The Dawn of The New Year.......

Marks my six month anniversary moving to the City of Angels! Wow. All I can say is that time FLIES. I mean, it seems like just last week I was driving across the country to get here. I remember it in detail. Saying my goodbyes, writing my first blog, leaving the only home I've ever known! It's been the most exciting, happiest, scariest, saddest, incredible experience all at the same time. Now, I've been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions since I arrived here. Those emotions include, happiness, sadness, fright, depression, frustration, among many others. People close to me tell me I need to calm down and stop freaking out so soon. After all, it's only been 6 months. But, if you were $80,000 in debt and had to make another life altering decision (whether to move back to Ohio or not in June), wouldn't you feel a little on edge as well?? This is not easy! Obviously my biggest fear is failure out here, but at the same time, I know I am destined for greatness. I can honestly say, that to this day, I have never failed at anything! Everything I have attempted, I have been able to achieve thus far (med school being the most challenging by far). Why should this be any different? Why the hell is it so hard then??

So, here is my strategy for 2007. I plan to look at the latter half of 2006 as a learning experience. I have worked on every major studio lot in Hollywood. I know how a real working set operates, I know the terminology, and most of all, I know how badly so many other people want this just as I do. So, now in 2007, it's time to take things to the next level. Strive for the next step. No matter what obstacles get in the way. I've never quit anything (I don't think). Not only that, I left my life in Ohio because I had certain life golas I wanted to achieve, one of those being travel. At the age of 24, the only other country I have been to is Jamaica, because that is where my dad is from (Niagara Falls doesn't count!). I've never crossed an ocean, I've never been to another continent. We took a family vacation once to Phoenix when I was in 11th grade, but other than that, I had never even been west of the Mississippi. If my dad's family didn't live in New York City, I probably never would have been there either. When I wanted to apply to out of state colleges, I was told that that wasn't really necessary. When I wanted to apply to out of state medical schools, I was politely encouraged not to (although, in all fairness, money played a part in this too). While I know my parents only wanted the best for me, and for me to be safe, this is not a healthy thing. Do I really deserve to have a life doomed and confined to Columbus, Ohio which accounts for 0.00000000000000000001% of the Earth! I ultimately felt like a prisoner and had to get out! I don't know how many parents read this blog, but if you have children and they kind of hint to wanting a break from school after college, PLEASE don't discourage it. They need it, and deserve it. The most frustrating thing for me in medical school was hearing my colleagues' stories about Africa, Europe, Japan, India, etc. Ok, I got off topic. My original point was that I moved out here to provide myself with opportunities to travel, and until that happens, I'm not satisfied!

So, this is to a GREAT 2007! Starting today, I'm going to end all of my blogs with positive quotes from books I have read, because sometimes things get so depressing that you literally have to overload yourself with positive thoughts just to stay afloat. Here are two that seem to fit in with this specific post.

"I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a man really desires a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win."

"The person who takes no chances generally has to take whatever is left when others have finished choosing"

--both from Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich