Monday, December 24, 2007

Semester in review


A week ago I sat at a restaurant for lunch with a few close friends. Three of us were nursing students. Over the semester we have bonded on a level very different than our peers. As 20 year olds we have seen and had to deal with things that most people do not have to deal with in their entire lifetime: The emotions that come with lifelong and sudden illnesses, the damage a silly accident can cause, caring for people who can not care for themselves. It is a total immersion intense learning experience.

I felt the urge to remark about our semester together. Here is the gist of my summary:
This semester has been the
hardest so far. It has been painful, intense, busy, but we learned a lot - and now it is over!

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Fighting a silent battle

No, this is not commendable like Ghandi. Instead I am referring to stabs using technology. Computers have killed our communication skills with each other and promoted passive aggressive behavior. In the past two months I have been frustrated, annoyed, hurt, and eventually humored by such trivial things as Instant Messenger away messages and Facebook statuses. Honestly...who would have thought? Whether it be painfully specific messages that I ask myself "why?" or impressively vague messages that my mind spins in the worst possible way, it is all in the shadows. You might not see anything going on face to face, smiles all around - but under the table there are these subtle stabs.

I have not done much better. While I chose not to "stoop to that level" I have successfully avoided confrontation. I excuse my behind the back talking to "getting it off my chest" and "venting" to friends that I trust. While this is necessary for emotional support and my own sanity, I'm not sure I can necessarily call it more mature. Here I am, again, talking about it - no matter how vague - online. One friend brightened my spirits by pointing out how humorous the situation really was. The passive aggressive behavior has pretty much subsided, as talk has passed from person to person, but it still bothers me. I do not even know if any of it was actually targeted at me. It is quite possible that I am just jealous and paranoid.

I am not proud of this.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Speaking of Judaism...

Today I sent in my application for my student visa...for entry into Israel. I was accepted into the semester long study abroad program at Hebrew University awhile ago. It is a special program tightly knit with Penn Nursing, so that I get all of my clinical requirements in. I have my flight set, my housing set, my program set. Now, I just need that official document.

Why Israel, you ask? Well, quite frankly, why not? No, unlike a large population of Penn, I am not Jewish and have no family there. But like I said, there is a special Nursing program offered. Penn Nursing only offers two semester study abroad options. One in England, and one in Israel. The England program, despite their keenness to high tea, was not my cup of tea. As the application deadline for study abroad in Israel came near, I realized I would regret it if I did not go. Studying abroad is one of the opportunities you can only experience in college. Sure, there is a travel advisory warning to Israel, but I am not worried. This will be a completely different culture and experience than I could ever imagine. The adventure will begin at the end of January. The anticipation is enormous!

Community

While shopping for our Secret Santa gifts in center city, a friend and I were intrigued by music playing in Rittenhouse Square. Naturally, we headed over to the park to see what was going on. As it turns out it was the second night of Chanukah. There was a tent designed as a dreidel, with traditional food being served out front. People gathered around to sing songs as the make-do electric menorah was lit. A Rabbi was present to say a blessing. Afterwards kids were invited into the dreidel tent to watch a video on Chanukah and play games. My friend and I stood a bit aback, taking all of this in, and neither of us could help but smile. While we are not Jewish, the sense of community shown at this very moment was moving.

It doesn't matter what you believe, community is extremely important to a person's well-being. My community is my friends. As we sat around the next day exchanging our Secret Santa gifts the same feeling came over me - but this community was my own. As we are all apart from our families in college, our friends become our family. Love was in the air. Friend love...the most important kind. With a genuine sense of caring for each other.

Man, I didn't mean to get sappy...