White Coat Syndrome

"I was not obliged to be a model. I was not obliged to be a singer. I could have been a doctor." Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Vanity Fair, September 2008

Oh, the allure of those crisp white coats! Has anyone ever said "I could have been a software engineer, or CPA, or IRS auditor, or Plumbing Contractor?" Nope. It's the romantic, powerful, mysterious, intimidating world of medicine which often ends the "I could have been..." statement. Even by Carla, the newly installed First Lady of France. (La Premiere Damoiselle? Je'ne sais pas! )

Apparently, a white coat is an international symbol for competence, intelligence, and accomplishment. I do understand why. Science, math, half a lifetime spent in school, competition, information retention, man, woman, life, death, infinity ... cue in the music from "Hopkins"ABC's recent series filmed in Baltimore. Which I thought was awesome by the way.

Obviously, I have a med-obession right now as evidenced by the list of "doctor" books I've read over the past year, and the med-blogs I haunt. (look left). And all that reading has confimed something for me. I could NEVER have been a doctor. Never. I don't have the intellectual abilities or the determination or the stamina or the math & science aptitude. Not to mention the bank account needed for mega-years of schooling or the ability to get up close and personal with other peoples bodies. No thanks.

I do believe, however, I could have been an English Professor! I love reading and I love writing. It's painful when my young nephews tell me they hate books, and it's painful to watch the deterioration of spelling, writing, and use of the English language in our current culture. (Look left again, to Pres. Bush. OMG.) I've found myself lately making a mental collection of weird or interesting words like ineffable, perjorative, surreptitious, immutable. I'm not likely to use words like that in conversation anytime soon - I'm not THAT big of an egghead - but they still roll around my Jello brain, waiting to pop out into my blog I guess.

But I'm not an English teacher and Carla Bruni Sarkozy is not a doctor. I have settled for being an ordinary person and she has settled for being the French presidents' wife. C'est la vie!