managing the to-do list (or excuses for being gone for a week!)
Posted by: sural in Peru“It doesn’t matter if you do it perfectly. Just go out there and try to do something. As long as you always act according to your set of values, it will be meaningful.” 2 years ago, I spent a day lobbying with PHR on the African Health Capacity Investment Act. A breakfast conversation with a fellow student was overheard by one of the physician activists, a very well-respected physician-researcher. He added those words to our conversation, effectively concluding what might have been a longer discussion on all of the possible paths out there. I still think of his comments sometimes (and have to admit it was a rather silly reason for why I chose to spend this year in Peru, since he’s very loosely involved in this program).
Lately, his words have to come to mind more frequently than usual. I’ve been thinking a little about how weird it is for me to want to go home so badly. The 5 month mark is always a little hard for me with regards to missing my family, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much value in leaving the place I’m working. Walking in the sun today, meters above the intensely aqua summertime Pacific, I wondered a little if I’m becoming a little less idealistic or passionate about where all of this energy is going…or if the research path is as fulfilling as I had hoped it to be. It’s tough to evaluate, since 5 months is so little time with regards to seeing the outcomes of research. Still, I keep wondering if this the best way to go about, for lack of more original phrasing, reducing health disparities [at least for me]. And by that, I mean, is this work really a meaningful contribution, is this the best way I can contribute based on the skills I have?
I know the thought process is most useful when I am actually doing something, something that fits in with my values, and so I’m grateful that I’m here and have set aside a year to commit to a few of these options. It’s the only way to seriously test out the theories, to at least try to sort things out and make some kind of contribution. Doing is better than speculating, no? Though, I have to say, it’ll be nicer if i ever get to some answers!
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Excuses….
6 days! I’ll be home in 6 days! While I am mildly terrified of the cold in the Northeast these days, it’s exciting to think of reconnecting with everyone before coming back here for the rest of the year. I usually do well with deadlines, and so these last few weeks have become crunch time for in anticipation of the holidays (everything more or less closes after Dec. 15 in Lima).
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