Hello everyone! My name is Lanney, and I am a Senior here at OU, double majoring in Biology and Letters, along with following a pre-med track. When I first started here at OU, I was only a declared Biology/Pre-Med major, but last year, I had a Latin professor who talked to me about the possibility of also majoring in Letters. Ultimately, I think I decided to earn a degree in Letters because of my professor and also the content within the major, which is a little bit of everything, from philosophy to literature. Hopefully, I will attend OU medical school once I finish my undergraduate career, looking to become a pediatrician, possibly specializing in oncology. My career choice seems quite specific to a lot of people, and that is because it is. Many individuals who go into medical school have yet to decide on the specialty they wish to pursue, preferring to experience clinicals first, to get an idea of which they really enjoy. The primary reason why I plan to go into pediatric oncology is due to personal reasons, having had cancer at a very young age, I have always wanted to be like those nurses and doctors who helped me. Cancer in kids is often a really depressing topic to think about, and surely a heavy burden on those who have dedicated their lives to children with cancer, a burden that I hope that I will be able to help carry someday.
A big reason I decided to take this course, not only because it will fulfill some of my major support credits, is that I have always enjoyed mythology and classic folk tales. I especially enjoy modern-day retellings of classic stories, much like many previous students of this course have done with their own storybooks. Growing up, I was always a big reader (I still read nowadays, but not nearly as often), often visiting the library twice in one day because I had already read the book I had picked out in the morning. In elementary and middle school, I would often finish my assignments quite quickly, and so I would fill my time by reading, reading books ranging from ghost stories to faeries. While I do not read nearly as often now, I still find myself becoming absorbed in a series every now and again (Six of Crows being of favorite of mine recently).
A brief comment on the 'Socially Anxious' part of my title: I have always had pretty bad social anxiety, having only had my family acknowledge it recently. As a kid, we are always nervous about being different from the others, often making up some silly reason as to why we are different from everyone else. Some people will have some insecurity that they believe sets them apart from their classmates, but typically growing out of it once they get older, realizing that whatever they were nitpicking about themselves was not as big of a deal as they thought. I've always been known as a happy-go-lucky kind of person by my family and close friends, but I always had a hard time making new friends because not only did I think I was different from my peers, but I knew for a fact that I was different from my peers, what with having only one eye. Luckily, as I have gotten older, I have come to terms with who I am, and I even constantly make jokes about my eye, such as calling myself a cyclops (as I have one eye and I am considered to be taller than average, 5' 7"). I think it is really easy to get caught up in our own heads, and I hope that we all get the chance in our life to overcome our insecurities.
Hi Lanney!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your battle with cancer. My younger brother had Leukemia at a very young age as well so I know that must have been difficult. I admire your perseverance and turning that into something positive by using it as a reason to fuel your passion for a career. I wish you the very best of luck in this pursuit!
Like you, I have also always enjoyed mythology and classic folktales! This was fueled by my excessive reading as a young reader as well, which I still can't seem to keep up with nowadays, but I try to in my freetime. I also absolutely loved Six of Crows! My best friend recommended it to me and it led me to read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. I can't wait for the netflix series to come out!
Having a younger sibling who is afflicted by cancer is often worse than you yourself having cancer, so I am glad that you were able to be there for your brother as an older sister.
DeleteWhen I saw the announcement for a Netflix series I was super excited! I am sure that I will rewatch it a few times when it eventually comes out. The Grisha world really is a fascinating fantasy to get absorbed into, especially with the diversity of people, cultures, and religions found throughout.
Hi, Lanney. I'm glad you recovered from cancer. I'm sure you're very tough because of it. That's awesome that you're already passionate about a certain medical field. I think I would want to work with kids if I was a doctor. I hope you are successful in whatever you put your mind to. I think your story will be inspirational to those you take care of in the future.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, I tend to be labeled as the weaker member of my family, but that is because I am a massive scaredy cat and get scared at the drop of a hat. Thank you for the well wishes! I hope that the same is true for you, and you are able to succeed in what you wish to.
DeleteHey, Lanney. I am glad to hear you recovered from cancer. I know many kids from my hometown who have been diagnosed with cancer. It was such a big thing that the OSDH collected data and did a report on it. They said that there was not a unusually high number of pediatric cancer but I know that many of the residents there believe that there is still an unusually high number. I can see how passionate you are about pediatric oncology and can tell that you would be wonderful in that career.
