It's About the Journey

New Look, New Outlook

2011-11-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

So I realize it's been an extremely long time since I posted anything on my blog. In fact, I only thought to return to it after some thought, and a suggestion made in the social media lecture of my Practice Management class. One of the many suggestions they made, was maintaining a blog to help make connections and provide a place for your patients to 'meet you before they meet you' so to speak. So I thought, well I already have a blog, so why not try making it work again. So here I am.
When I first returned to my blog, I couldn't believe it had been close to 2 years since I wrote in it last! It doesn't feel like that long ago I was a first year student at CCNM, just trying to figure everything out. Now I am almost halfway through third year, and anticipating entrance into clinic in about 6 months! Man how time can fly! So, basically my hope is to make more regular contributions to my blog, maybe throw in a few things a little more health related, and just find out if writing in a blog works for me.

Hope you enjoy reading :)

You know school is taking over your life when...

2010-02-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the end of February, and it has been almost two months since I last posted. This is a fairly good indication that school has hijacked my life, and does not plan to give it back very much in the near future. We just finished our second set of midterm exams this past week, and in another 6 and a half weeks we will write our finals! This will signify the end of our first year of Naturopathic Medicine at CCNM. This term has brought on even more class time (just when you thought it couldn't get more intense than it already was ;P) and even less time to get all of our work done in! Some days, I honestly ask myself "why? why, am I doing this to myself again?" and then I remember that I have to jump some hurtles first, before I can get to where I am going.

Interestingly enough, the Olympics in Vancouver have been a source of inspiration for me these past two weeks. Seeing our athletes compete so hard, and being shown their different stories of hardship and triumph that brought them to the games made me realize that there is something very similar at the core of what the athletes are doing, and what I am trying to do. They have been training and preparing on so many levels for at least 4 years (often more) in order to get to the games and give the performance of their athletic careers. For me, I am only beginning my long trek of four years and there are bound to be some unforeseen obstacles along the way. However, I believe that like many of our athletes I will be able to rise to the challenge and succeed in the end. I also know I have a lot of support behind me, much like the Canadian athletes, and of course I am always grateful to you all! For your thoughts, your prayers, and your words of encouragement :)

So thank you, all of you, who make keeping going possible when things get tough!

I look forward to seeing all your smiling faces when I cross that finish line :D Only 3 and 1/4 left to go!

First Term Complete!

2009-12-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, my very first term of Naturopathic Medicine is finally complete! A very satisfying thing to say :) Especially since during finals (9 exams in 7 days), it almost felt like it would never end so this holiday period I am making the most of doing a whole lot of next to nothin' ;)

I know that deep down I am still loving what I am doing, but after a ridiculous, emotionally and mentally draining exam period I can't help but think at least a little bit 'What the heck have I gotten myself into?' I know at the end of the day I will get through it, but it was really tough and I know I wouldn't be able to do it without all the help and prayers from my family and friends so thank you to all of you who keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I don't know how well I did yet, and probably won't know until the New Year so for now I am just not going to worry about it and continue enjoying my R n R while I have it.

And on that note, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and may 2010 bring much happiness and joy :)

See you in the New Year ;)

Hey I've actually learned something!

2009-12-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening I went to see the holiday play put on by the 4th year students. This is something that the graduating class has been doing for a number of years now to raise funds for their end of the year graduation formal. This year's play was around the story of Rudolph the red nose reindeer, except with a naturopathic twist ;P. Now I am sure you are all familiar with the story of Rudolph, but did you know it was actually Herbie the elf who really saved Christmas that snowy Christmas eve?

Well you see, Herbie wanted to to be a Naturopath. So as Herbie realized more and more that she (Herbie was played by a girl in this play b/c over 70% of our student body is female) didn't fit in with the other elves who ate sugar all the time and made toys, she set out to find other misfits like her. This is when she runs into Rudolph and they decide to set out together. Along their journey they run into Yukon Cornelius, who is a Naturopath searching for new herbs in the arctic tundra and tells Herbie all about CCNM. Of course Herbie is excited to hear about this and asks Yukon how to get there, and since he was heading that way himself, he says he will show them how to get there. So they set off together for CCNM. The rest of the play is full of various jokes about Naturopathy, being a student here at CCNM, an epic battle between the abominable snowman and Yukon Cornelius (which was probably the best part of the whole play), and of course Herbie saving Christmas by treating Santa and the elves at the North Pole as well as bringing Rudolph back to reconcile with his parents and build a healthy relationship with his bright red nose.

The most exciting part of the play for me was that I basically got all the jokes! Talking to some of the other first year students at the play during intermission I also realized that only 3 months ago I wouldn't have understood many of those jokes, and that's when it hit me.... Hey! I've learned something! which is really exciting right before exams ;P So for those of you who are also busy studying for exams right now and you feel like you know absolutely nothing, just stop and think about it for a second and I bet you'll realize you know a whole lot more than you think ;)

First Clinic Shadowing Shift

2009-11-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

So I realized today that I haven't posted anything new on my blog in quiet some time, what I didn't realize that quite some time was more than 2 months! Wow how time can really fly!

