inspired

In lieu of my pediatrics exam, I oft wonder what's the point of pretending to be interested in something you don't care anything about. Well in this case it's so I can actually pass this program, but in generalizing to reality, pediatrics will have no significance on what I intend to do later on in life (because it's boring and kids are evil except my kids who will be the personification of awesome at the same time as being little shits).

With monumental changes in my life such as living under the roof of my fiancee's house and slipping an engagement ring on her ring finger, I think of the future. I think of my future child and how he or she will rebel as children often do, opting to go for the path of least resistance instead of the road less traveled. He will want to be a professional gamer and be attached to XBox Live playing COD all day, and she will want to forgo her education in favor of the mall and all the material things she cannot afford on her part-time job at Cinnezeo. Like all parents, I will hound them and nag and scold, and they will hate me and call me by names more explicit than tyrant.

They will, eventually, find something that they are passionate about, and at that point I will let them go. I have begun to realize (in all my numerous, vast years of accrued sagacity) that when you truly love something with all your heart, it's so much easier to pursue it. This is no novel concept, but it doesn't mean that we don't have to emphasize it - it is true and it is important. For me it's like studying peds or studying neuro. For the latter I will spontaneously read the textbook like it's the latest Steig Larsson novel, for the former I dread including the course pack in my backpack. The point is that I think one of the great meanings of life is finding the thing that truly keeps you going day in and day out. It's finding out what is your passion, being inspired by it and continuously being inspired by it in your interactions with it.

I most recently witnessed this phenomenon in a lecture by a speech and language pathologist that came to discuss communication barriers with the aging population. I have never been so enthralled by a guest speaker - you could tell immediately that she was absolutely blown away by the work she does on a daily basis. She would go off on tangents from class material simply due to the fact that there were so many interesting things to talk about that you just HAD to venture off topic and talk about how cool this tangential concept was. She would use words like circumlocution and presbycusis and engram all in the same sentence as if they were old friends calling her out to play. The material she lectured about fascinated her enormously and in return, fascinated us.

I have never seen such life, energy, vitality for something and it changed something in me to go and attack what I want in life because that's the best way to be so in love with what that something is. For me, it will be seeking out all things neuro and embracing it in the same manner; I want to be inspired so that I can inspire others to be inspired and to do the same.

You know, hopefully my kids will see this and will follow my example. Here's to hoping, or else I'm going to have to pick up an XBox controller or my wallet to dole out cash for the things that they love. But honestly, whatever, so long as they truly love it.