ReplyDeleteIn elementary, middle, and high school I use to spend almost all my time reading any story that held my interest which included stories ranging from ghost and fairies to real life stories. I still really enjoy reading and read quite frequently which is why I took this class.
I hope you have a wonderful semester!
Hi Lanney! I loved hearing about your story and how strong you are and have become throughout your life! I think it is so cool to hear that your experiences have resulted in your desire to help other people by becoming a doctor as well. I think that your self awareness and strength will take you very far in life. It seems to me you are well equipped to handle what life throws your way. I think being different is what makes us interesting in life, and having a story to tell makes us memorable, and you definitely have one :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great semester and I am looking forward to possibly reading more of your work!
Hello Lanney, I've heard about letters; it seems like a really interesting second major to take on. I've also changed and added on to my major recently, deciding to focus on both the Japanese and English language. It's awesome that you're going into the medical field; I respect anyone who dedicates their lives to better others!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with this semester.
Hi Lanney! Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that you had cancer when you were young. Based on your career choice, it seems like it was a formative time for you! That's so admirable that you want to dedicate your life to helping other kids with cancer. Although we have different career paths, we actually have similar majors! I'm majoring in Biology and English, but I'm not pre-med, and I'm also a senior. It's cool that there are so many senior Biology majors in this class!
ReplyDeleteWe really do have a lot of Biology majors! And there's plenty of pre-med and other science majors in the mix as well!
DeleteHi Lanney! I'm glad you recovered from cancer! I can't imagine what it must have been like growing up in your situation, but I think it's fantastic that you took your experiences and decided to create a career out of it. That shows how incredibly strong and determined you are, and I have nothing but admiration for you. I hope this semester treats you well, and good luck pre-med!
ReplyDeleteHi Lanney, congratulations on coming to terms with and beating back your social anxiety! I was extremely anxious about people around me when I was going through middle school, but I too was able to end up accepting and just being happy with who I was. Beating cancer is no joke either, I hope you stay healthy in the future and make it into med school!
ReplyDeleteHi Lanney!
ReplyDeleteI highly commend you for going into a profession that you have such a personal experience with. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have cancer as a young child, and I believe that you will be able to help so many children in the future in a very unique way. I did clinical rotations on the pediatric oncology floor during my CNA/AUA nursing certifications, and it takes a special and absolutely vital person to be there.
Oh, Biology and Letters: that is such a great combination, Lanney! Two of OU's best! I originally came to OU in the Letters department, but my way of teaching Latin was just too weird for them (I like... Latin memes, ha ha; here's my Latin blog), so I ended up taking this job of teaching online Gen. Ed. courses, and that has worked out great because it's been an excuse to keep on studying world literature and mythology, which is a lifelong project of course; I'll never catch up on all the books I want/need to read!
ReplyDeleteAnd that is so great you can take the challenge you faced as a young child and use that to find your calling as an adult: that is really powerful! And you can never have too many stories with which to entertain children you might meet, so hopefully this class will give you a chance to keep adding to your storehouse of stories that you can maybe share with future patients in need of some fantasy and encouragement.
And can I just say: I am jealous of your height! I am short. SO. VERY. SHORT. But hey, teaching online, nobody knows I am short, right? In the classroom, though, I could barely reach to halfway up the chalkboard, so I sometimes brought a stepstool to class. Online, I don't need a stepstool! So I say: yay online! :-)
Hey Lanney,
ReplyDeleteI am also on a pre-med track and the reason I take this class is because I have an interested in mythology and folklore ever since I was little. I somewhat understand the socially anxious part because I was that kid up until high school. I had major insecurities and pushed people away in high school and now I think I am better and more confident person. Have you watched "Soul" on Disney+? it is one of the big part of why I changed my perspective and become more confident and appreciate the little moments. I'm glad that you can joke around and if you get a chance, you should search up Hanji Zoe from Attack on Titan, she wears an eyepatch because she got shot in the eye but she's a total badass, and that's what I think of you. Good luck with this semester!