As you can guess I have been very busy with school lately. In the past two months I have had my first set of midterms here at CCNM (they don't believe in spreading things out here so we had all 8 of our midterms in 5 days), explored the city a little bit more, and made new friends :) However, what prompted me to end my hiatus was today's events which included mainly my first ever shadowing shift in the clinic here at the school.

As most first year programs of this kind, the majority of our time is spent sitting in class listening to lectures (approx. 32 hours/ week actually), so getting the opportunity to finally see some of what is to come is really exciting. This year is actually the first year the college has implemented a clinic course for the first year students, since most previous years students have commented how nice it would be to have a chance to get into the clinic sooner! So low and behold we get to have a six hour shadowing shift with one of the supervisors in our on campus clinic :)

I was scheduled for the afternoon shift today and had heard from some of my classmates that the afternoon shift can be slow sometimes because patients tend to come in earlier in the day or week. Fortunately for me I was pleasantly surprised with getting to sit in on 9 patient visits that were coming in for help with a wide variety of issues. There was a cancer patient who is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy who came into the clinic to do some adjunctive therapy to help boost his immune system in preparation for his next round of radiation, a woman who was kind enough to allow me to remain in the room while the intern (supervised by the supervisor I was following) performed a breast exam, and a few patients receiving acupuncture treatments for their various issues. Overall it was an exciting and overwhelming 6 hours. I learned so much, and marveled at the vast knowledge of the 4th year interns! I can only hope I will have that much information stored in my head by the time I reach my 4th year.

For now I must dive back into my books, but at least I got a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel :D

Welcome to CCNM!

2009-09-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well I have started orientation and class at CCNM now so I figured it would be a good time to show you around a little bit. Please take note of how many pictures I am including ;P (that's for a certain few who were unhappy with the lack of pictures currently in my blog). Above is my new room. It is quite a bit smaller than the rooms I have been accustomed to living in, but I am hoping with time I will adjust to it. The funny thing is my room is slightly bigger than most of the other rooms here in residence, so I was actually quite lucky! If I had any less space to work with I am not sure what I would have done :S

This next set of pictures (describing from top left to bottom right) show more of my room and the common area. In the first picture are my life saving bookshelves with doors from Ikea! Ikea is literally right across the road, I mean I can see it from my window! My Dad and I put the lovely shelves together when I moved in, but I put the second set of doors on all by myself!, and they have certainly come in very handy. In many ways they are my pantry more than anything else. Next in line is a picture of my "kitchen" and closet. I say kitchen because that shelving unit you see is where I house most of my kitchen stuff.

After that is the common room. This lounge area and the kitchen area below (which I prefer to call the galley) is shared by approximately 25 students. There are 4 such areas on each floor and about 100 students per floor. Meal times can be interesting, but so far it hasn't been to crazy. The picture of sandwiched in between the galley and lounge is of the patio! There is one of every lounge and it is a very nice spot when the weather is nice. The patio also overlooks the courtyard, which is this wonderful little oasis of greenery and gardens accompanied by a man made pond with a little stream. Unfortunately I couldn't put any pictures of the courtyard up because I can upload anymore pictures to this post, but I will try to remember to include some in another post.

Well that pretty much concludes this little tour, but of course you're welcome to come see it for yourself anytime because visitors are always welcome :)

Definitely Not in Kansas Anymore

2009-09-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

It's now official. I have moved all my stuff from Waterloo to Toronto as of September 1st.

So what's next?

Well, class doesn't officially begin until Tuesday which means I have had a lot of time to kill. I have spent two nights now in my new place and it still feels pretty foreign, not to mention much smaller than I'm used to. I have done some of the preamble (getting some books, getting my new student id card, etc.) but it still feels kind of distant as though I am going through familiar motions that aren't that familiar at all.

Change is a funny thing, some deal with it very well, in fact they thrive on it; others dread it much like the plague (can you guess which camp I belong to? ;P). However we deal with change, eventually we all have to do it. Traditionally, change makes me want to run and hide someplace where it can't find me. As I transition into this next phase of my life, I realize more that this really isn't the most effective coping mechanism and so I must strive to change my reaction pattern. My hope is that with time things will work themselves out. Who knows, I may even come to love my new home almost as much as my old one.

I guess all that's left is to wait and see how things unfold as I begin to explore this big new world, and hope and pray for the best. So here is to the beginning of a new chapter in my journey! Hopefully full of more joy than bumps on the road :)

An awesome read even if you aren't fat!

