Lemons can make more than lemonade.

A quick update since it's been so long:

I've been unusually busy with grad school and the work-study position I recently started, but somehow, I've found a way to strike a balance between academics, work, and a semi-existent social life (at least when my schedule permits). Currently, I'm also reading T.R. Reid's newest book, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, which is a perfect complement to the Frontline documentary that PBS featured a little over a year ago. You can watch the full program, Sick Around the World, on their website.

Points of note during the past week or so include going to hear my grad school department chair, Kenneth Thorpe, present a brief in which he discussed the most latest amendments to the health care reform bill (click here for a pdf of the briefing); and partaking in a few Emory Homecoming activities during the past week (e.g., the entertaining styling of comedian, and now actor, Aziz Ansari).

Given some recent discussions I've had with colleagues and my desire to further develop my ongoing interests in public health, health care, and research, I've begun to seriously consider the merits of a future in science writing. I think handling unforeseen changes in professional aspirations and overcoming never-before encountered adversity is part of growing up, whether you actually have a handle on any of it or not. It's part of recognizing that adulthood, despite its much sought-after privileges and supposedly lessened limitations, also comes with the rude awakenings of reality: that pursuing what you love calls not only for a resilient resolve but commitment, responsibility, and practicality.

As the saying goes, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." But if lemons are opportunities in disguise, who's to say you can't set your sights on the best of the best? I'd rather shoot for something that might bring more fulfillment in the long run, and my experiences this year are starting to show me that you can do a lot more with the lemons you're dealt if you're willing to think outside the box (or the cutting board, in the case of this analogy).
Correction appended (10/3/2009): When I first made this post a few days ago, I incorrectly stated that I was interested in science journalism and not science writing. While the two professions are similar, there is a distinction: all journalists are writers, but all writers are not journalists. To quote Michael Kenward, a previous editor of New Scientist, "Science writing is about explaining complex ideas that nobody wants to keep secret; science journalism is about explaining things that everyone can understand but that some might prefer to keep buried."

*Information on science writing from "So You Want To Be A Science Writer?" by Natasha Loder, Science and Technology Correspondent for The Economist (Spring 2002). You can download the full text (pdf) on the Association of British Science Writers' website.

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10 years or so.*

Tonight, I was scheduled for a desk shift from 10 pm to midnight - basically, sitting in an office and answering the phone, if it happens to ring. So far, not much has happened, outside of one or two pizza deliveries and a lot of small talk about logging onto the internet, delayed flights, and dinner plans. But, every now and then, my soundscape has consisted of snippets of discussions that seem like windows to my future, if I were to become a clinician, that is. It's odd how your professional aspirations can catch up to you in the places you least expect.







I did a little research, and, apparently, the group of physicians in the lobby have come here from around the country for an event on "Therapeutic Targets in CMD". For the less clinically-inclined, CMD stands for Congenital Muscular Dystrophies - they're basically a group of muscle disorders that strike early in development and cause generalized muscle weakness, among other symptoms. You might have heard the phrase on television before, since Jerry Lewis is the national spokesperson for the organization that raises money for CMD. The underlying cause of disease is a genetic mutation, so rest assured that you probably don't have a CMD if you weren't diagnosed with it at birth.

Emory Commencement photo from Emory Alumni Association albums

Summer's a little more than half-over, and most of my friends, all recent college graduates, are poised to start their first year of medical school or graduate school in different cities around the United States. A few others are about to dive into the intimidating field of entry-level business internships or philanthropic teaching positions like Teach for America, both of which pay modest salaries but offer the possibility of life-changing professional experiences.

I wonder where everyone will end up in a decade or so - it would be ironic if I ended up at a conference like Cure CMD, especially since pediatric rehabilitation is the specialty that I've always been interested in pursuing.

*10 years is an alternative rock band from Tennessee that released a digital bundle of their music about a month ago. I haven't had a chance to hear all their songs, but a few of them, especially their singles "Beautiful" and "Wasteland", are pretty good.

Tonight's the night the world begins again.*

A graduation update, complete with nostalgic descriptions of college memories and photographs of friends and family, is coming soon...

But, in the meantime, here's a preview of how I'll be spending the first half of my summer - in PARIS. Although it's probably obvious, dates are in bold and semi-elaborate explanations and/or descriptions of events and places are italicized.

A sample of what's already on the itinerary:

May 26 (The day after we arrive in Paris)
Afternoon boat ride down the Seine

May 28
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise/Père Lachaise Cemetery
Chopin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Dominique Bauby (see my blog post from Feb. 26th: "Three months of winter and wealth"), and Oscar Wilde (recall the short film on the XXe arrondisement in Paris, Je t'aime) are just four famous individuals who are buried there.

June 2
Cité des Sciences et d'Industrie/The Science Museum of Paris
Exhibitions and interactives that highlight absolutely amazing scientific discoveries; my favorite as of now is the "current" science exhibit that has all things scientifically relevant to our lives today, "Science Actualités".

June 5
VERSAILLES

June 9
Musée Fragonard/Fragonard Museum
A museum within the National Veterinarian School in the Maisons-Alfort suburb of Paris

June 16
Musée d’histoire de la médecine/The museum for the history of medicine

June 18
Palais de la découverte
An extraordinary science museum in the 8th arrondisement, with exhibits on physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, and everything and anything in between.

Other must-see sights/excursions for the weekends:

TBA
Le musée Rodin (Museum that houses the works of Rodin)
Two words: The Thinker.

