Doctors

Last week, we had a speaker who is a medical doctor at a local hospital. Our assignment is to discuss the values our speakers talk about each week, but all I could think about last week was my own experience in a hospital, especially since the man mentioned he performs minor surgeries, such as gallbladder removals. I wanted so badly to raise my hand like a kindergartener and say, "Oh! I had that done just last April!" I remember my happy little visits, and I must say, I don't think I could ever be anything in medicine. I know it must take a lot of patience to go into that field. You must really want to help people to go that far for them. And you definitely have to be people person. I'm fairly certain if I walked up to a stranger with a scalpel and asked of I could slice them open, the answer would be a no. You have to have a personality with a confidence that your patients can feel and trust. My first surgeon ad to much confidence, though. After my gallbladder was removed, I was back in the ER two days later because of pain and dehydration, and no one took me very seriously until they did a CT scan and found a severe issue with my small intestine. A doctor or surgeon not only needs to be trustworthy, but trusting of his or her patients as well. And I know some people complain about minor things, and others like me don't complain about pain enough, so it's not easy to know how severe a case is. When I was transferred to Children's Hospital in Birmingham, my surgeon was calm and honest, and I trusted him immediately. Every doctor I dealt with was straightforward, and I liked that about them. I know it can't be easy for them, seeing so many people, answering all the questions with patients and families hinged on their every word. Hence the patience and trust. I don't remember the exact values our class speaker mentioned, but these two I know from my own experience.

Plan

I've never been good at planning. At least not the detailed part. This drove my mother crazy when I was younger. She'd ask, "When are you going over to Taylor's house?" and I would say, "Friday." Well, what time? I don't know! Sometime around 3, maybe! I think this suits me well enough, considering I'm an impulse person. I need wiggle room. I don't want everything written down, I want some things to catch me by surprise. However, I have a general idea of what I want for my life. As of right now, my plan is to find something I love, pursue a career in said field, get married, not have kids, and enjoy a life spent with another person whom I love as we spoil ourselves with vacations and adventures. But the issue is obvious: it's too vague! I have a 10 year plan with no 5 year plan. A destination without a map. For many, this is a recipe for failure. I have no real plan for a career or for college, only for how I want my life to be. And how I want my life to be seems a bit childlike, but I don't consider that a bad thing. Childlike is fun, childish is irresponsible. I want to be happy, and if I don't really plan on "settling down", then it's okay to not have a clear plan. I can do something for 15 years, then decide to go back to school and learn something new. Yeah, I know, selfish of me, right? Perhaps it is, but I just want to be happy.

Service

Last week, the president of Bank Independent spoke to my class about the ideals the employees of Bank Independent should have. He explained service, among other things, and how his employees always try to help customers as though they were family. This gave me an interesting idea of how I, as a Foodland employee, should try to treat my customers. I attempted to apply these methods at my own job. I was surprised to see that quite a few customers appreciated my efforts to seem pleased about my job. I greeted each customer with a smile and a friendly attitude, and I usually received a similar response. I think service is important, not only in a job, but just in every day life. Hold doors, pick up a dropped book for someone, smile at people, say "Hi", whatever. The things you do don't even have to deal directly with others. Pick up your own garbage, clean up after yourself, clean your own lint out of the dryer. And for Pete's sake, wash your own dishes at home so whomever you live with doesn't have to. If every person took this approach, I believe people would be..well, just better. Nicer, cleaner, more respectful. If every individual took it upon himself or herself to go the extra mile (or even extra foot), then people could get along and live peacefully. On a small scale, though, yes, I would rather talk to a person than a machine if I have a question, so go Bank Independent for your excellent service!