Hi Lanney,
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful getting know about you. I am glad that you were able to recover from cancer. Your resiliency is inspiring not just to others but to you. You changed your experiences and pain into passion about a profession that helps others. I hope you are successful, and I wish you well on the rest of your journey.
Hi Lanney! Wow you have an amazing story! I'm glad to know you have recovered. It's really cool you want to go into the medical field and work in oncology with children! While I am an extrovert, many many of my friends are introverts and a lot of them deal with social anxiety. My roommate/best friend gets physically ill when she's around people for too long. Being her roommate has challenged me, to consider her point of view and how for some people it's exhausting (physically, mentally, emotionally, ect. ) to be social all the time. It's good though because it has built our friendship up a lot. I also love to read. I have a lot of good fantasy suggestions if you ever need something to read! Hope you have a great rest of the semester! and good luck on your medical career journey!
ReplyDeleteHi Lanney, nice to meet you! Biology and Letters sounds like such an interesting combination of majors—it's so cool that you can take classes that interest you while also taking steps toward the job you want. I'm really glad to hear that you recovered from cancer and are using that experience to help others. It's really amazing that you still keep in contact with your own doctor—someday you'll be that person to someone else. I also read a lot more as a kid than I do now, and I do miss the afternoons when I had nothing more to do than read a good chapter book!
ReplyDeleteHi Lanney, your story is so amazing, and I think that you are so strong for being able to persevere through everything that you have been through. I think that it’s nice that you have a specific field that you want to go into because I know a lot of people that are pre-Med that aren’t quite sure on their specialty. I hope that you succeed in your future ventures and I hope you have a great semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Lanney! I can't believe it's taken this long to get your blog to appear in my randomizer, but I'm glad it finally did because I loved reading about your background! That's amazing that you found a passion in oncology due to your personal history and still keep in touch with the doctor who diagnosed you. With such a personal connection to the field, I can imagine you will turn out to be a great oncologist and wish you luck with applying to med school!
ReplyDeleteHey Lanney,
ReplyDeleteYour story was very heartwarming, its nice to see you took your experience to figure out what you want to do with your life. I am also a biology major but I am going the pre-dentistry route. I have never really been a fan of reading books but this class and Indian Epics has changed my view on reading stories. I look forward to reading yours, hope the rest of your semester is great.
Hi Lanney!
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important to choose a career path that is something you are passionate about. Although I can't think of any positives to having cancer, as it is such a horrible disease, you are creating a positive by wanting to help more children that are living similar experiences to you. I bet you will be a great pediatric oncologist and bring so much light into these children's lives in such a dark time.
I've also always consider myself a big reader! I am kind of a binge reader, as in a finish a book in like 2 nights and do not sleep. I haven't read the book you mentioned! I am really into psychological thrillers.
It was great to learn a bit about you and I wish you luck in your future career!
Brooklin
Hi Lanney!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing people wanting to go into the medical field who are so passionate about it! There isn't anyone else out there who could do a better job. It sounds like you're doing great now and can use your own story to really help others! My sister works at OU Children's and loves helping kids. You would be so great at it. You have such a beautiful way of telling your life and I'm happy I got to learn more about you!
Hey Lanney,
ReplyDeleteI loved how you talked about wanting to specialize in pediatric oncology. I think your thoughts on helping to carry someone else's burdens is so sweet of you. You have already been through more than most yet you want to continue to help those around speaks volumes about you. I think you have such a positive outlook on things, and I know you will go far! Keep up the great work!
Hey Lanney!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your battle with cancer. My mom had Breast cancer when I was little so I know how difficult that can be. I'm also a senior biology major! I want to et into animal conservation instead of medical school however. I wish you luck on your career!
Hi Lanney,
ReplyDeleteBiology and letters sounds like quite the demanding major combo. I have exposure to some biomedical engineering classes at my high school's CATE center, and I have some exposure to Latin from high school (and one college course that I dropped after the first week... oops, it was hard ok. The professor was speaking to us in Latin. I thought no one speaks that anymore!?) Anyway, best of luck with your future career in the medical field!
Hi Lanney!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being a senior! I love when I hear that people are wanting to go to medical school and pursue those types of careers – not very many people want to do that today, but I thinks it's amazing when they do. Good luck with medical school and your future career!