Tuesday, June 26, 2007

What's Wrong With Rain?

It's raining today. The weatherman on KRXO said that it is supposed to rain for the rest of the week. I love it. I've always loved rain, but I don't know why. I just love the rain. It gives me the same feeling I get after a good shower: clean and refreshed.

I just learned that there's going to be a negative curve on my organic chemistry final, but somehow I'm more content that it's raining than worried about my grade. Everyone here is in their own little world. There aren't many people on campus and that makes things a little less stressful than they are during the regular semesters. It's peaceful here.

Norman doesn't see much peace. It operates more like an ant colony. Everyone is on a mission and they don't really care what anyone else is doing. That's the thing about this place. Outside of Norman, the state operates at a slower pace. People work and go home to their families. They don't eat as much fast food. They befriend their coworkers and even go to church with some of them. In Norman, people run from place to place and you'll be hard-pressed to even get a nod of acknowledgement in passing. Don't get me wrong. Norman is nice, but I don't want to be here much longer. I'm giving the place about two more years of my life and then I'm off to another adventure.

Hopefully that new adventure will be medical school, but if that doesn't pan out I'll be a nomad for a while. I want so much to be a doctor, but with my grades as they are and the fact that I'm starting to burn out, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to last. My grades aren't poor, but they're average. I hate being average. Who wants an average doctor? I feel like this course is going to eat me alive. I've gained some weight in the past four weeks. I don't sleep well and that affects my study habits and my ability to concentrate in class. I haven't made time to work out and that makes me feel worse. I love excercise, but I've obsessed more about this course than my health. I feel like I've been trampled in a stampede and left for dead. I guess I could just lay here for a while, but I'm choosing to get back up because I hear the rumbling from a second stampede right behind me. I missed my chance at leading the first running, but maybe I'll get my chance in the second one.

It's still raining. It's funny to see those who left their umbrellas at home running on the sidewalks and crosswalks here. They act like getting wet will kill them; like it will somehow ruin their day. Those with umbrellas cling to them as they would life-preservers and make sure that their strides aren't too long so that the water dripping from their umbrellas won't get on their ankles. People are funny. Why don't they want to get wet? It's not like they won't dry. Even seals come up out of the water to see what the air is like. Why are we so afraid of getting wet? We've become a culture of comfort. Is getting wet really so uncomfortable?

Anyway, I can see the dust from that second stampede on the horizon and I know I'd better be prepared to lead it. That's all for today.

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