There are 2 types of people in this world: those that talk the talk, and those that walk the talk. I’ve met a lot of both types in my life, and I’d be oversimplifying things if I said each person is entirely one or the other. There certainly were times in my life when I’ve just talked and taken no action to back the bull$#!+ that I was spouting. Heck, I could be doing it right now and don’t even know it! And I’m sure there were other times when my actions were right in line with my values and...
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...
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…)
It’s easy to look back on the past and see things we didn’t notice at the time. With so much wisdom we feel qualified to judge ourselves and challenge why we made certain choices– as if we should have known better. So I have to ask: is hindsight always 20/20? Are we really seeing more clearly, or is it just a way we skew things to prove to ourselves that we are smarter than we were before; as if that will justify any mistakes we may have made? I don’t know the answer, but I suddenly feel pretty qualified to...
One of the most common questions I often heard from patients was, “why did you choose to become a dentist?” It always made me smile because the question usually arose from different intentions. Many were simply curious and fascinated to learn how one falls into this career. They just wanted to get to know a little bit about me. Some were curious and fascinated because they always thought it would be so hard to “be in people’s mouths all day.” They admired my strength. Others, well, they were curious and fascinated because they found it unfathomable that anyone would even consider...
Five days ago I published a blog post that turned out to be, well, quite a surprise. I thought my 50 friends, family, and new blogging friends who followed me would see it, get a little chuckle, maybe comment and click the like button, and I would be on to the next post. Just as I have done for the past year. But I guess I said something that struck a chord. (more…)
An hour ago, this was me… And now this is the new me… I know, big deal– I cut my hair. But more than just my hair has changed. They say that when you want to change your life, you should drastically change your haircut. I’m not sure who “they” are, but since I quote them a lot, they must know something. (more…)
