Lean In

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

That is the essence of Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I read this book recently and it resonated strongly with me. 

I HIGHLY recommend both men and women to read it (or watch her TEDtalk, in a pinch). 

This book is not written as a self-help book. Instead, Sandberg writes it as if she is sharing her life and experiences with you. She shares trends she has observed and, in some cases, has broken. Sometimes she uses statistics or other known facts to back up her observations and conclusions, but it never turns into a "do this now and change your life rant". Instead, she provides guidance, insight, and ideas, often times throwing humor into the mix. While she talks a good deal about women in the workplace and how to help them pursue their full potential, she also addresses men. 

Throughout the book, Sandberg identifies problems and offers remarkable insight into the different situations women face in the workplace, and how both men and women can help improve the situation. 

She discusses how to "sit at the table" (joining the conversation and getting your voice heard), mentorship for young women in the profession, how men and women need to work together (from the workplace to friendship and marriage). 

A large subject that Sandberg addresses is how women hold themselves back. While the wage gap between men and women still exists (a whole different can of worms), women are less likely to fight for a fair wage, for the fear that they may been seen as an aggressive b---h. Women are more likely to put themselves in a corner during a meeting instead of sitting at the table and voicing their opinions. Women are less likely to apply for a new position or promotion. They are also less likely to talk themselves up and make their accomplishments known. They fear that they would look self-centered and aggressive. Or that it would disrupt family life. That the risk wouldn't be worth the reward. 

We could sit here all day and discuss why many women think that way. Mind you I said many, not all.

After reading this book, I recognized times when I have sat in the corner and sat at the table. I recognized when I leaned out or leaned in. Through reading this book, I recognized that when a window of opportunity presented itself this year, I chose to lean in and not look back. 

While working as a graduate assistant athletic trainer discovered that I did not want to continue that career path.  (Disclaimer: The athletic training profession is still very important and I respect it greatly). At first, it was shocking, as I thought I had a pretty good plan laid out for my life when I graduated college. However, God opened my eyes to what path I should take, and after graduating this spring, I decided to pursue it. Now, instead of going into a full time athletic training position following grad school, I'm taking the year to apply to physical therapy school. This means taking more prerequisite courses, moving back in with my parents, and working part time at multiple jobs. 

For a little while, I felt like I was taking a step backward. I now realize that I did not. Shifting my course means taking the necessary steps. This year is required to get me where I need to be. And the best part? I'm truly happy where I am. 

Until next time... 

M

(PS. Read the book!) 

Let Go. Let God.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 

I’m constantly telling myself “Let Go, and Let God” and I truly believe in the value of working to follow those words of wisdom.  That being said, I will be honest: that is much easier said than done.  However, I also know that it’s worth it and I will be a happier person if I learn to listen to my own advice.  Sometimes being type A is all fine and great, but other times it proposes an added challenge.  It means that letting go of control is harder.  It means that I like to plan and have things all mapped out.  As much as my worldly brain makes me want to make all the decisions, understand all the hard stuff, and plan out the future, I am thankful that I don’t have to sit here with the worries of the world on my shoulders, because I know God is in control.   Sometimes I just need to remind myself that I don’t have to have it all planned out, because HE already does.  I think it’s important to remember that “letting go, and letting God” does not mean totally sitting on the sidelines.  To me, it means seeking God in everything, allowing yourself to be a little vulnerable, but it does not mean blindly walking through life and hoping for the best.  Instead, it means learning to listen, to follow, to trust, to hope, to have faith, and to ultimately keep God as the cornerstone and source of guidance and direction in every aspect of life. 

And so I leave you with this.  Let Go. Let God. 

-Fo

The Idiot I Met Today

Okay.

You all probably read the title of this post and thought "Woah, Molly. Isn't that a little harsh?" 

No. Actually, it isn't. I'll explain why. 
(Warning -  I'm mad, and when I'm mad I get fiery and sassy. Read on at your own risk.)

I'm taking a math course as a prerequisite for physical therapy school. This is where I met Mr. Idiot. 

This guy is probably around my age, maybe slightly older. All I know about him is that he moved to Michigan from California around May, and his job involves selling things. Still, even from meeting him briefly last week, I kind of felt like he was a sketchy guy (I tend to trust my intuition, as it has rarely steered me wrong). Well, today I found out why my intuition was correct. 

