Life updates. The Year of the 25 :0

out with Amanda turning 25! it was a good night ;-)

Hey Friends!!!

It has been TOO TOO long since I have posted. I've been on my step 2 study grind. Thank goodness that test is done. Studying everyday all day is really not good for the soul. It zaps all your energy and definitely leaves me lacking inspiration for posting.  bUT guess what friends !! I'm back!!

School. I am VERY excited about the year to come. In one week I will be starting my 4th year of medical school. I could not be more excited. The idea of interviewing at different programs, flying all over the country, graduation. This is the start of a big year for me!! August 1st I'm starting this worldwind at Moses Cone Hospital in GBORO. Holla at me if you are in Greensboro, NC!!

On OTHER NOTES..

YOGA! So I finally committed to my yoga challenge. Thanks to an amazing groupon deal!!! This month I have unlimited classes at franklin street yoga center. ($30 cost. $100 value)  I am VERY impressed at how much strength I have gained from doing yoga. SERIOUSLY. I would not lie to you. side note: If I was guy and I wanted to meet ladies.. the yoga studio is a gold mine! Women everywhere in yoga outfits..FYI fellas. Okay BAck to yOgA. Everything gets stronger. Arms. Core. Glutes. Legs. I am a true yoga believer now! Running and yoga!! If it was not 120 degrees in north carolina and the gym wasn't a great place to meet bachelors.. I wouldn't even need my gym membership. #singlewomanflow. Cannot let the membership go quite yet. real talk. Definitely will not run into any guys while rolling out the yoga mat.


DATING. No updates here. Well.. I did here a good sermon about how when a man is ready to find his wife he goes out to find her. Which gave me a lot of peace. My future husband is going to find ME! Love it! All I need to do is work on me, be confident and approachable. BASICALLY NO desperation needed ladies. KEEP it FLY and CONFIDENT. He'll find ya! Or maybe he found you already.. and just needs to get himself together. (fingers crossed!)  
U know deep down many of us want to be wifed up one day anyway. NOT tomorrow. but one day ;) till then though!!! ;0 (i'm humming beyonce single ladies ...put your hands up!)  
LIVE IN THE MOMENT!!! AND believe me!! ITS A GOOD MOMENT!  Do not worry about the things of tomorrow!!


QUESTION OF THE WEEK????  How long is too long to date?? 
Alright.. I would like my friends opinion on this one.. Men and women.
How long is too long to date someone without the relationship moving on to a new level of committment or focused direction?? Is there a moment that you realize the relationship is stagnant?? 
Personally if I was dating someone for 3-4 years and they did not have a vision for where this was going and when they planned to put a ring on it as Beyonce says.. I would prob get a little bored and move on.
I just thought I would throw this question out there.. because unfortunately through the years I have seen GREAT people waste good years with people that eventually decided they did not want to date them anymore.  HMMM did it REALLY take 6 years to figure that out?? OR were you just WASTING their time!  


THOUGHTS. PLEASE SHARE.

"med student down"

Well folks.. Another story for the year of the 25..

Today I done fell out.. as folks in NC say.

Let me tell a quick story. I am on OB/GYN at a nameless hospital in the queen city of charlotte.:-( I have to round SUPER early. Somehow it seems harder now than it did when I was on my surgery rotation at UNC..  idk.. maybe thats because I loved it there. Yep thats probably it. But anywho. I digress.

Well I eat at 5am so by 7ish I'm starting to need a snack. By 8 its time for my second breakfast. Which is usually a banana and/or a granola bar. For some reason this morning I forgot to grab my banana and granola bar. I had NO SNACKS. Worst decision you can EVER make as a med student.
Our first case was at 7am. We thought it would be quick.. Turned out we had more than we bargained for.

Around 830am. The hunger hit. I looked at the clock. In my head I said,  "please God do not let me be this hungry." What is going on? "Come on Briana. You are strong and resilient." I start to get fidgity and I yawn. My mask gets messed up from my yawn. "Come on Briana, stay focused."  "Oh no.. i'm starting to get lightheaded"   things start fading..

