“[She] worked with us for one and a half years and now, by God, now she’s a doctor! [She] worked for me for a while too, and went on to crush it as a 3rd grade teacher!”
– Overheard at a coffee shop as the owner interviewed a tentative new barista.

I have never in my life felt I am that much better than anyone else; in fact, if you weren’t reading this and you met me out ‘in the wild‘ as I like to call it, I would try as hard as i could to not relinquish the fact that i’m a Physician. If anything, I have always felt undeserving and just lucky to be where I am – I’m a human just like everyone else really. As I have traversed the world I have encountered such a variety of people that have completely humbled and altered my existence, my train of thought, and my intentionality. I have become a fan of the concept of “multiple careers in a lifetime,” something that, frankly, wasn’t really a consideration for the generation before me and has now become a life choice worth entertaining for almost everybody. One of the most important things that has kept me *hopefully* modest in this regard is constantly and daily reflecting on where I came from and how I got here.

I had a fairly privileged upbringing. I was never wanting, never hungry, and always allowed to do whatever past time I wanted with luxury in many aspects of my life – private school, vacations out of the state, things like that. I was never ‘forced’ to work, and never tasked with supporting my family like so many are. My parents had been successful enough that I was allowed to focus on education and my undergraduate education was even paid for by them. But, at 16 years old, right after I got my license, they made an agreement with me that I could drive their car, only if I got a job, so I did. My very first job? “Pizza Artist” at Roundtable Pizza, a local pizza joint. Many things were given to me, I acknowledge it and it would be foolish to ignore it, but part of what was given to me were work ethics and to never expect anything. I was raised to never feel deserving of something I didn’t myself work for. So, I worked.

Stemming from the fact that my mother and father were by definition of meager upbringings by immigrants part of the American Dream, a phrase that has fallen out of favor and in my opinion has become stifling to pursue with changes in politics and American culture/economy as the world moves forward in industry and technology, came a push to stay focused – well, as much as my ADHD would allow me. So, I went to college. But, in college, again, the agreement stayed the same: we’ll let you borrow the family car, but you need to get a job to pay for your own things and to pay for gas. So, I did. I got my Certification to be a Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), applied for a job at the local CVS (then called Longs Drugs Store) and was lucky enough to get a job. So, again, I worked.

What this has done to me is it has changed my outlook on all jobs, all work and all people; it has infinitely and profoundly altered my interactions with humanity and judgment has been something I am careful to consciously try avoiding. The trajectory of our lives is never complete and never known until the end of it; and, we can never ever prospectively know where it will take us. Aspirations and working towards goals can remain a constant virtue and even then are never complete in designing our fate. I have often wondered when I walk into a pizza place, or a coffee shop, or a convenience store, what parts of the trajectory I don’t get to see in front of me. If not for my own success, maybe the success of those around us, maybe the success of offspring – they are all connected after all, aren’t they? And, not even to say that being a doctor is the definition of success; but that, our interconnectedness extends beyond what you perceive superficially.

As I sit in a coffeeshop writing this to you, I am listening to the proud owner recount that there have been some that started here and have gone on to do unfathomable things; and for those that have remained, to not shy away from this part of the conversation…

Well… a long time ago two Chinese Immigrants and two Filipino Immigrants came to the United states. The Chinese couple met and owned a grocery store all of their lives; the Filipino couple? Joined the army, for the United States and the other had meager jobs. But then one day, after a longer story i’ll abridge, they’re grandson started working at a pizza shop, went on to wander through a pharmacy, and eventually became the Doctor that writes this today.

All is a stepping stone if you view it as such, and if we find a stone we settle on, it’s possibly we’re keeping it in place for someone else to step on it after. Feel the ripples in the water as the lily pads move, feel the connection, and always remember you can never see the trajectory in front of you, unless you open your eyes to it.

Image Credit: ChatGPT