Saw this today and thought I would post a part of my life story.

Story that makes me think we're all going down the tubes as a society:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/kiera-wilmot-arrested-science-experiment_n_3194768.html

And the follow up that restores my faith in humanity:

http://spaceref.com/nasa-hack-space/homer-hickam-supports-high-school-student-whose-science-project-got-her-expelled-and-arrested.html

Just saw this. Us crazy science loving high school dropouts gotta stick together. I realize that schools have a responsibility to ensure safety of students, and that she should have had a teacher present, but she was in the safest place she could think of, and trying to learn on her own. She should not be labeled a felon. She should be praised for trying to learn on her own. Just my opinion.

Keira probably won't ever see this, but if anyone else finds themselves in a similar circumstance, where they're trying to learn something on their own and doing it in the safest, most controlled environment they can think of, and things go horribly wrong, and they don't know what to do because they are now on a different path from what is "normal," I would like to share a story.

I was raised by a single mom in the 'burbs. My dad had a PhD but died when I was young. Science has always been a passion of mine. We moved a lot, twice across the country, and I ended up at a high school where I honestly felt like I was getting dumber with each passing day. In AP chemistry class we spent a month learning dimensional analysis (think converting inches to miles), there was no band or choir, the assignments in all but pre-calculus class seemed like they were designed for middle schoolers rather than high schoolers, and they probably were. It was awful. So I asked my mom what I should do about the frustration of going to school and not learning anything.

She told me to leave. Go to college.

I met with an academic counselor for the first time in my life and he told me that if I left high school I would never get a job, that others would look down on me for the rest of my life, and essentially I would be a failure.

I chose not to believe him.

It was too late to enroll in the spring semester so I spent my time volunteering at the Red Cross and started reading the chapters in textbooks that they always skip in high school classes. It turns out that chapter 3 from the high school chemistry book we were using was an introduction to quantum mechanics. I thought, "What!? What is that all about?" So I read it. And I found a new hobby: theoretical physics. That stuff is cool. I didn't have the math, but I loved the concepts. This was before you could find anything you want on the internet so I took the metro into Boston and went to Harvard's bookstore to find books on the subject. They have some good stuff on the subject. I also found out that metaphysics is not about physics but philosophy, and that it is also pretty cool. I used my passion for learning to learn about whatever I wanted. I also picked up a GED one weekend. Just to make sure that my paperwork would be in order for college applications.

In the fall I enrolled in the local community college and studied music, another passion of mine. I loved it. It turns out that in college you can pick classes that you want to take and if you are disappointed with the class you can drop it and find a teacher you like better. One that will teach you what you want to know. It was liberating. While in college I also became an Eagle Scout. It is possible to do things you want to do even if others think you can't do them.

After community college I served a mission for my church, basically spending 2 years giving service and talking to people about my beliefs. It was amazingly rewarding.

After that I went to University, and despite what my academic counselor warned me about I went to a pretty good one. I did scientific research, discovered things about myself, and had a great time. I also got married, which was and still is awesome. It was an amazing journey that still continues, as I am now finishing my first year of medical school.

That's right. The kid raised by a single mom who moved around a lot and dropped out of high school is going to be a doctor. I love science, learning, and above all helping people, so I decided to be a doctor. No matter your circumstances you can make things happen. Even if people tell you that you can't. When someone tells you something is not possible, if they predict a bad future for you, that's not a fact, it's a challenge.

Life is hard. Life is good. Life is what you make it.

As a piece of advice, I have included an observation below that has helped me immensely.

When I was young, my mother told me frequently to consider the source. I have tried to do this throughout my life, and somewhere in there I learned that most people do not know what they do not know. Most people do not know the difference between correlation and causation, or how to verify if information is correct, or even how to find out if a source is reliable. I have learned that information is usually about as valuable as it is difficult to obtain. If you are told something shocking, something ground breaking, something that "all the experts don't want you to know" or something that seems too good to be true, do not trust it. Learn to learn on your own. This one skill will get you further in life than any other single thing. Learn to find information from trustworthy sources on your own. And remember that experts that are not in the business world have nothing to gain by keeping secrets. For example, the internet ads that say, "Language teachers hate this guy for figuring out how to teach people a new language quickly!" That's just not true. Language teachers have devoted their lives to teaching people how to communicate. If there's a faster, easier way to do this, they want to spread that around as much as possible. If people say that vaccines are going to kill you or give you autism because they have mercury in them, look at death rates from before vaccines and after and realize that infant mortality is 0.01% of what they were 100 years ago. And that mercury hasn't been used in vaccines in 15 years, and that when it was it was a non-harmful isotope. They changed the definition of autism (expanded the definition to include milder symptoms than used to be included in the autism spectrum), and autism "rates" "increased". Neither of those words apply in this situation. See how a little information goes a long way? These people are trying to help but are so woefully uninformed that they are causing harm. Lack of education can be dangerous. Educate yourself. Be the one that can make a difference by being informed. This will get you places, but only if you can communicate effectively.