Mr. Idiot, myself, and two other guys were at my table doing group work, when Mr. Idiot (on my right) says to the guy to my left , " Hey dude, I've got to go to Nashville, MI today, but I have no clue where it is." 

I laughed and replied, "Well, its pretty much in the middle of nowhere." Yes - I've been there, mainly in high school for sporting events. Its a very rural area.

Mr. Idiot perked up, and then said this completely serious, but oh so intelligent statement (hint -- sarcasm): 
"Oh, the middle of nowhere? That's cool, maybe I can hustle them a little bit - make a little more money - because you know, people out there don't tend to be very educated."

BOOM. 
Red flag shot up. 
AND I instantly disliked this guy. 
While sitting there in my jean shorts and cowboy boots (ironic, I know) I replied, obviously annoyed: 
"Well, I'd beg to differ on that one, considering I'm also from the middle of nowhere." 

Mr. Idiot just looked at me, somewhat surprised, and said "Oh." (SUCH a mature response), then looks to they guy at my left and says: 
"Yeah dude, I had to go to Richland yesterday, and made like 1500 bucks. I was pretty happy because even though I stopped at 4 places, 2 places kicked me out."

Well, I wonder why they might've kicked you out - think they might've seen you as a sleazeball, like I do now? 

Sadly, my professor stopped the group work and continued class, so I couldn't rip him a new one without disrupting everyone (For the record - I thought about it). Or shove my boot up his -- well, you get the idea. And I decided I liked my boots way better than him, so I didn't want to ruin them. 

Here's what I would've liked to tell him:
First, what the hell makes you believe that just because someone lives in a rural area, they probably have a lesser education? If you think you can treat people poorly and do business in an immoral way, just because you're selling to people in the "country", you're the biggest idiot of them all. 

Let me give you a little background information on these "uneducated" country people you're talking about, if you want to strictly talk about schooling:

• Hi, I'm on of them. I have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and plan to pursue my doctorate in physical therapy within the next year. Since I grew up in the country does this make me uneducated? Hell. No.
• My sister has a bachelors degree, and has started to work toward her master's degree in nursing. Since she grew up in the country, is she uneducated? Nope. 
• My parents - who chose to live and raise their children in the country - both have bachelors degrees. And my mother was also born and raised in a very rural area. Are they uneducated? No. 
• Our neighbor down the street is a dentist. Yes, you have to go to dental school for that, in case you didn't know. Its called an education.
• Let me list for you what my "country" friends have become, or are in the process of becoming: A veterinarian, teachers, nurses, Division I athletic trainers, physical therapists, doctors, successful salesmen, engineers, occupational therapists, accountants... Oh and many more, I don't want to bore you with all of their accomplishments.

Being from the country, I see its good and bad parts. And in my opinion, the good outweigh the bad.  Mr. Idiot - this is what you don't understand about the country:

• While some people in rural areas may lack to opportunity for further education, the same issues regarding that come up with those residing in a city. 
• Being from a small town, you understand what its like to have a sense of community.
• Growing up in a small country town taught me how to appreciate and enjoy the little things, and the big things. It taught me how to look for opportunities, and cherish them when you find them.
• In a small town, morals and character are harder to hide (ya know, how everyone knows everyone). People talk, word gets around. I don't think you'd last very long in a small town, Mr. Idiot. 
• MOST IMPORTANTLY: Some of the kindest, most loving, strong, and smart individuals I know are from rural, small town USA. Yes, maybe some of these people don't have any advanced degrees. But that doesn't decrease their intelligence or compassion, their strength or their wisdom. These people know how to truly connect with others, solve problems, work with people, and do what is right. They have big hearts.  Even the most advanced formal education can't provide you with that. 

DEEP BREATH

Okay everyone, my rant is done. For now. I obviously have a bit of pride for where I come from, don't I? I'm sure some of you disagree with me, or think I'm being dramatic. Feel free to argue or challenge me, I don't care. It won't change the way I feel.

(As a disclaimer: I don't love any of my friends and family from cities and suburbs any less, I was just making a point. You're all amazing people, and I love you all to pieces.) 

