humbling....humbling indeed.
i've been MIA for the past several days because i've been busily trying to prepare for my one hour presentation today. in fact, it seemed like i had so timely missed the lumps embarrassment last night. =) knowing that this may be the last time i would give a talk for this academic group of intellectuals (my two professors and a trillion postdocs), i wanted to knock them dead...! while i usually go out of my way to look for attention, speaking in public this time around proved to be a little more difficult. maybe because there were so many brains in the room, but it really stretched me. i shared with others the research i had recently gathered--facts and statistics that stood up to open scrutiny and challenge. when asked a question, i used what i learned in an open forum to respond, forcing myself to shed my quiet demeanor, to cast my ideas into the arena of intellectual debate, and to learn to give and accept constructive criticism. i would not go so far as to say i did horribly on this presentation, but boy did i leave feeling i've been humbled. they all treated me like a colleague, yet i knew, i had so much to learn and so much to experience. the intellectual intensity only instigated me to do better, to ask what's next?, and to understand that i can always be challenged. it must have been the adrenalin rush that got me through such anxiety. among the group of intellectuals, the one who came across as humblest of them all also proved to be most knowledgeable. i've been meaning to blog about him...a harvard med, ucsf-resident who without a doubt have left the greatest impression on me. no, it is not his credentials that impressed me, but the way he could relate with people, without even a speck of arrogance, but dashes of charm and wit here and there, catching you by surprise. his modest behavior not only adds to the incredible personality he has, but touches those he interact with with utmost respect and sincerity. with a beloved family of 3 other females (an adopted hispanic girl, daughter, and harvard-med-wife) and a promising future, he has definitely inspired me to believe that this is a beautiful world.