"Dr. Such and Such... I think I am getting light headed." Well go sit down.. .BOOM.

I was out. Before I could even orient myself. I hit the floor! The room went dark and i think I heard med student down. I woke up to.. we might need a stretcher in OR 22 and my feet were propped up on the bovie machine.

I immediately said... NOOOO no stretcher please. Nurse says what about a wheel chair? Me. No i dont need that either.

I say.. " I'm hungry!"  Surgeon: :Well what did u eat?"  Me: cheerios (in my head.. at 5am!)

Surgeon: Well u arent the first and u wont be the last. Go get some food and come back.

I WAS OFFICIALLY STRUGGLING. Oh! and my finger broke my fall. yep its swollen.

Lesson learned. Never leave home without your snacks.

AND.. later that day.. I swear i was about to fall asleep during a long OR case. Nodding while standing up. I thought I was going to pass out part 2.  And when I told the other med student on my team.. he responds. "NO YOU DIDNT"  me. YES I DID. him: did u contaminate the field? me. NO. Him. OK good! u're fine then. u wont fail. lets go get u some snacks from the surgeons lounge.
*Gotta love the classmates.

I hope someone enjoys a laugh. Because I did.

I keep hearing Rihanna Man down in my head.

THE AGE OF 25 PART 2

I liked what I titled LaVonne's post so much I had to steal it again.. which has been a hit!

The mid twenties... a tale of a young single professional woman

It all started in high school... a feeling that the expectations were a little higher
An intuition that many of these girls would probably never leave this neighborhood and I needed to see the world
So I pushed on.. payed attention in class when it wasn’t cool, kept my mind and my body out the gutter and kept it in the books
High school graduation seemed like the pentacle.. when in reality it was just the beginning.
College was tough. And wow was I in for some serious challenges.
No longer did my barely paying attention and cramming earn an A. My Decatur version of hard work barely earned me Cs.
All the while trying to keep my little high school boyfriend and pledge a sorority which is another story in itself I tried to push through to my dream.
I eventually had to decide.. between my future or living in fear.
So then I made the decision..... summer school.... and Nope I wasn’t going home to kick it and double date.
I needed to grind it out and keep pushing on.
Yeah that meant being single was not too far behind that decision. no surprise.  
No worries. Summer school paid off and I was back on academic track.

I was always in trouble with my sorority sisters because a chic had to study :-)
While my friends were living it up and always having a good time.. I was ALWAYS studying
Me and the health care crew... better known as the Davis crew. We were always burning the midnight oil. focused on the dream
Good news though.. burning the oil paid off. We all got into our respective schools and the dream became real.
An assurance comes with knowing you will be happy in your profession and financially stable in life but i must say..
The sacrifices did not end there.. Homecomings were missed, dating life was non existent

And then somewhere in there the reality hit us.. Well now that we know we will reach the dream. now what.  The fight to get in is over.
Will we enjoy the journey along the way?  or continue to say.. we can’t make it or I have to study.
Not that the battle professionally is still not underway. Because believe me it is..
But now becomes the battle to complete the picture.
The fight for love
The fight for happiness.
The fight for travel
The fight to not loose touch with family and friends.
All this and more is at the core of my heart at the age of 25.
I would hate to call it a mid life crisis.. More like a midlife change in perspective..
A change in what is at the forefront of my mind.
A willingness to live in the moment, enjoy the journey and look fondly towards the destination.
An assurance that all things will come with time although at times it feels as though we are forced to choose.

God has so much in store for me. And I must constantly remind myself of these things. Though I may be ready for love, and ready for travel, and ready to no longer be constantly studying for an exam, and ready to explore my creative side, or read leisurely as often as I would like...
I must still keep my eye on the prize. And be patient for when it is time for me to enjoy all these things.

This is my reflection at the age of 25.

