spontaneity is when preparation meets opportunity

You know that feeling of accomplishment that comes from the realization that "holy shit, I made this happen." Pardon the 'grammar' but that's the exact wording that comes to mind whenever I apply my spontaneity and preparation. There is that saying, always be prepared because you never know when the opportunity will be there and if you are ready you will be able to grab that opportunity and rock it for all its worth.

There are several instances I can recall where I had that oh wow "holy shit, I made this happen" kind of moment. The most recent one is my current "tutorial" for New College i.e. my volunteer position at a children's pediatric clinic. You might think I'm earning experience to become a nurse or a doctor. The "medical student" tag and scrubs I will be wearing would corroborate this notion, however, my original intention is to practice Spanish.

I decided that I am tired of academic spanish classes that are more literary analysis oriented and grueling and tedious for me, a non-native spanish speaker and non-literature student. I had this dream of applying my Spanish and getting real world practice. I would kind of generalize this dream without any specific ideas in mind on how to accomplish it, like as in most dreams. However, there are those times in life where I just get that extra motivation. For me it was the realization in mini classes that if I didn't do something I would have to take the advanced spanish class. Don't get me wrong I love the professor and the class did look interesting, but it's not what I'm going for, not how I want to apply my Spanish language skills. So, using my preparation in Spanish and at New College for being a 'go-getter' I got the opportunity to volunteer at the clinic. I set it up myself. I got a list of possibilities from another professor at New College, of sociology, who happens to be on leave now. I called 2 churches, an organization, and the clinic, all about volunteer positions involving me somehow practicing my spanish and voila, two days later I had a casual appointment set up to meet Dr. F at the clinic.

I'm the proud creator of the applied medical spanish tutorial. I volunteer 4-5 hours a week on Friday afternoons at the clinic. My goal is to become familiar with common medical terms in Spanish as well as how to direct and talk to patients with medical concerns. Most importantly I would like to gain confidence in speaking with native Spanish speakers whereas they would not even know that Spanish is not my first language. I would also like to be proficient in basic nursing work, such as forms, procedures, and taking vitals on a patient. This is going to be an awesome experience and I'm so excited!

My first day was awesome. I 'floated' as they call it with Mo. He was a great teacher and still a student himself. He actually let me take the heart rate and respiratory rate on a patient and didn't even check my numbers! He also let me take several children's weight. I got to carry around a stethoscope and proudly tout my "medical student" tag. There is SO MUCH TO LEARN!