The Next Step

A short while back I inquired to the readers of this blog what drove them to pharmacy. I later responded with my own reasons and my hope for my career aspirations.

Since I have finally been accepted to a school and roughly know where I will be heading in my life over the next few years, it is time to take the next step and begin to build on those aspirations.

For all the bitching and whining we may do on a daily basis, we do this job to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether we realize it or not, this is truly what we do on a daily basis.

I have spent most of my 9+ years working in the less affluent sections of cities. Yes, there are those who are addicted to drugs and those who abuse the welfare system, but if you look closer you see another subset of people. They are the people who, for whatever reason, are stuck in this realm of society.

They are not bad people, but maybe they have had terrible breaks. And there is not much they can do to climb out of it.

I was lucky growing up in that I had a strong support system. I may not have had a father for the first six years of my life, but I was lucky to have one from that point afterwards. At times, we may not have had a lot, but we had enough and eventually I evolved into the person I am today.

Not everyone has that opportunity though. Some people are forever locked in a viscous cycle of poverty and despair. I see it every single day I'm at work and at times it is heartbreaking.

Then there are the people who reside in this life out of necessity. Maybe both parents lost their jobs at roughly the same time or they had occurred medical bills for a sick child they cannot pay.

On a daily basis I see all sorts of talent and skills being wasted simply because they are not granted the simple opportunities I was. One of my co-techs grew up in a strikingly similar manner as I. The main difference is that I grew up in a small town whereas he grew up in the city.

He is one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and, as he says, the only thing he's ever had in spades in life is words. Yet he was never able to college and, I fear, never will. The thing is he has this talent that may never be put to its full potential which is perhaps most tragic at all.

Hell I feel guilty when I debate purchasing expensive items because I know that so many people have a hard time affording the basic necessities in life.

Where I am going with this you may wonder? I feel it is my opportunity to finally start planning on giving back.

One of my favorite charities is called the Victory Junction Gang. Started by a former NASCAR driver after the tragic death of his son. It is a place where chronically and terminally ill children can experience the life of a normal child while all of their medical costs are paid for by the Camp.

It helps that this happened to be my favorite driver of mine growing up, but its also an idea that I think is spectacular. My goal now is to work out some time of internship to be done over the summers once I start pharmacy school.

Going beyond that, I was shown that several schools offer teaching rotations in public schools. There is something about teaching kids that is immensely interesting to me, especially when you can connect with someone that otherwise would be left out. Perhaps I can help one of those kids I see in our store on a daily basis finally reach their potential.

Sure, this may be all overly ambitious, but it's something I have wanted to do for a long time. And now, after all these years, I will finally have the chance to do so.

I guess its one of the perks of being a future pharmacy student. And, I must say, it's a helluva perk.