I started this blog when I started school in order to keep “in touch” with family and friends as well as to keep some sort of record of this fascinating process of being indoctrinated into the world of medicine. And of course, it has served little of its intended purpose. First of all, the closest family members who read this blog are my brother-in-law (and fellow blogger) and my cousin in Poland, who I’m not even related to by blood! Many of my closest friends can’t bring themselves to check their email everyday, let alone remember a webpage address, and many of them would probably boycott my blog just because it does not qualify as real human contact. Others probably love me to death for my loyalty, poker skills or quirky personality, but could do without all the ranting at the state of the world.

So instead, this blog has become something altogether different. I use it to purge thoughts that run inside my head while I’m trying to study, or write down an experience that has had an impact on my life. From that writing (or more likely, from the skyrocketing rise of internet addiction!), I’ve gotten an interesting readership. About 20 people click on this blog every day and they include friends, classmates, fellow bloggers, and strangers from across the country.

Being aware of this has both encouraged me to write as well as caused me to become self-conscious about what I say. Often, after I post something, I regret sounding so judgmental, idealistic or self-absorbed, and I consider censoring what I wrote or changing my blog altogether into an anonymous site that my friends/family doesn’t know anything about. I’ve had friends and strangers tell me that they like my writing, and I’ve had others say that they felt intrusive when they read my post. For me, a person who can sometimes be manically concerned with being liked by all and not stepping on any toes, this has been a little hard. At the same time, the experience has allowed me to be more thoughtful and confident about who I am, and to stick my neck out a little into the world even though I know that I can’t always make everyone happy.