Busses and Such

Riding a public bus is about as spiritual an experience for me as going to church. Over the past two days I have witnessed more of humanity than any point in my life- for better and for worse. Below are some snapshots of the moments that touched me the most.

I am sitting near the front of the bus and a friend of mine steps on board. I smile but his gaze glides past mine in search of… a seat. He locks on and heads towards me with a purpose. In fact, he would have walked right past me if I had not touched his arm and broken the spell. It made me wonder- would I have done the same? When I get on the bus what do I look for? A seat. Upon entry I immediately scan the bus not for people but through them. I need a seat and so I look past the needs of the seated.

I am sitting on the left side of the 4 near the front. As we head west the bus begins to fill up and soon enough the aisle is full of passengers who are standing. A veteran boards the bus. Without a word the man beside me stands up and joins the line of passengers holding onto ceiling loops. He doesn’t look at the veteran, doesn’t look back at his seat. By the time the veteran has a chance to look for a seat, one is available for him.

Indicators

Yesterday I was introduced to the rats that I will be working with in the lab. My team and I will be injecting the experimental group of rats with L-Thyrosine every three days for the rest of the month in order to measure the change in Basal Metabolic Rate. After that we will move on to the rabbit labs. This class is sooooooo cool! But I almost dropped the course even before it had begun. I wasn’t sure if I could handle the course load.  It is safe to say that I made the right choice by staying enrolled in the class.

When I was putting together my schedule over the summer I chose classes specifically so they would be compatible with MamPhys- I was set on taking the class. But as the summer progressed I thought back to the classes that I barely passed last semester and got nervous. If I barely made it through the 300 level courses how could I possibly pass this 400 level class? Could I really be dedicated enough to study every day? What if I failed and it stopped me from graduating? Each question added another layer of fear.

In hindsight I can think of a few other situations where I got this nervous, but they all turned our okay. Maybe the fear is an indicator? Like maybe my fear stems from the reality of an amazing opportunity, and therefore the possibility of failing at an amazing opportunity.

So, in summary, if I am incredibly nervous then I should probably do it. 

**I earned a B+ in the class and loved it!