So how about that weather?

Ok the weather in Tennessee is crazy. We've lived here for 7 months and I've seen crazier weather than I've ever seen before, including 3 types of weather I've never encountered. What kind of weather you ask? Well let me tell you. When we first moved here, like our first full day in TN we returned the moving truck to Knoxville; on the way back we were on the freeway and I saw some fog ahead on the road, one of those banks of fog that has a definite beginning and ending that April had never seen before. When we got to the fog I realized it wasn't fog. It was rain. Rain thick enough that our windshield wipers couldn't keep up with it and we had to slow down to 25 mph on the freeway. Last Friday we had an ice storm that covered the whole world with 1/4 inch of ice. It was so weird, no accumulation on certain things and other things being left alone, just a 1/4 inch of ice on absolutely everything, it was so weird in its regularity. Then on Monday it was 68 degrees. We went to the park and I wore shorts and a t-shirt. It was a nice day. Today is Friday again and it snowed last night. Also we have a thin sheet of ice all over the roads, but just on campus.I did some pretty awesome donuts in the parking lot. It was fun- I almost pulled off a 360! Yeah, icy. So I've saved the best weather phenomenon for last. It's called "thunder snow" and it's weird. Apparently it's possible to have thunder during a snow storm. A couple of weeks ago, that's what we had. It was the coolest thing ever.Snow falling gently outside, BOOM!!! Thunder. Awesome. So if you're a fan of crazy weather, move to Tennessee.

Ok, I have something to add to crazy weather stuff. This morning April and I went for a run, which was great- but I'll let her tell that story. Right after we got home, it started snowing, like real Utah snow. Actual fluffy flakes that make you feel like Christmas inside. It's still going on right now outside. I know I always said I don't want to settle down in Utah but looking at that snow makes me feel homesick for a place I just went to college in. Is that possible? Homesickness for a place you didn't think you considered home until after the fact? Either way, it's beautiful outside and I love my life. 2013 is going to be great.

This is a story that I think anyone who has cared for a young child will appreciate. Just after 2:00 this morning (after going to bed at 1:00- I have a huge test tomorrow) I had a dream that I got punched in the back of the head by a raccoon. Then I had the strangest feeling that the covers were taken from off my body and I woke up 2 steps away from the bed with a strong sense of needing to check on Suvi. I was a bit confused so I said, "What am I doing?" and April told me, "Go check on Suvi she made a noise." I kind of thought that since she was no longer making a noise I shouldn't go in there in case I woke her up and she didn't want to go back to sleep, but I was really sleepy so I went on in and checked on her. She was fine. But I woke her up. I think April took over at that point, all I remember is blackness and then getting up at 3:30 and 4:30 to go see if Suvi was ok, but the 4:30 experience had a surprise- April was already in there holding her! She beat me to it! Someday Suvi will have no more teeth to get. She will not be cutting 4 or 8 teeth at a time for weeks on end and we will get to sleep all night long. Although with my luck that will happen first year of residency and it won't matter. Oh well. Gotta go prep for tomorrow's tests (that's right, testS, ugh). Wish me luck! And look for a post in the near future about what happened this afternoon when Suvi helped me put the dishes away!

Wow, so I was going to write this post the day I finished my last final of my first semester of medical school. Now it's the last day of vacation before second semester. Time does fly. So here's the big news: I passed all my classes! All of them! Even before any curve! Even Neuroanatomy (which I needed a B on the final to pass) I did it! I made it through my first semester! I am so excited!  Now my goal is to improve my grades. I think I can do it- I learned how to learn last semester, now I hope I can apply that this semester.

The first semester of medical school is kind of like the first time you get hit by a car, only stretched out over 20 weeks. It's not a lot of fun. Someday it will be worth it, though. Thanks to the training I'm getting now, someday I'll save lives for a living. That will be worth any amount of work I have to put in.

Now for what's happened since the test. The day after the test I went with Max, Dan, and Caleb (and Max's friend Cam) to Snowshoe, WV to go snowboarding for 3 days. It was awesome! I got over my fear of the terrain park that's plagued me since I broke my ankle 6 years ago. I did the boxes, the rails- including the rainbow rail, the ramps, the table top, and even the big air ramp! I'm cured! It was a lot of fun, but I was excited to get home to April and Suvi.

Since the WV trip I've stayed up late every night and slept in. And on the days I can't sleep in because Suvi gets up- I take a nap. I read 4 novels, watched movies and TV shows, gone walking and running and skating with April and Suvi, played video games- it has been amazing. And to top if off Celeste got to come for Christmas! It was so nice to have family here for my favorite holiday, we even got to skype with April's family and saw Isaac and Sarah who are still on their missions! Then Jennifer Shafer came to visit. She just went home this morning. I have really needed this vacation. I just hope my brain reset itself enough to get into a higher gear for learning this semester. I'm actually getting kind of excited for school to start up again. Don't tell me that I said that when the first round of tests gets here though. I'll deny it.