 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perserverance. Let perserverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complere, not lacking anything.

James ch1: 2-4

Stay FLY ANd 25! this is just the beginning :-)

The Age of 25

Hey Friends! For your sunday afternoon pleasure I would like you to meet my friend LaVonne. We have been friends for awhile. We have watched each other grow and reach our dreams. Enjoy her story. by the way.. she's 25 :-)   And what made our friendship last past college when others faded because believe me.. we have fussed too :-0.. LaVonne is real. No fakeness on top to cover insecurities. She is genuine and cares about her friends. In 2 weeks she will officially get that MD.



LaVonne completed her first half marathon! go girl!



April 5, 2011….I’d made my appointment about a week prior and asked my classmate and close friend if she would go with me for support and to take pics J. I came to the decision that no longer would I sacrifice my health or time in order to have the perfect “look”. I was FINALLY comfortable enough to start over with complete disregard to anyone else’s opinion….I was FINALLY learning to appreciate me for ME. After I got to the salon, I waited anxiously to get it over and done with. The stylist washed and conditioned my hair, sat me under the dryer, and about 30 minutes later picked out my mini-fro and started the clippers. She let me see myself in the mirror throughout the cut, and as more and more of my hair hit the floor, I knew there was absolutely no turning back. After about 20 minutes, she finished evening it out and sent me on my way….I’d never felt more beautiful than at that moment. My big chop was complete!! With the exception of my Dad and StepDad, most have been very supportive and complimentary. Which I appreciate.

Growing up I always felt that if my hair wasn’t pretty, then I wasn’t. It also didn’t help that my family and the majority of those around me believed that only long and flowing (and straight) hair was beautiful, and if your hair wasn’t all of the above, it was “nappy” and unattractive. I’ll never forget so often wishing my hair looked like the white girls in class, I mean after all, that’s all I saw on television, in videos, books and magazines. I even remember being picked on in elementary school because my hair was thick and extremely long, but looked nothing like those around me. I got a relaxer when I was 7 or 8 and even though it burned my scalp, I thought it was the best thing ever. My Mom felt that my hair was “easier to deal with” and I thought I was prettier since my hair was bone straight and longer. …little did I know that over the years, my hair would break off more than I could ever imagine and I would NEVER experience the length or thickness that I once had prior to “Just For Me”.

A couple years ago I began to realize how much my “good” and “bad” hair days truly affected my self-esteem, my confidence, and my overall sense of self. Regardless of the damage being done to my hair, my scalp, or my health, my hair had to look perfect or I felt a certain kind of way. After what some may call the “natural hair movement” began a couple years ago, I took notice of the beauty that was natural African-American hair…and consequently, African-American women. Seeing other gorgeous black women sport what was naturally given them was truly inspiring, and while I always complimented them, I followed with “but I could never rock that”. Besides, my forehead and nose are too big, I have acne, etc. etc. etc.…so it definitely wouldn’t look right…I needed my hair to hide behind. Really?? Lordy…smh. I came to the realization that neither make-up nor hair would change my physical appearance and I needed to accept my beauty as is and kick my insecurities out the front door.

Over the past year and ½, I have truly grown to know who I am and whose I am. First and foremost, I’m a child of God and I live to serve and honor Him. In Solomon 4:7, He says “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you” and although He was referring to the church instead of a young woman specifically, I am part of that church and believe the verse wholeheartedly. Noone else’s opinion matters, as long as He thinks I’m beautiful…then I am. I am no longer self-conscious about my physical appearance and I don’t need to hide behind my hair, weight loss antics, or anything else society deems as a necessity in order to feel beautiful and acceptable. I am finally comfortable with who I am…and I thank God for the growth He has allowed me to experience as of late. I have come such a long way and look forward to sharing my thoughts on this hair journey with you all.

STAY FLY AND 25

Dr. LaVonne

This is throwback Lavonne

Just a reminder.. I chopped mine all off too!

I used to love my little wrap and flow! LOL. :-) I was serious.