I posted recently about finally graduating from grad school, again, and then I passed the boards. YAY! Today makes two weeks into my new job as a family nurse practitioner, and I can certainly say, that while it is challenging, and I have a LOT to learn, I kind of love it! I know, going from a job that I really never wanted to do again to one that I kind of love? Crazy. It makes me think that this whole journey may have ACTUALLY been worth it. I know I have a lot of growth ahead of me, and I have a lot to learn, but I am going to keep doing what I am doing, and try to enjoy the journey; if this beginning taste is an indicator of what is to come, I may have finally found the right career fit for me… and before I turned 40! HAHA!
Tag: all about me
all about me, near and dear
one month in… again
by duane • • 1 Comment
When I was in college (undergrad), my roommate Dennis was a vegetarian, and being extremely health conscious at the time, I thought that it might be an interesting option for myself, and so I decided to give being a vegetarian a try. I ended up lasting about two years before I had meat (I was vacationing in Europe, and the language barrier forced it on me!), and it was probably 7 years or so before I had beef again. Well, recently, I have been looking at my eating habits, and I have been wanting to make some changes, so I thought about going vegetarian again.
So… a month ago (actually, 32 days ago today), I decided to go vegetarian again. Now, some of you will be all “nuh uh, you’re cheating” about this, but I am actually more accurately described as pescetarian, because I am not excluding fish from my diet; note that many doctors try to get vegetarians to each fish because of the vitamins that only come from animals, and fish don’t have legs, so it is easier for some to eat them. I will admit that this recent decision is partly because of dietary choices, but there is a large component of my decision that stems from how animals that are harvested for their meat are treated before slaughter. I always knew that meat comes from something with a face and legs, but I have read a lot about how incredibly horrible some animals are treated, and as such, it just helped me make my decision for myself. I am not against anyone eating meat, that’s their choice, but I just wanted to stop being a part of it myself.
So there it is. One month in, and I feel great about my re-decision to go to life of vegetarianism (plus fish!). I’m actually glad that I decided to go back, because I did feel great being vegetarian before, and it was unbelievably easy for me to re-embrace the lifestyle. Seriously, have you had a veggie corn dog!? They are awesome! Other than that, being a vegetarian basically introduced me to the world of vegetables, and I am much more willing to try things now as a result. I used to shun anything green because I was raised as a “meat and potatoes” kid, but now, I can’t get enough of things like Brussels sprouts because I became a vegetarian. I am glad to get back to that too; eating more healthy is something that goes hand and hand with vegetarianism for me, and I am glad to be re-instituting that in my life.
I wanted to wait a whole month before saying anything about this on the blog, so as to show that I am serious about it. I am going to do everything I can to make this a permanent change in my life, which I know will only be the better for it (especially health wise). Hooray for vegetarianism and me, together again!
all about me, cream of the crop, hmm interesting, near and dear, that is so gay
flashback: first day of 6th grade all over again
by duane • • 4 Comments
I remember starting 6th grade very vividly; it was a new school, and a for me, it meant a whole slew of nervous breakdowns from your not-so typical adolescent. The summer before, I developed an eating disorder because of the level of anxiety I had about going to this new, much bigger school… I was afraid of the future, and unknowingly at the time, afraid of what I would be subjected to within the walls of this new school.
Turns out, the first days would set the stage for what I could come to expect from my fellow peers, which unfortunately remains a vivid memory to this day.
First days of class, teachers go through the roll for the first time, and as with my experience, there was no exception. However, this time, there it was: “Diane Moody. Diane? Is there a Diane in this class?”, the teachers asked, almost as if she were demanding the truth. “Um, that’s Duane.”, I replied, almost muffled by the chuckles from the entire class. “Oh, okay.”, she announced, moving on without a second thought.
Sigh.
Picture me, a pre-teen boy, much less than the “jock” that I clearly needed to be, in order to cover my obvious homosexuality, being called Diane in front of the whole class; naturally, I sunk deep into my chair with a clearly reddened face. I would only hope that this would be the last inference that I was a girl instead of a boy; but sadly I would be wrong. In fact, it sadly set the stage for the rest of my tenure as a student of the public school system. One could wonder if it was that moment that solidified those many taunts into the minds of my fellow classmates. Unfortunately, I would later find out that there was much more than a simple mistake that fueled such a vigorous need, that my classmates continually displayed, to continually tear me down.
Now, cut to this week; arrival in my anatomy lab. The professor announces that the quizzes from the previous week have been graded, and proceeds to call out names of the lucky recipients. And then, just as if time had reversed itself, there it was: “And last but not least: Diane Moody!”.
Lest my ears deceive me? There I was, in the 6th grade again… trying to escape the lifelong battle I have had with others using my homosexuality and lack of “appropriate” masculinity as means to ridicule and demean me; regardless of the fact, that if in this case, it was again, accidental.
Luckily, I am not that 6th grade pre-teen student; I am almost 30 years old now, and I am proud of my sexuality and of who I am.
“That’s actually Duane”, I replied. Quickly apologizing, I silenced his attempts to cover up his mistake, by simply stating, “Don’t worry, it isn’t the first time that I’ve been called Diane.”
With that, I took the power that others had wielded over me for so long, and put it in my back pocket; for good. Something about that really makes me feel better about having gone through what I did; if for no other reason than to finally put it to bed, for good.