I also have three siblings but none of us have left the state! So my question to you: How do you manage keeping up with what is going on in their lives? Text? Email? Or perhaps even old school paper and pen?! The options seem endless nowadays but many seem less personal than others. I can´t imagine life without my crazy siblings ;)
My siblings and I are a crazy bunch. We are all three years apart and are all over the map right now. My sister is in Germany doing medical school there, my brother is in his sophomore year at college about 3 hours away from our hometown, and my youngest sister is finishing her senior year of high school and applying for college. Since we're no where near each other, we really do use social media/technology a lot to stay updated on each others lives - through facebook, tweeting, whats app, and especially Skype with Viktoria (the one in Germany). It's nice because we all have a lot going on, but can stay caught up in each others lives via the internet. Thanks Al Gore! ;)
How do you stay motivated to accomplish your goals?
I generally try to remind myself that there is no other option than to succeed. Not getting a job, or failing out of medical school are not plausible outcomes. So you just do it. I also tend to reward myself for the smallest things. Read that horrendously boring chapter about insulin? Time to watch my favorite show. Did a hundred practice problems? Time for a fun walk outside. That kind of thing. Also having some kind of a plan helps!
What is your favorite part of the Christmas season?
Buying everyone presents - I always want to give them to the people before Christmas! I also really like all of the sparkly lights, and the whole not hating snow thing that happens before Christmas (but then the hate for it sticks around until mid April).
Do you ever struggle with body image?
Every day. I think that's "normal" though. I have just tried to get to a place where I'm accepting of what I do and do not have, and that makes it a lot easier to look in the mirror, and then move on with my day. There's more to all of us than what way our hair lays or what my legs look like in certain pants, so I try to focus on that more.
Have you ever had sex at a mall or in a store?
HA! No. I'm way too boring for that. But if you have stories, please share because I would love to read them!
If you have kids some day, will you teach them German?
Yes. Well, I'll try. I'll definitely want my parents to speak German with them, and there will be a lot of German books read to them growing up. I think just the exposure will be good, and then I'll let them make their own decision, but you hear how often people say "man, I wish I had had the chance to learn a second language!" so it's something I definitely want to do with them.
Favorite guilty pleasure TV show?
Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, the Real Housewives series, and Say Yes to the Dress. Thankfully for my studies, I don't have cable anymore!
How did you meet your boyfriend?
Chris and I met when I was a sophomore in college - we were both members of the UW Marching Band, and technically met on the back of a bus on the way to a concert in a different part of the state. He challenged me to be in a chip eating contest against a freshman, and I won, and that was basically that. After a five years together, we've mutually decided that our relationship had ran its course, so we are no longer together. I'm so thankful for the years we had together, we really grew up a lot in that time, but it's time for us to make our own paths.
How much do you miss Wisconsin and the UW?
So much. Every Saturday my heart hurts a little bit more when I see the football game. I miss my friends. I miss being a part of such a great school on a daily basis. I miss all of the people I spent SO MUCH time with.
And the cheese!!! I miss the cheese too.
Do you have an exercise routine?
Not really :/ I should! But I don't. When I get the urge to get moving, I tend to either do the stair master or run. I ran a half marathon about a year ago, and would really like to get back into that some day. I do have a lot of dance parties in my house though! ;)
What's your favorite Rittersport flavor?
Marzipan!!!!! x100
Being German myself and studying the cultural differences between Germans and Americans, what do you think is most annoying about the either one? Anything in particular that you always "hated"?
Oohhhh, interesting question! It's hard to answer the question without majorly stereotyping whole countries of people. God, I don't even know if there is something I can pinpoint because my view of Germany is largely based on my time there with my family, so I can't say like "oh I hate that they sit around and each so much bread!" (haha, not true at all). I guess sometimes I feel Germans have a tendency to stare at others? In America, I wish people were a bit more formal. I like that Germany has a formal "you" and that everyone is very polite.
How do you manage your time with med school and still find time to blog, shop, be fashionable, etc.? This is something that I am sure everyone in their twenties is trying to master especially while trying to balance school and/or careers.
Hmm. Well I have no idea actually, because I feel like I don't manage to do anything that well. I always wish I was doing better in school, I always wish I had more time/motivation to blog more, and I always wish my outfits were better and more thought out. I just try to put as much effort into each as I can. The biggest time management thing I ever read about is that once something touches your hands, take care of whatever is needed. Like if you open the mail and have bills, pay the bills right then, instead of putting them down, looking later, putting them again, maybe pay one, come back and do another later. It's a time waster. Just get it done, and then it's done. Not to say that I follow this all the time, but it's something that's really stuck with me.
What do you do to get through tough, stressful days?
I have dance parties with my roommate and my dogs in the living room. Seriously.
Where do you see yourself living after residency? Wisconsin or somewhere different??
I think it'll depend a lot on my personal life, and where my family is. I'd love to go to a bigger city for residency - Madison is the largest city I've lived in, and it's population is only about 250,000. I fell in love with Seattle when I was there this summer, so that's somewhere I could see myself living for a while. I'm not really tied to any place though, so we'll just see!
Who inspires you?
Is it totally cheeseball to say my parents? My mom is the most strong, caring, and creative person I know. She is always taking care of others, and putting us first. My dad is the hardest worker I have ever met, and is so selfless.
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| ^^^ recreations, 18 years part |
When I was going to school in Germany in 8th grade, we learned all about the Holocaust. It's just a part of history there, just like learning about the Native American-Pilgrim history, or Japanese imprisonment camps are discussed here. It's something ugly that happened, but no one denies that it happened. If we don't learn from history, we're going to repeat it. Germans are very open about the fact that it happened, and that it is something that will never happen again.
Please let me know if you have any other questions below!
