ve never been one to ask other people for help. I worry that it would inconvenience them way too much. Plus, I like to be independent. Seven years into my career, I finally realized how stuck I really was, spiraling around the same patterns throughout the years. I couldn’t break the cycle. I was too scared. But I finally decided that I could no longer continue this way. I needed help. The day I chose to ask for it will forever be etched into my memory. That day was just as miserable as every other day had become at my...
I consider myself to be pretty lucky. While in the past I haven’t ever been that person who wins prizes and drawings, or even a hand of blackjack in Vegas; in general, I lead a very lucky life. Take my dating history, for example. Whenever a relationship ended, it simply ended. There were times after a break-up that I’d daydream about the guy trying to win me back. It never happened. I often felt defeated, thinking maybe I just wasn’t worth fighting for. Then I’d observe other women (or men) going back again and again to some jerk that treated...
My new dream job mostly turned out to be a big nightmare. The possibilities of a new future were there, of course, along with all of the standard challenges you would expect from starting any new job. Change is hard. It’s scary. It’s uncomfortable. It makes you feel vulnerable and insecure. To get by, I just continued living in the future instead of the present; thinking if I pushed through the hard times, it would eventually be right. I was coming up on my 5th year in practice, and I was sure that at year 5 it would all become clear. ...
This photo has nothing to do with this post, but it's my blog, so I can do whatever I want, right? I took this photo while on a walk today. Boone's Tavern in Denver. Once I found my dream job, I eagerly threw myself into my work. I had so much new stuff to learn, and so much to unlearn. I had a mentor right there on the spot, and he spent hours teaching me what he knew. He filled my head with new ideas and thoughts of a bright future and all of the great things we could do...
As I mentioned last week, work stress really started taking its toll on me. For the first few years, I was distracted by friends, a new lifestyle, and dating. Back in dental school, most of my friends were guys. They often shared funny dating stories and jokes about how every 28 year-old woman wanted to get married. They were fine dating 27 year-old gals, but those 28 year-olds were on a mission, and these guys wanted no part in it. I laughed right along with them and made fun of how desperate these women seemed. That was never going to...
As dentistry and I started to spend all of our time together, I was forced to face our compatibility issues. As the relationship grew, more red flags appeared. The days of leaving work at work were growing more sparse. The daily stresses were following me home and keeping me up at night. I was suddenly investing as much time in worrying about my work as I invested in studying when I was in school. Payday became the best day of the month, as it was my way of consoling myself over the realization that maybe I wasn’t in love. It...
I recently came across a great post written about dental humor and the internet. Why do I think it was great? Well, because it was about me, of course! No really, while that’s partially true, I wanted to thank The Curious Dentist for what he had to say. The article wasn’t entirely about me, but was mostly about dental humor and its viral nature these days. Instead of regurgitating what he said, I’ll let you see for yourself. (more…)
It was July 17, 2001: the day we officially met for the first time. It was our first real date and the day my budding romance with dentistry began. Everything was new and exciting. There was no time to notice any red flags because I was too taken by the potential of how amazing my new life would be. Our 10-year relationship was off to a great start, and I looked forward to the long life we would share together. During the initial phase of our courtship, dentistry showered me with a lot of wonderful gifts and unexpected attention. Life...
It was just another day in dental school. Another test in the big lecture hall where we had most of our classes. Total silence. Then, like a balloon popping, it burst out of nowhere. A very loud fart. Then total silence again. I flinched in my seat and stiffened up, visibly uncomfortable. “Don’t look around,” I thought to myself. “This is way too humiliating.” (more…)
I was surprised to find myself struggling to write this post about hating dental school. I know I hated a lot about it when I was there. When I sat down to write the last post, I found myself sifting through old photos and yearbooks, laughing, and feeling warm fuzzies. It was easy to write about what I loved. So I couldn’t wait to write about how much I hated it, thinking I would come up with some really rich material. But when I sat down to write it, the fire wasn’t there, and it was much harder than I...
