Put me on anything
 |
| OCOM's new building. Stoked about the move! |
Put me on anything
Still I bet I bust
Put me anywhere on the map
I bet I bust
This is what I does
In Fall 2011, I will be attending the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, Oregon as a graduate student.
BOO-YAH!
During my phone interview, the admissions officers asked if I had applied to any other schools. I had contemplated about also applying to a "back-up" school (Five Branches in Santa Cruz, California) but at the last minute, I decided against it.
BOO-YAH!
During my phone interview, the admissions officers asked if I had applied to any other schools. I had contemplated about also applying to a "back-up" school (Five Branches in Santa Cruz, California) but at the last minute, I decided against it.
Some may say, it was a pretty gutsy move. Most would say, it was a dumbass move.
 |
| Tacos: the only food that smiles back at you. |
I was pleasantly surprised with the campus at Five Branches. Fish tacos. Daily surf. Cruisin' around town with my Vespa and my bulldog, Raka. And of course, the yummy boys who have SoCal soul with NorCal brains.
I envisioned studying points on the beach with mini surf breaks. I dreamed of having my hair sun-streaked naturally by the sun and brown skin all-year-round. Friends would come and visit because well... 'Cause I live in sunny California! I would even consider making the ultimate cross-over from Biggie to ... Dare I say... Tupac.
But at the end of the day, I felt like I was justifying Five Branches primarily on a superficial level. I'm older and wiser now that I don't need to always go after shiny objects.
Most of my friends think I'll lose my mind moving to Portland. They also thought I had lost my mind when I bought a one-way ticket to Hanoi, Vietnam.
I've realized I make the best decisions in life when I lose my mind.
It has given me the tools to build a foundation to live a life with purpose. It has allowed me to make the connection between my life experiences and my strong belief system. It gives me the reason to confidently say, "No, really, I am cooler than your girlfriend."
Sure, I have my qualms about moving to the West Coast; specifically Portland. Burma, strangely seemed far more familiar than Portland; but I have absolutely no qualms, questions, concerns about dedicating my life to medicine.
None, whatsoever.
It's the strangest feeling. I've never felt so confident with the idea of possibility spending the rest of my entire life dedicated to one thing. And I've got some severe commitment issues!
My phone interview ended with a question I've been thinking alot about for the past year:
What do you hope to accomplish as an OM practitioner?
Without a beat, I relayed my belief in breaking down holistic health without the esoteric "stuff" while maintaining the integrity of the medicine. I want my community to understand our health is one of the very few things every human is entitled to have despite race, gender, socio-economic status. It needs to be a priority and it needs to be protected. People need to understand the importance of taking accountability for their own wellness; to become experts in their health.
We live in a society which heavily relies on so-called "experts" who have aquired fancy degrees and wear posh clothes. I'm gonna get a fancy degree and I sure love to wear posh clothes. But I don't want to become a practitioner who tells the patient what's wrong with him. I want him, the one in pain, to tell me what's wrong.
Education empowers individuals to become experts in health; my goal is to provide my community with the necessary tools to prioritize their wellness by utilizing a multifaceted approach to health. I want my community to understand the importance of cultivating and protecting their health because without it, nothing is possible.
What do you hope to accomplish as an OM practitioner?
Without a beat, I relayed my belief in breaking down holistic health without the esoteric "stuff" while maintaining the integrity of the medicine. I want my community to understand our health is one of the very few things every human is entitled to have despite race, gender, socio-economic status. It needs to be a priority and it needs to be protected. People need to understand the importance of taking accountability for their own wellness; to become experts in their health.
We live in a society which heavily relies on so-called "experts" who have aquired fancy degrees and wear posh clothes. I'm gonna get a fancy degree and I sure love to wear posh clothes. But I don't want to become a practitioner who tells the patient what's wrong with him. I want him, the one in pain, to tell me what's wrong.
Education empowers individuals to become experts in health; my goal is to provide my community with the necessary tools to prioritize their wellness by utilizing a multifaceted approach to health. I want my community to understand the importance of cultivating and protecting their health because without it, nothing is possible.
I don't have all the answers. I still have loads of questions. And in many ways, I hope to never have all the answers and always be in a constant state of learning by listening to the health stories of my patients.
With all that being said, I believe in holistic health care. One that emphasizes on prevention and the use of the least invasive measures to treat diseases/disorders; simply because I am a product of it.
So yes... Put me in Portland and I bet I bust.