Ok, this post has had no flow or order or theme or organization to it, but I guess that's how it's going to be. Maybe I'll be able to keep up better once the new year starts, or maybe I'll just find a way to get April to do it. Either way I hope we have more consistent updates from now on. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to everyone!

Almost There!

Yesterday was the last day of my first semester of medical school! Wahoo! It turns out that medical school is really hard. Definitely one of the hardest things I've done. My brain feels like it's been training for an Iron Man triathlon and been helping a professional boxer by being a punching bag at the same time. It's been pretty cool though- I'm definitely smarter now than I was in July. It's a strange feeling. I have learned a LOT this semester. Looking back I realized that we covered as much of glycolysis in one hour that we covered last year in biochem at BYU in like 10 lectures. It's pretty intense, and from what I understand it only gets harder from here on out. BUT! Someday I will be a doctor and I will save lives for a living. That will make it all worth it. Ok, I promise a nice long reflective post after finals, but right now I need to cram for finals. So I bid you adieu!

I have good news! I didn't die yesterday! It was pretty close, but it didn't happen. Why you ask? Let me tell you. Yesterday was our most recent block exam. We were tested on all of cellular metabolism (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glycogen synthesis and degredation, TCA, ETC, oxidative phosphorylation (which is turns out is different from ETC), and an extra lecture thrown in just on pyruvate dehydrogenase for good measure), nutrition, the abdominal cavity, pelvic floor, male and female reproductive systems, then we had half of our neuroanatomy class tested yesterday at the same time (surface anatomy of the brain, spinothalamic tract, corticospinal tract, medial lemniscus/ dorsal columns, olfaction, gustation, vestibular, auditory, and the "basics" of how neurons work that ended up being 3 times more information in one lecture than I got in 4 years of studying related things in undergrad). It was rough.Grades will be posted in a few days and I just hope I passed. It turns out that medical school is really hard. Like really hard. 

On the up side, last week we had our first OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam) in EPC (Essentials of Patient Care). That's the "real doctor stuff" class. We had actors come in who had been trained to exhibit symptoms like a real patient and we got to take a history, do a focused physical exam, make a diagnosis, and prescribe a treatment. It was awesome. Another thing I really like is OPP (Osteopathic Principles and Practice), which is the class that is the difference between MD programs and DO programs. That class is getting really cool now that we've learned enough to actually do things. April gets really bad headaches and I've fixed them a couple of times now. It's awesome. I love OMM! OMM is Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, we learn OMM in OPP class. Just to clarify the terminology. There are a lot of acronyms in med school. Sometimes they seem just as hard to keep track of as the exam material. 

I haven't seen Suvi much this past week since I've been on campus studying until 11 or 12 or 1 every night. Because of this, I understand better how much everyone wants to see pictures of her more often. So here are some pics of Suvi!!!

Suvi dressing herself.

April sent this to me Sunday night while I was studying with the caption "We love you!" It helped me study hard because I remembered why I'm here.

Suvi has hair! In order to show this off April gave her a mohawk for church a couple of weeks ago.

Look she has a bow on her head!

She found the bow.

Look at that face!

One small section of one lecture from the last test. Ugh!

Suvi playing with a leaf.

Early morning before MedWAR- a Medical Wilderness Adventure Race that I coordinated all of the volunteers for. It was pretty awesome.

The view from the parking lot at DCOM. I love my school! (now that the last test is over)

I love her crooked grin!

Suvi is a lion, April is a witch, and I am wearing my whole wardrobe. (Narnia!)

Suvi's amazing Halloween costume that April made from scratch.

This is from when my mom came to visit.

Ok, so there are a few pictures of Suvi and I will try to post again soon, but I don't have much in the way of time for anything so I'm mostly going to pressure April to post something soon. Have a great day!

Hey everybody! It's been a crazy few months but I have some exciting news, however first you need some back-story. I've been in med school for about 3 months now and it's true what they say: it's really hard. I've learned a lot of stuff and I'm not sure exactly how to explain it but I think I can feel myself getting smarter. Like when you work out at the gym a lot and you can feel yourself getting stronger, except I've been working out my brain so I'm getting smarter. It' weird and frustrating and cool all at the same time- just like med school! The thing is this takes a lot of time and I haven't been around as much as I was before school started, so I've been worried that I'm missing out on all the cool Suvi related stuff that's going on. But! This morning I learned that I have nothing to fear. I was cleaning up the kitchen while Suvi played and April napped (she spent quite a bit of last night up with Suvi because she's an amazing mom and needed some sleep this morning) and I noticed that Suvi was being quiet in the next room. Not usually a great sign. So I go to investigate and what do I find? Suvi has found my skateboards and is standing on one of them. Like this:

You may notice that I dressed her in her most punk rock outfit too. She's still just like me even though I'm not around as much as I want to be. I guess it's just part of that special daddy-daughter bond. Life is awesome.