My Passion

This post is long overdue! Exams were crazy and left me in a sleep deprived state that I have finally recovered from. I passed Histology and am still waiting on my Anatomy scores.

I have a ton of chores to get done while hubby is at work but first I wanted to take a moment to update my blog.

I was checking my facebook this morning and found myself thinking about what defines a person. It seems like a leap from looking at simple status updates and picture uploads but I realized that there are a few people in my life who are really passionate about certain things and it shows through on my news feed. I have a friend who runs a cake business (and is really good at it!). Almost all of her updates are about her cakes and it is obvious how much time she puts into it and how much she enjoys what she does. I have another friend who is very involved in anything to do with human rights. She goes to protests and monitors the news for stories of mistreated persons, often sharing them on her page. My dad is soon moving to Haiti to be a missionary at an orphanage/medical center. His posts are always about the kids there, finding sponsors for himself or prayer requests for people he knows are hurting (he also writes updates about my brothers and I since he loves us so much!). My point is, anyone could look at these pages and know what these people are passionate about. It makes me wonder what I am portraying my passion to be.

My updates are usually about medical school or my migraines. Now, I really like to keep people updated on what is happening in my life because I know that my family and friends are interested and concerned for me but I don't want to be known as the person who can only talk about her pain and studies. Yuck. What a boring person and not that much fun to be around. Now, I know facebook does not define who someone is and I know I am much more than my studies and migraines but thinking about it has really got me wondering: what is my passion?

I know I want to "help people" but lets be honest, that is a vague wish. It is impossible to help everyone so I know I need to find that one thing that really inspires me and concentrate on that. I spent Saturday morning in the student-run clinic which serves uninsured people, I loved it. But I also loved my time working with HIV positive teens and am looking forward to Tuesday when I will volunteer at a local high school, teaching students about HIV and other STIs. I am hoping to spend a couple weeks with my dad in Haiti this summer and have no doubt I will enjoy every minute of that experience as well. Everyday I see homeless people in my area and wonder how I can help them. The list goes on.

For now, I think I can explore each of these interests and enjoy each experience but I know that at some point I will have to define my passion for "people" into a more specific group. As a doctor I will end up serving a certain population and that will become the core of my passion. That doesn't mean from time to time I won't help someone outside that defined group. I know my passion for humanity as a whole will never fade. I just wonder sometimes which direction my life will take. Which small population of all those who need help will I end up serving? I have plenty of time to figure it out and it is nothing to really worry about, but is something I ponder none the less.

What is your passion?