September 2023 marks 10 years of my blog Connecting the Dots. I started the blog in 2013 to document my experience in the Peace Corps in Paraguay. When I finished my Peace Corps service in April 2016, I had already formed the habit of writing and decided to keep going to share my experience of becoming a physician. Some months and years I’ve written more than others as my life unfolded this past decade. My blog has documented my time in post-bacc and as an EMT as I strived to build a resume strong enough to get into medical school. The blog was a constant as I trudged my way through 4 years of medical school. And now, after 10 years blogging, I’m 2 months into residency.
I’ve periodically wondered if I should stop blogging. Life reflection/journal blogs like mine aren’t designed to become highly successful or business ventures like other types of more broadly relevant blogs. But I keep blogging both out of a love for the writing process and because my journey has been a unique one. I suppose a key lesson that the Peace Corps and then medicine have taught me is that every human has a one-of-a-kind story that if given the opportunity to be documented as a movie or book could be the next blockbuster/best seller. Most folks, however, will lead their amazing lives and die without much of a trace. My posts about people I’ve met and lessons I’ve learned are my way of remembering all the lives I’ve intersected with as I trundle along my life journey.
The warm welcome I received in Paraguay as a Peace Corps volunteer gave me an opportunity to learn about a culture different from my own and to make life-long friends with individuals who I could not have imagined if I never did the Peace Corps. Similarly, the experience of being a doctor gives me a window into countless lives that are nothing like my own. Medicine, above all, has taught me that there is nothing as fantastic, comical, tragic, beautiful, and surprising as real people’s stories. I’m often reminded that as outlandish as any fiction story might be, reality is more extra and harder to believe.
Just like when I started my blog 10 years ago, I don’t know where I’ll be in 10 years. Reading some of my first posts, it is amazing to me how far I’ve come. I’m sure the next decade will be equally full of surprises. I can’t wait to reflect on the inevitable unforeseen events to come and then write about the highlights.
To those who have read my blog for a while, thank you for your unwavering support. To new readers, thanks for stopping by to sample and for considering future readership.
Here are some of my favorite posts over the years (I’ve left many out for brevity):
Getting Ready for Departure – DC Chapter, 12/8/2013, on leaving DC, the city I went to undergrad and built my first career, for the Peace Corps
Ideal Boyfriend, Ideal Girlfriend, 11/10/2014, quotes from the 7th – 12th graders I taught in Paraguay describing their ideal life partners
White, 12/12/2014, on being the only white person in my Paraguayan community
Crosses in the Sand, 8/6/2015, on a uniquely Paraguayan form of ant control
Overheard In Paraguay: Friendship, 10/19/2015, on friendship that last forever
Guardian Angel, 1/23/2016, on feeling cared for
See You Soon Dearest Paraguay, 4/11/2016, on finishing my Peace Corps service in Paraguay
Determination: 2 Girls, 1 Hill, 1 Tree, and 1 Ladder, 11/12/2017, on childhood and the nature of determination
Christof, 6/25/2018, on kindness and thinking of others
Below the Surface, 12/28/2018, on returning to Paraguay and learning an unexpected lesson
Q-tips and Time, 5/16/2019, on how our perception of time changes as we age
True Love, 7/27/2019, on true love as witnessed in the ED
Memory, 5/24/2020, on thinking about how memory works
Goodbye For Now Vermont, 3/21/2021, on moving out of Vermont (again) and reflecting on my time there
A Cup of Coffee, 10/24/2021, on acts of kindness witnessed in the hospital
Together, 1/7/2022, on working as part of a diverse medical team
Echoes from the Third of Medical School, 4/12/2022, on finishing my third year of medical school
Windows to the Soul, 9/6/2022, on caring for critically ill patients
Nothing to Do but Be Happy, 2/14/2023, on waiting for medical school to end while spending a few months in Puerto Rico
Goodbye Danbury, 4/15/2023, on my time in Connecticut
What do you want to be when you grow up?, 5/25/2023, on becoming a physician
Connecting the Dots 