Thanks for listening folks.

M

Thinking You're Thinking Clearly....

     Well, as Fo told you early last week, she had a small accident. Okay, more like a major sports injury that turned life topsy turvy on her. In typical Fo fashion, she's been handling it with an upbeat attitude, and has been remarkably optimistic and good spirited through the whole thing. I'll get more into the our post-surgery adventures with her later. 

     First, I'm going to rewind to the night before the injury. Since we hadn't hung out in awhile, Fo and I decided to go out for some appetizers and drinks (and if we met some cute guys in the process, kudos to us). We went to a local bar/restaurant called "The Beer Exchange". Lets just say Fo had her sassy pants on, and had some pretty hilarious quotes during the course of the night. 
The first came when we were trying to get some seats together at the bar, and with only one open, we were kind of squished in between people. Somehow we got on a subject to make her say: 
             "I should wear a scarlet A for Awkward." 
     Now, that's a take on The Scarlet Letter I haven't heard before! Obviously, we both started hysterically laughing. Good thing the people beside us didn't mind. The second came when I had her try an IPA I ordered
            "They make me want to scratch my tongue off!" 
     Clearly, she hates IPAs. One of the best moments of the night came when we realized there was a baby, in/at the bar. Carried in a baby carrier, by the dad. The dad was just walking around with his party, going up the the bar and ordering drinks, all with baby securely attached to his chest, and its head covered by it's blanket. (YEAH, it was weird). After an hour of this nonsense, Fo says what everyone is thinking: 
            "I can't believe that guy is here wearing his baby!" 
     (OK, reading that quote makes it not seem as funny now, but I guess you had to be there). Then, we went to the other bar downstairs, where she made me finish her drink (a.k.a. drink it all), and I made her drive home. 

    NOW... Fast forward to this past Thursday, which was Fo's surgery day. I drove up to her house to see her and help her out. Her mom was there as well, but was leaving the next day to start getting ready for the upcoming Texas road trip. She was really chatty and acting pretty much normal, despite the enormous splint on her foot/leg. Fo was convinced that the pain meds had no weird effects on her (HA...). Well, we'd see that change the next day. 

     The next day, Fo woke up feeling pretty good, and since both her and I had some errands to do, we went out on a small adventure. Fo was pretty worried that she will get out of shape during this whole process, but after crutching a block and a half to get to HopCat for lunch, she decided her arms and left leg were going to be pretty buff by the end of it. 

     You're probably wondering how the title of this post works in. Well, "thinking you're thinking clearly" is exactly what Fo was like on her pain meds. She felt normal, but she wasn't quite acting like it. The meds essentially made her very chatty, and dissolved the filter between her brain and mouth. Yes, pretty much everything she was thinking was blurted out, including "The pain meds don't do anything to me. I feel fiiiine!" Sure... 

               (This was elevation. "It feels good! And it's good for me!")

                        ("I'm just getting my shoes!" Yes, I can tell.) 

     Just for the record, Fo did admit the next morning that the pain meds, especially when taken on an empty stomach, made her feel loopy. All in all though, Fo was fun to hang out with/take care of, whether she was drugged up or not. ;) And being her chauffeur was also pretty amusing. 

     On another note, my weekend was a bit more than playing "nurse". I ran The Color Run Saturday morning, with a great group of people. It is touted as "the happiest 5k on the planet", and I'd have to agree. It was a blast! We were all a big mess of colors by the end of it. For me, I was mainly purple. 

     That night, I went to a Detroit Tigers game with my sisters and cousins. Once again, it was an awesome time. I hadn't been to a game in a couple of years, and this was a great one to see - playing AL Central rivals, the Chicago White Sox. 

It was a beautiful night for a game.

     Before we went into the park, we saw a newlywed couple and their wedding party taking some unique pictures outside the gates. Now, that is a great idea for wedding photos (that is, if you're both Tigers fans). 

     I hope you found this post entertaining (despite it being on the long side). I'm sure one of us will write soon. After all, Fo is down in Texas for a wedding right now, and I'm sure she'll have some good stories for us when she gets back. 

