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Advocacy; from a med student

During the first half of 2020, much of which was spent in social distancing, I've had more time than expected to ruminate on what it means to be an advocate in today's world. With the progression of current events, I tried to come to terms with how the role of a physician is so intermingled with systemic issues in direct healthcare and awareness/education. The black lives matter movement not only uncovered historical medical racism (e.g. forced sterilization and eugenics in the U.S.) but highlighted many disparities in the current medical system that fail people of colour, such as undermining their pain/experiences, missing symptoms that present differently on darker skin, or even daily microaggressions. Also during the initial COVID outbreak, scientific information was twisted by the media and spread so quick, causing mass distress and xenophobia, and it wasn't until later that more physicians and experts were called to educate and inform the public. At the end of the day, I think there is inevitably so much politics involved in basic healthcare and human rights, that may be out of our scope. However I feel that we must recognize the privilege that we have as future physicians, and the responsibility that we hold. We are given a power and network that's not available to many, so we need to step up as citizens of the world and speak up for those who can't speak as loudly as us. Today, I can share information to educate my peers and unlearn my biases to set a good example. Tomorrow, when the time comes, I will stand with fellow physicians in the workplace and beyond to push for a system that better serves our people.

Are there barriers? Definitely. Even in my small circle of family and friends, I often get the sense that not everyone sees social issues through the same lens, and their own experiences may alienate them from my position - and this may be the same case with my colleagues, peers, superiors and patients too. When you challenge the status quo, there will always be well meaning people who will tell you "don’t talk about politics at the dinner table." My own parent's immigrant story in the U.S. is a raw example of this, and to put it simply, they're just trying to survive in a society that is also not built to favor them, so they learn to live within the rules. Perhaps in some sense, advocating for a fair and just world because it's the morally right thing to do is naïve of me. But I think, I cannot be complacent when I have arrived at this position that allows me the platform to make change in the future. Being a physician undoubtedly gives protection, and I think any physician who's using that to fight for a better system is going in the right direction. To end, I will leave a quote which summarizes my thoughts well. "Opting out of the conversation because you could get criticism is the definition of privilege" - Brené Brown.

Criticism is a small price to pay for healing.

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not knowing how to respond to messages and forgetting about them for so long that it becomes impossible to respond to them without it being weird is the bane of my socially awkward existence

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so grateful to have lived in three centuries: 20th, 21st, and March 2020

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can i give y’all some genuine life advice? be the kind of friend you want to have. my whole life i’ve wanted friends who go out and take pictures of eachother and stay up late on the phone. i’ve always wanted friendship bracelets and pictures hanging on my walls. and now i have that becuase i became someone who took pictures of my friends and listens to what they have to say and invites them over when they feel sad. be someone you want to be friends with and i promise you others will want to be friends with you too.

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Taiyo Matsumoto

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This Thread

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My brother was diagnosed with depression years before I was, and because of that he started therapy years before I did.

I still remember when I was a young teen and he was playing a Nirvana song and he stopped it at this one line: “I miss the comfort of being sad”

He told me that when you start to get better, there’s a part of you that misses being sad and that if you start feeling that way you have to be extra extra aware and careful because if you indulge the feeling you’ll go down a self-destructive spiral

And even though that was years and years ago, I think about it all the time. Especially when I’m reading discourse on the idea of getting so attached to mental illness as an identity that you don’t want to improve things because you feel safe in it and don’t know who you are without it

I always think of that line “I miss the comfort of being sad” and my brother’s warning

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Things I’m trying to work on: -insecurities -motivation -stress -oversensitivity -jealousy -anxiety -generosity -gratefulness -assertiveness

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https://instagram.com/p/BeieK4KHfY2/

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Cher destroying gender

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A letter to myself,

Take a shower. Wash away all your negative thoughts. Eat a full meal and drink a full glass of water. Put on a clean change of clothes. You’re ready for today and whatever comes your way. Please take care of yourself.

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christians: god is formless, god can come across as anyone or anything

person: god might be a woman

christians:

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i made an “evil sim” or at least the closest i could do to it, shez materialistic, self-absorbed, gregarious and self-assured. all she does is train her skills and fuck

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it’s the boys

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Some Drinks as Shounen 'Anime' Protagonists

I tried to draw a few drinks as anime dudes + water!

Would probably draw other types of drinks to add to this in the future haha. Good Afternoon! It’s based on a gijinka reward poll I did on patreon in which drink gijijnka won.

Full sizes +bonus wallpaper and transparents available for download there:

  LINK