ChooseBetterLife

Its the time of year when caps and gowns are all the rage, when adorable preschoolers become kindergartners, middle schoolers become big, bad high schoolers, and college students become full-fledged adults. Over the years, though, another type of graduation has crept up on me, and it wasnt one I planned for or anticipated. Uncertainty: Am I Dying O... r Am I A Fool? Being the doctor is always better than being the patient. And being an Emergency Physician has apparently spoiled me. No, I certainly dont love every aspect of my job, and the bureaucracy and competing yet incompatible demands make me want to pull my hair out and scream But its still better than the uncertainty of being the patient. ChooseBetterLife.com went live one year ago. Like most anniversaries, this blogiversary seems both like it took forever and like it arrived in the blink of an eye. Ive written 55 posts on a hodgepodge of life-improving topics with readers from 107 different countries!* As with everything, the journey taught me some important lessons about whats important to me and helped me focus on new goals for the next year. Will You Go Or Send Your Representative Instead? So often when we struggle we feel alone, like were the only ones to ever face a similar sadness or hardship. We hide our stories, smother our feelings, and paste on a smile before facing the world. But when we choose to be open and honest, we find love, support, and community. We find that were far from alone. Were actually normal, but unfortunately even being normal means feeling alone because no one talks about the hard times. We all For the last six weeks, it seems that all Ive done is sleep and cough. And wake myself up from sleep to cough. The virus that brought me down this year was atypically nasty, and it was quite humbling to be so sick for so long. And Life Goes On When were sick, we still need to eat, drink, and bathe. Bills, mail, and emails still arrive, and the senders expect responses and payments. Our plants threaten to die if they dont Are Uber ...Read More