Unknown Future

So, right now, I'm in the application process for medical school. I took a shot and applied to 19 different schools all over the United States. It was my hope to be accepted in a medical school within my home state, California. And there are 5 California medical schools, so I thought I had a good chance.

But I may be wrong.

At this point, I have received twelve "no." Twelve rejection letters so far. Only seven are still in the game. And there is only one month left to this application process.

There is still hope. All I need is one medical school to say "yes." And my dream of becoming a doctor will come true.

I've had this doctor dream for a long time now. Ever since I was thirteen. As a kid, I was always changing what I wanted to be “when I grow up” – a marine biologist, a movie critic, a crime scene investigator, a basketball player, a professional golfer and so forth. But it wasn’t until I was in 7th or 8th grade, I decided to become a surgeon when I grow up. One day, there was a science lab where we had to dissect and examine a sheep’s eye, a cow’s brain, pig intestines, and another day with a frog and a worm. And I remember all the girls in the class were grossed out. Especially the girls in my group. Nobody wanted to touch that slimy stuff. I was the only one who wasn’t freaked out in any way. I was just fascinated by the complexity of these dissection parts. I was right in there, ready to take a shot at this stuff, and get my hands a little dirty. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to be a surgeon. Particularly a heart surgeon. That's a desire God had given to me over the years. That’s what I’ve been working towards all these years.

But the next step is medical school. So, I'm a bit more nervous than I would like at this point. All signs say "no" because the application process is almost over. If I don't get anything by the end of March, I won't be going to a medical school this upcoming fall.

And I'm trying to keep my hope is God and to heed towards His plan, for God has greater plans for me than I can ever imagine. One of my favorite verses keep coming to mind - Psalm 27:1. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Lord, help me to rid my endless fears. You have been so faithful for all my years. Take my life and let it be always only for my King.

I will not fear, but wait for the Lord. My future is known to Him. And I walk by faith with my Lord.

Sorting Out Priorities

So my activities as of late...

Studying for Midterms: triple check!

Writing Term Papers: check!

Daily workout: check!

Cooking healthy Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner: check!

Turning on the computer and blogging: Umm...can't check that.

Also, I've haven't quite responded back to all my e-mails. If you're one of them, I'm so sorry! I want to make the time for blogging and answering a few emails, but I've just not figured out how to manage to complete everything I want to while still going to bed on time!

I always feel like I should be doing more, but I can never seem to do every activity. Every morning, I figure out my priorities. And I try hard to complete them all by the end of the day. I try.

Life has become a tricky balance of trying to do the best I can in the most important things. My lifelong prayer has become a simple line – "God, be with me in all I do and let me be the best I can possibly be." :)

Back In Action

It's been a long while.

I can only offer apologizes for keeping anybody waiting. Life really did take me on an interesting adventure since I last wrote in this blog. All I can say for now ... in the summer I went "Gone Living," I learned the true meaning of "living." Since then, I have more appreciation for life itself.

So, I decided I'll take another chance here.

Maybe it's time to come back to this paradise of mine. Maybe it's time to tell my story a little more. Maybe it's time to write a little more. It is a new year, after all. I hope you enjoy the thoughts to come on this adventure ahead.

A quick life-summary, just to get you up-to-date. 2008 came and went, teaching me about strength and resilience. 2009 should be called Redemption because God brought me to a place of great blessings, both spiritually and physically. 2010 was the year of Perseverence, for I kept going and going every single day to complete the tasks before me. As for 2011 ... we'll see how God leads me in the days to come.

Here we go!

Gone Living...

I'm done with school for now.

Time to head home.

Summer's here.

I made a to-do list earlier, a couple days ago. I make one occasionally. Just a way to write things down that need to be done and that I need to remember. I put it on an plain index card, so I can put it in my back pocket of my jeans and look at it when I need to.

I made a to-do list for this summer. There are just some things I want to do and try.

Thought I'll share it with you.

