Happy late turkey day people. Tryptophan and carbs! Naps for everyone!
So it came to my realization that I am an adult. The current job I hold actually pertains to my career, and what I studied 4/5/5 ½ years for. I have people who see me called clients. And these clients actually listen to what I’m telling them (well, most of them). They view me as an expert on stuff (well…most of them). They think that I know what I’m talking about, nutrition-wise (well… ok i’ll stop). In short, I am responsible for these people.
Do you know how terrifying that is?
I’m surmising it’s this way for anyone who becomes an expert at something, especially when it has to do with the health and well-being of other people – such as doctors, airline pilots, etc. it’s easy to come to such a conclusion regarding those occupations, but it’s different when you reach such a conclusion about yourself. To be honest I’m not sure if I want to be responsible for the health of others. But then again, I shouldn’t have chosen a major that pertains to health care, right? I think I’ll come to terms with this soon enough. As an unknown preacher in the 4th century said – “the greatest tragedy of life is to have no burden to carry.”
I’m still not entirely certain about what the future holds for me, but I have a vague idea of the path I’m striving for (well…I at least have the road map for said path). Every time I look into the eyes of a child that comes into my office – the sweet/polite ones that listen to their mama, not so much the other ones who are too busy obliterating my office and trying to climb the bookshelf to reach and eat the rubber food models – I catch a fleeting glimpse of what God wants me to do with the knowledge that I stayed up late many a night for. I definitely want to enter proactive, holistic health care. It’s obvious that America’s health care focuses too little on this, but more on therapeutic care – care for after the damage has already been done due to lack of nutrition education, lack of financial support, or just lack of giving a care. With children, WIC is able to create a good foundation early – not just physically but also mentally, starting with a pregnant mom eating well, (thus giving her unborn child nutrients towards the development of a healthy brain and other organs), and later on teaching said child proper and optimal nutrition habits.
There are a lot of statistics that I’m too lazy to cite which support the fact that WIC, and programs similar to it, have resulted in healthier kids. The point of WIC is to prevent such problems as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and a plethora of others from ever happening to these kids – or at least lessen the risk. I have it under good authority that their lives will be much happier if they aren’t diabetic or anything like that. There are times where my job becomes rather mind-numbingly tedious, but it helps to think about this proactive idea every now and then.
