New Hobby

I need a hobby!! I've been told ever since I was 6 years old or so that I should grow up to be a writter. . .however my spelling is atrocious!!!! (Thank you soooo much spell check in Word - which is where I usually copy & paste my posts into before publishing them!!!). . .so I decided to take the "easy" road and become a doctor instead! (haha!)

Since my last post I've been very very very very very BUSY!!! I've been a pediatric resident working 80 hours a week in what is known as "one of the busiest pediatric residencies." I've learned sooo much - about medicine, children's health, parents, life, death, the unfairness of this world - and a whole lot about myself. I have sooo many stories. . .most of them I cannot repeat right now due to "patient confidentiality" - but many of them have touched my heart and are helping to shape the way I look at the world.

I have several things that I have definate opinons about - and funny stories about - so I'm borrowing from the title of the book/movie (which by the way, I NEVER READ or WATCHED nor am I planning or READING or WATCHING) because they kinda cover topics I've got thoughts about:

EAT.
I, like 78% of Americans ,struggle with "being a healthy weight." One of my big interests and something I'm considering specializing in is Childhood Obesity. I made a New Years resolution (like 43% of Americans) to work on my health this year. . .and like most people I didn't really formulate any plan. Last month I got to work in the "weight management" clinic (aka: Obesity clinic with a more PC name to not make kids feel bad about themselves) - and I had the most charming 5 year old girl as one of my patients. I was advising her on health choices, and amt of time for physical activity when I got around to asking her "so, what did you have for lunch 'Kimberly'?" She told me in detail what she had eaten . . .then turned the question back on me. . ."So Dr. Adkins, what did you have for lunch?" That single statement from that 5 year old girl has changed my outlook on things. I have decided to “practice what I preach.” Whatever I tell my kiddos to do, I am going to do myself! In my research about weight loss, it was shown that people who are open/accountable and who blogged about their struggles. . .please note that I am a REAL person who happens to have a medical degree – so I will promise to be truthful – and probably will be mostly funny about weight loss!!

PRAY.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Christian (or at least I hope they do!) I was raised VERY conservatively, attending church EVERY time the doors were open, was the champion at sword drills (explanation – ‘sword drills’ are where the Sunday school teacher would yell out a random verse like ‘Genesis 7:12’ and everyone would grab their Bibles and try to be the first one to find the verse), and got through my teenage and college years without any huge tragedy. I accepted everything as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad. . .then I became a physician and discovered “GREY”. I had to make ethical decisions on the spot that were REAL and out of all my years of going to church and studying the Bible and listening to sermons, I had never heard a sermon preached or a lesson taught that covered my dilemma. I couldn’t rely on my head knowledge of Christ – I had to truly seek HIM out and figure out what the best thing to do was. . .I’ve grown more in these past 18 months and yet now realize how much more I don’t know and how DEPENDABLE I am on Him.

LOVE.
Ha – this one is fun! There are many forms of “love” – I will save you the lesson, but just believe me there are! For instance – I LOVE my mom, I LOVE cookie dough, I LOVE the blanket Ms. Deanna made for me, I LOVE Chick-Fil-A, I LOVE massages from Chris (who is a lady who works at a massage parlor!!), I LOVE going to sleep without setting an alarm, I LOVE going to my aunt and uncles cabin, I LOVE talking to my friends on the phone, ect. . .you get my point! Also included in this section is going to be my funny stories about being a single and dating as 30 year old in 2011! (NOTE: yes, I am currently dating someone right now – which will likely make its way into the blog, but I have funny stories about ‘not so good’ dates!)

LAUGH.
My main mood is being happy and laughing. I survive my days because I can find humor in almost everything! This laugh section will probably find its way into the majority of my posts – because I’ve been told that I’m hilarious – especially when I’m not trying to be funny.

LIVE.
I see tragedy happen on a daily basis at work and in my own personal life – like everyone, I’ve got “a story” about my own personal tragedy – but I must say, if I hadn’t gone through the tough times, I really don’t think I would have enjoyed the good times quite as much. I truly do take the attitude that life if short – and we’ve got to celebrate the little things. I actually love doing “regular stuff” like going to the grocery store and washing clothes and talking on the phone to my grandmother. I also love to travel and see the world!

IN CLOSING
I’m not sure if it is my self-diagnosed ADHD or my sleep deprivation – but my mind is going 100 miles a minute ALL the time. . .and sometimes I just need to write. I will try to give a little word on my facebook page if/when I blog – but know that if I’m in a month where I’m working at the 80 hour limit, I likely won’t be blogging. I also can’t tell many of the stories from work because of HIPAA and patient confidentiality. ..but I can tell you about me and what I’m thinking – which could be pretty entertaining! Haha!