Summer's To Do -

1. Know the "autshop" on my car
2. Learn how to barbeque
3. Play golf everyday then swim
4. Take my family to the movies
5. Travel to the beach
6. Get in shape, tone my muscles
7. Play a board/video game with my brothers every night
8. Mow the lawn/yardwork
9. Get a new tan ;)
10. Read books/watch TV a lot
11. Play catch with the brothers
12. Learn sign language fluently again
13. Transfer all home videos to DVD
14. Videotape a lot
15. Have fun

I'll be around here and there. Staying in touch. Let you know if I completed anything or not. Three months of summer ... it's gonna be good.

'Til then ... I'm gone living.

:)

Not Yet

Well, it's that time again.

School's almost over. I'm staring down the barrel of it now. Only nine days left before I finish everything school-wise for another year and get to head home again.

It's usually about this time of the year anyhow where I'll start thinking about how I've done over the past school year. Things like - Did I do my best? Did I get enough sleep? (which is always a no. *grins*) What did I accomplish? What did I learn? Am I ready for next year?

After thinking and remembering a bit, this is what I find.

I believe I did do my best. It's all I can do. Whether my grades show it or not, I know I worked hard, really hard. I got three more finals to go, so can't quit just yet. I'm still gonna study hard for those exams and get through it all. Whatever happens happens.

Oh, I never get enough sleep during the school year. One day I think I'm all caught up, only to lose it the next by getting about four hours of sleep. Weekends are just the time for me to catch up a little bit, but it's still not enough sometimes. Sooner or later though, I'll get back some of that sleep.

I completed another school year. That's a good enough accomplishment for me. Plus I turned 20. :)

I probably learned a lot school-wise. I'm thinking though that by the time I finish my finals, I won't remember much about the textbook facts I had to learn. They seem to have a way to disappear during the summer. But I also did learn to have a little more fun. What's life without a few laughs?

I don't want to think about next school year just yet. I better finish this year off first. Then I want to enjoy summer for a while. Don't have much plans for it except to travel a bit, watch TV, read some books, play some golf and hang out with my family. It should be fun. I'm really pretty sure about that.

So, nine days of school left for me. Three finals to study for. One dorm room to pack up.

Then it's home for me. My best car will get me there.

Summer's almost here.

But not yet.

Finding "Wishbone"

Growing up, I was a big fan of the "Wishbone" books and TV show, which ran from 1995-2001. I believe it was my first TV show obsession along with "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers." I mean, I joined the Wishbone Fan Club! And I've never done that for any other TV shows thus far, though Supernatural's getting pretty close. Back then, every single day right after school, I would turn on the TV to watch "Wishbone" and sing the tune -

What's the story, Wishbone? What's this you're dreamin' of? Such a big imagination on such a little pup. What's the story, Wishbone? Do you think it's worth a look? It kinda seems familiar, like a story from a book. Shake a leg now, let's wag another tail. Sniffin' out adventure, with Wishbone on the trail. Come on, Wishbone. What's the story, Wishbone? What's the story, Wishbone? What's the story, Wishbone? *Woof!*

Wishbone took me to the center of the Earth, to old London, to colonial America, to Mount Olympus, to many Wars, to the old West. He showed me the Knights, the Indians, the Prince, the heroes and villains of old, the common man who lived long before I did. It was here that I learned to love stories as they are.

Even though I loved the show and wanted to buy its merchandise all the time, my younger brother hated it. I always tried to get him to read it, even for a little bit, but still he refused. Of course, he pulled the same thing with Harry Potter, but I won that battle shortly and now he loves the books and the movies. Anyhow, Wishbone was a great part of my childhood.

Yet somwhere along the way, I just stopped reading them. I don't know why. Maybe I couldn't find anymore new books, even though there were some out there I didn't have. Maybe I was influenced by my brother. Maybe I thought I got too old for it. Maybe because by 2001, I underwent a life-changing surgery and diverted my entire focus from the imagination to reality.

Now, I seem to have retain some of that innocent child that disappeared several years ago. (Although, some would vouch that I wasn't really that innocent, even though I tried to be. *wink*) I have started researching for the books and movie episodes that I don't have, finding a way to complete the unfinished set.

Not much have been accomplished in the last few weeks I've been looking, for the books are out-of-print and the movie episodes are rare.

But it's something I'm working on finishing. Everything in its own time, right?