Blessings,

M

“I didn’t sign up for this…”

I WAS going to post about the lovely creepy, crawly critter I found in my bathroom, and the trauma it caused me (yes, I was ridiculously dramatic upon sighting and proceeded to have nightmares and feel like things were crawling on me all night).  That is until life decided to laugh at me and give me something actually traumatic to write about…. 

It’s funny, before any of my soccer games I tend to have an image of myself getting hurt and before my most recent game I imagined myself having to walk down the aisle of my friend’s wedding with an injury.  Little did I know, this time my wandering mind was more of a premonition.  

 

After 19ish years of playing soccer, I guess it was time for me to pay my dues. The interesting part is the mechanism of injury.  I wasn’t slide tackling, no foul play, instead it all just came down to the “luck” of physics.  I stepped or twisted or did something along those lines and gravity took care of the rest, complete with a nice loud CRACK!  I may have said a less than nice word right about then…
 

On a lighter note, or perhaps a higher note, I learned that I can be quite entertaining when sedated.  They had to reduce my ankle before splinting it because it was dislocated so they gave me a sedative, which puts most people to sleep.  Not me!  Instead, when they told me to start counting down from 100 I did… however, they did not expect me to get all the way to 0, at which point I began counting forward again until they finally told me I probably didn’t have to count anymore.  Apparently I also made some pretty awesome faces, told them about getting my wisdom teeth out, and at one point exclaimed, “I did not sign up for this!” while shaking my finger (yea, definitely don’t remember that part).  Afterwards the PA told my mom that I was hilarious and didn’t stop talking the entire time and that she had never seen anyone count all the way down.  Glad I could at least at some entertainment to their evening shifts.

 ---> Fractured fibula, dislocated ankle, torn deltoid ligament ---> bring on the surgery.

I will admit it has been a bit of a roller coaster couple of days, but all in all I’d say my spirits are pretty high.  I was seriously bummed when I realized that not only would I not be starting my clinical this week, but I won’t be starting it for at least 6 weeks because I have to be full weight bearing first.  It’s upsetting, but it makes sense.  I would rather have a quality clinical experience even if it means we have to get creative with the timing of it.  I’m just really bummed because I was really excited about my placement and having a whole semester of clinicals.  I’m lucky to have such great clinical coordinators who make the whole processes easier for me.  I am also once again feeling ridiculously thankful for my parents.  My mom has been so great, even though I feel really bad asking for things. This whole experience would be a lot more difficult without her.  That’s the other thing about my clinical, there would be a LOT of obstacles I would have had to work out to start any time soon, but instead I can just focus on getting better.  I know it will all work out.

Back to my parents being wonderful, when I talked to the doctor I was really stressed about my upcoming trip to Texas.  I am in a wedding on August 10^th and was supposed to fly down on the 7^th.  Seeing as I am having surgery on Thursday, this was going to be difficult partially because I was going to be by myself but also because the plane would be ridiculously uncomfortable and wouldn’t allow me to elevate my leg or anything.  So instead my mom and I will be driving down over 2 days.  Yes, this will be a much longer journey overall but we can take breaks and I can sit in the back with my foot up.  I think God had this all planned out already when he had my parents get a new car very recently.

I won’t lie, having a bum leg is frustrating, but it’s not the worst thing in the world.  One blessing of PT school is that it has provided me with a lot of valuable perspective.  Maybe God just wanted me to have a little break.  Maybe he wants me to take a look around and appreciate all that I do have.  Maybe he wants me to stop complaining about stupid things like how I look and start appreciating my health and all the gifts he has given me.  Maybe this is meant to be a learning experience to make me more empathetic towards my future patients.  Sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to, but often times that is when we learn the most.

It’s going to be an interesting next few weeks.  Thanks for all the support so far, continued prayers for healing, a safe trip to Texas, figuring out my clinical situation, and for my sanity when I’m stuck being way less active than I would like to be are much appreciated.

Now go do me a favor and go for a run, walk, bike ride, or anything active for me.  I will sit here and bounce my beautiful niece to keep up my arm strength instead ;)

Oh and one more word of advice:

-- Always shave your legs before athletic events (whoops)

-- And have pretty painted toes to liven up a splint ;) (nailed it!)

-Fo