TBA
Le château de Fontainebleau/The Fontainebleau Castle.
EIGHT centuries of royal history.

June 21st (a.k.a., the day after my birthday/the summer solstice!):
World Music Day/Fête de la Musique
It's almost as if the city of Paris knew all about my trip and decided to reward me for living 21 amazing years by further propagating my love of music, as well as my rarely realized desire to attend (free) live concerts.

Oh, and sometime in between all the sight-seeing and cultural excursions, I'll be taking (and occasionally studying for) two upper-level neuroscience classes - one on primary research literature in French neuroscience (with special topics like the impact of nationalized healthcare on basic science research) and a second class on the molecular mechanisms of neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's and ALS).

Hands down, the most memorable way to celebrate the end of my undergraduate career and my subsequent (legal) entrance into adulthood. Freshly-baked croissants, heavenly pastries, and made-to-order crêpes with fruit filling await...

*Title quote from "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls.

My First (and probably only) Top 13 List.

So, I'm sitting in the computer lab, trying to come up with brilliant ideas for the final paper I have to write for my senior biology seminar on ethics & genetic testing, but I just can't seem to concentrate on the task at hand.

For once, though, I can say that my inability to focus is not completely my own fault; the French-American couple at the table ahead of me is to blame for my lack of productivity.

Typically, I would hesitate to stereotype an individual (or pair of individuals) - especially when they're just a few feet in front of me. They seem happy enough together, so maybe there's something I'm missing. Maybe he treats her differently when they're not in public, maybe he's not being serious when he makes fun of her personality, and maybe he's just as nice to her and she is to him. But from the hour or so that I've been in the same room with them, most of what I've seen points to a classic "nice girl dating a jerk" scenario.

It happens all the time, especially on college campuses: attractive and/or perfectly nice girls date not-so-nice guys. And it only leaves me wondering - why???

And that is the reason I have come up with this list - because it's easier than doing my work and because it's more fun than doing my work, too. That being written, here are a couple explanations, albeit overly-generalized, not always true, and not really all-inclusive, that might shed a bit of insight on this inexplicable phenomenon.

The Top 13 Reasons Why Attractive Girls Date Jerks

No. 1. Low self-esteem.
Sometimes, really attractive (and/or talented) girls don't realize how attractive and talented they actually are, so they settle for guys that are jerks.
No. 2. The fear factor.
Let's face it - deep down inside, way too many of us are afraid of not having a significant other at all in our lives, so much so that we're willing to date someone who doesn't treat us well enough.
No. 3. Physical attraction.
If you don't want a serious relationship but you do want to have fun without the emotional entanglements, then dating a jerk is definitely the way to go.
No. 4. Inexperience.
The simple and unfortunate truth of the matter is that some college girls just don't know any better at this point in the game.
No. 5. The enigma factor.
It's hard to explain, but, for some reason, some girls like it when guys have something to hide - it's as if the less a guy says (no matter how much of a jerk he actually is), the more a girl is attracted to him. And then, there's...
No. 6. The surprise factor.
You know when you're watching a really great, action-packed film and you think you have the personality of the "bad guy" figured out, but then the he does something that completely surprises you 10 minutes before the end of the movie? (Slumdog Millionaire is a perfect example of this.) Makes a girl think - there's always the possibility that your jerk of a boyfriend might surprise you in the end, too, right?
No. 7. Potential for change she can believe in.
Despite copious amounts of evidence to the contrary, you can't change a guy if he's not willing to change himself. You can try and try and try, but sometimes when a guy is a jerk once, he's always a jerk. Some things never change, like a person's...
No. 8. Reputation.
A lot of the time, guys who are jerks can get away with it because they have other things going for them - an IQ that parallels Einstein, a musical ability to sing Bob Dylan like no other (like one of my favorite female artists, Adele), or an athletic talent to throw 3-pointers better than Marcus Jordan.
No. 9. Less pressure.
(Something Michael Jordan's son probably never experienced in his lifetime.) If you're not dating someone who's nice to you, there's less of a reason for you to be nice to them, too. Not to mention, if things don't work out between the two of you, no one will fault you for breaking up with him. Although, that's not to say some girls can't handle...
No. 10. More drama.
Dating a nice guy is just oh-so-boring - they're always complimenting you, giving you way too much attention, telling you how beautiful you look, etc., etc. If you date a jerk, though, you can complain 24/7 to all your friends and get a lot more attention.
No. 11. Deviations from the norm.
There are, at times, however, those rare moments of kindness, when he doesn't degrade you or belittle your every action; those exceptions to his general tendency of being a jerk, the niceties that are few and far between - they're just enough to keep you in a suboptimal relationship.
No. 12. He used to be nice.
But as soon as he started dating a girl as attractive as you, he started to take it for granted and turned into a bona fide jerk. I guess, when that happens, a girl can always feign...
No. 13. Apathy and/or affinity.
Sometimes an attractive girl just doesn't particularly care if a guy is a jerk, and other times, she's actually attracted to a guy who treats her like she's worthless - a sentiment that might stem from a multitude of factors (the most common of them being some sort of dysfunctional relationship between her father and mother, which left her thinking that all guys were jerks and that all relationships were supposed to hurt).

It's true that sometimes jerks do get the girl first, and nice guys end up finishing last. But, at least the nice guys get the nice girls in the end, right? For the betterment of humanity, let's hope so.

Maybe eugenics is only a good thing if scientists happen to discover a gene for niceness and parents selectively choose to have offspring with that gene... that's an idea I could actually use for my paper.