My Giant Soap Box

I have a soap box. It’s big. And I like to get up on it and announce to the world what I think and that I’m right. I have never been afraid to express my opinions openly, as I’m sure most people know. In fact, I’m kind of crazy in how set in my ways I am. And I’m not afraid to admit it. I have been trying to be more open as I’ve gone through college and medical school. I always try to be respectful of people’s opinions, no matter how ridiculous or strange I think they are. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Who am I to say what someone else should think?

As a liberal in a family of conservatives, I have had to learn to defend my political leanings. As a Mormon, I’ve had to defend my faith countless times. I don’t care if someone ridicules me for my faith or my liberal ways because it’s not something I can change in someone else. If someone wants to have a civil conversation with me about my political or religious beliefs, I’m happy to do so. Even if, at the end, we have to agree to disagree. However, there is one place I draw the line. (It’s soap box time!)

As a woman entering the medical field to become a doctor, I shouldn’t have to defend anything I do. My life choices are just that: MINE. My passion for medicine and helping people -- a.k.a. my career choice -- should not be subject to derision by those who think they know better than I do.

So, pardon me for choosing something that will make me happy. Pardon me for attending a university that I like and that I respect for their dedication to students and patients. And heaven forbid that one day I marry, have children, AND plan to work too! I won’t apologize for being who I am. The last thing I want to be is untrue to 1.) myself & 2.) to what I want to become. There are days when I wish I could be content to do something else. Maybe I could be happy somewhere else. Maybe I’d be able to go to my friends’ weddings instead of having to study all weekend. Maybe I’d be able to see my family and friends regularly. And you know what, I would probably be just fine.

Here’s the catch. If I were anywhere but where I am right now, I can confidently say that I wouldn’t feel as fulfilled as I do right now. I’m living my DREAM! You know, the one I’ve had for years. I want to yell at certain people and say, “How dare you try to take this away from me?” And when my friends and family support me so much, I can’t stand it when people try to convince me that what I'm doing is "so wrong for me."

I truly admire people who can do the things I can’t, both in their career choices and their family lives. But right now, I’ve chosen to advance my career because I’m not going to sit around and wait for something or someone to happen to me. I’m going to move forward and become someone worth loving or worth even being with. And if that liberal hipster Mormon boy ever comes along to sweep me off my feet, then maybe I’ll be ready and I’ll be the person I should be. But, again, I’m not going to just sit around and wait for him to get here before I become who I want to be. He can join me for the ride if he really wants me.

So that’s my soap box. I’m off now. And I’m going to go study and pass my classes. So I can be this jerk’s doctor one day. And save his life. Perhaps then he’ll realize what he said was foolish and conceited. And that I meant it when I said, “I’m going to be a doctor. And I’ll be a good one.”

Apologize? For being me? Clearly, you don’t know who I am. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.