2009-08-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

This book was one of the best birthday presents I received this year. I just finished it, and I highly recommend it to everyone, whether you are fat, thin or somewhere in between! The main audience the authors are writing this book for is definitely fat people (Note: I don't mean fat in a derogatory sense, and if you read the book you will understand that a bit better). However, I think the lessons they emphasize are really good lessons for anyone to learn or simply be reminded of.

Some of the poignant themes I took away from this book were: accepting yourself as you are, finding good people (friends and partners) to share your life with, that fat does not equal unhealthy all the time (remember the old adage correlation does not equal causation? think about it!), and stop judging (myself and others). Now I am sure some, if not most, of you are thinking hold on there is so much evidence out there of how bad being fat is for an individuals' health and the obesity epidemic is hugely taxing on the health care system. When I first heard of this book I would have agreed with that statement without hesitation, that's a no brainer. This book gives a great review of this literature and how the obesity epidemic is really not as big as the media makes it out to be. Now obviously I don't advocate going out and stuffing your face with high fat/high sugar foods and never leaving your couch again because it's ok to be fat, what I am saying is that there is a lot of variety out there and it isn't impossible for a fat person to be healthy if they exercise and eat well.

If this seems all wrong and totally backwards to you, that's ok it did to me at first too. Just take a deep breathe and think about this for a second. Let's say you had a son or daughter and they were a little heavier than most kids. Now in today's society we're taught from a very young age that being thin is the way to find happiness and fulfillment in life, so that means that kids are learning at younger and younger ages to hate their bodies and themselves if they don't fit this ideal. Now let's say your child learns all of this and is so unhappy with how big they are that they decide to go on a fad diet (which never actual works) and exercise a lot (beyond what's safe or healthy). Obviously, any parent would be upset to see their child unhappy, so why don't we try to change this message for future children? Why not have a message of love and self acceptance no matter what your natural body shape and size is?

Again, by advocating for love and self acceptance I am not advocating unhealthy behaviours. I would also like to point out that you don't have to be fat to be unhealthy because there are thin people who participate in just as unhealthy habits as fat people do. So when you have a chance, read this book, it might just change the way you think about fat in a good way!

As the countdown begins

2009-08-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

I just realized that today is exactly one month until I move to Toronto to begin the next big educational phase of my journey. 1 month! Where does the time go? So I thought I would start the first (of many I am certain) post about what the heck it is that I will be doing in Toronto.

Many of you know this, but for those who don't I am going to be beginning a four year Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in September. Just a few weeks ago, I received my first big information package! This was really exciting because it finally made things seem more real, like this is actually happening! (You would think all the money stuff I have had to do recently would make that sink in, but not really ;P) My favourite part of that package was a survival guide (yes that's the actual title) developed for my class by the NSA (Naturopathic Students' Association, which is our student body government). It contains so much information about what to expect, all I could do was read through it the first time. Of course the things I picked up on and got excited about right away was thinking about getting all my equipment (first stethoscope!), while glazing over the mountain of work I will be doing :D However, the second or third time helped that to hit home as well :S

So basically I am currently super excited about all the interesting and amazing things I will be learning, and the great people I will meet in the Fall. However, I am also terrified of the amount of work I will be doing pretty much all the time. Therefore, when you don't hear from me for long periods of time this coming year please understand it's not that I don't love hearing from you it's just school has taken over my life ;)

There you have it, now you can't say you haven't been warned :)

Why it's about the journey

2009-06-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been about a week since my very first post so I think I will take this time (now that I actually have it) to explain a little bit the name I chose for my blog. When I was first contemplating whether I was going to start a blog or not, I realized I needed to give it a title or name. I didn't want to give it something too cheezy, but I also wanted it to mean something as well. Thankfully my Dad helped me with that without even knowing it. Last week was my convocation, and as we all know graduations tend to come with cards filled with best wishes and advice. Well, one such card from my parents said this, "Enjoy the journey because it is the purpose!"
This often seems like an overstated and somewhat cheezy "line" if you will, but when you stop and think about it you realize we don't think about it enough. We all get caught up in the routine of day to day life. If you're a student, you're always thinking ahead to finishing the week, the term, the year, or the degree. I know I am just as guilty as the next person for falling into this trap, so I thought what a perfect way to remind myself (and hopefully others) to stop once in a while and just take it all in. Take those little moments in, that we too often take for granted.

Try and enjoy your journey, because really it's what you do along the way that matters.

My very first post

2009-06-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone and welcome to my blog :)

I have been tossing around the idea of starting a blog for a while now. At first I was totally against it, but after seeing how some of my friends kept up their blogs this past year and how great it was to be able to keep up with them, I decided it might be a neat experiment to try. As many of you already know, I just graduated from the University of Waterloo, so this Fall I will be moving to Toronto to start a new degree in Naturopathic Medicine at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Since I will be moving away from my home in Waterloo and many of my closest friends, I thought this blog might be a good way to keep everyone up to date on what I am up to.

I hope you all enjoy following along in my adventures with me.