Diana Reader

I'd really like you to read this whole post.  For no other reason than it might just resonate with you, and you might take action.  If nothing else, I'm reaching out because I know I can't do this alone. I never knew my medical microbio class would have such a strong impact on my life.  The professor is amazing, so incredibly relatable, forward in his thinking, down-to-earth, and passionately inspired by a few people he has shared with us, changing my life as well. We've been reading a book called Mountains Beyond Mountains .  It's about a man, Paul Farmer, who begins his medical degree at Harvard while simultaneously practicing medicine in Haiti.  He basically taught himself medicine through practice and flew back to school to take his exams.  It's an incredible story, and one well worth the read.  This man, this wonderful man, truly understand what it means to say that no life is less valuable than another.  He dedicates his life to helping ...

There's so much I have to say.  So, here goes everything. I stopped at the graveyard today.  Impulsively.  I was driving home from the store when a song came on from Tenth Avenue North, and I totally lost it.  I haven't cried in a long time.  It's really weird, I used to cry almost every night, but since last year, I just don't cry much.  Today though, today it all broke free. It wasn't one thing that hit me, but a thousand things.  I've been resisting the want to call certain people because I know I need to let go.  The strength of that is draining.  I've been studying and worrying about classes and life after school.  The stress of that is draining.  I'm sure you all have your own stresses and strength drainers in life; today was a mix of everything. I pulled into the graveyard and just cried.  I cried for all the people who were buried here, their earthly life over.  I cried for those who may not have kn...

I've been really stressed lately.  Like, really stressed.  Beyond what I was hoping for, and then some.  The strange thing is, I've been busier. It's not so much about the things I have to do (although that is a big part of it) but it seems to be more about my life. Have you ever felt anxious/nervous/stressed and you feel so overwhelmed you don't know where to begin? Granted, this week I have three more exams this week, sometimes I feel like finals week is every other week for me.  Not such a great thing for a girl who likes to be prepared and study a lot, yet is so drained from trying to reach perfection. Perfection is a strange concept, we strive for it, yet it is something we will never achieve.  When do you decide that where you are is acceptable?  When do you stop reaching for something you'll never achieve?  How do you let go of a desire to be all that is expected of you and more? I think wanting to reach perfection is more about the de...

Restless. Have you ever felt that way? Hungry.  Starved.  Empty. Unsettled . For awhile I've felt hungry.  Hungry for something.  Anxious for something.  Nervous, excited, apprehensive, scared, for something. For what? I'm not sure.  Or maybe I am.  Have you ever been so anxious about something in your life, that all of your focus is distracted and your attention to other things has lost it's meaning?  That's how I feel sometimes.  Most of the time.  The problem is, I'm not totally convinced I know what to do about it, or how to start. You see, I want to serve.  I want to get out of the box I have set for myself and do something extraordinary.  Incredible.  Unconventional.  I want to live the life of Christ I was meant to live.  I want to live with people who have nothing, those who are in need of everything, those who yearn for love, food, warmth, and acceptance.  I want to teach them about Ch...

Well I know that the title alone captured a large amount of guys curious to the answer and a decent amount of women who are thinking two things: 1) I wonder if this woman really knows what I want and 2) Maybe she will help me understand what exactly it is that I want.  I chose 10 things to write about, 10 things that women want.  So, other than the disclaimer that this isn't true for all women, I did try to keep it general enough so the majority is represented.  Without further ado, here goes. 1)  We want honesty.  Not necessarily the "yeah, you really do look fat in those jeans" honesty (although it is appreciated especially if we're going to go somewhere important) but the genuine type of honesty that is so rare to find in men.  We want you to tell us what your feeling. Tell us you're unsure of the relationship; it'll save us from the constant analyzation of perceiving your silence as a thousand other things that could be wrong with us. Tell us you lo...

There's something about taking a jump that is both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Life is full of opportunities to jump.   Sometimes it's hard to decide what's scarier, taking the jump into the unknown or staying in the same place; safe but never moving forward. Last week I decided to take the jump.  Out of a plane.  But it was more than that.  So much more than that. Skydiving was phenomenal, something I would recommend to anyone and everyone who wants to do something somewhat crazy, somewhat scary, and very much thrilling.  I've had some people ask me how it came about, and it's really a simple story.  I found a coupon.  And that changed everything.  But it was more than that, it was the conversation I had with one of my housemates, Rosalie.   We were sitting in the coffee shop in between classes, studying like we normally do (and by studying I mean we had our books open but we were talking about something co...

For those of you who don't know, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman is a tv show that is set in the 1860s.  Dr. Quinn is this amazing woman who is the physician for a small town.  She not only attends to the physical and emotional needs of her community, but also is not afraid to voice her opinion and stand up for what she believes is right.  Her passion for human rights and equality, along with her care for her community and for those less fortunate is astoundingly wonderful.  Furthermore, she is married to Sully, a man who is a great interpretation of "a true man".  He's an outdoorsy guy who not only provides for his family, but has a caring, tender heart genuinely concerned for the poor and oppressed.  I watched this show a lot when I was younger but it must have gone off air.  This summer I rediscovered the show, and became enthralled in it once again.  I no longer have cable where I'm living (which is actually great!) so I haven't watched t...