During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
Australia, Extra Stupid, Harassment, Melbourne, Museum, Victoria | Romantic | October 9, 2018
(There’s a regular who comes in once a week or so and talks my ear off the whole time. He talks at me, doesn’t ask me anything about myself, and doesn’t seem to listen to me when I do get a word in edgewise. I listen politely for as long as I can, but I am at work so I usually excuse myself after twenty minutes or so. Then, he comes in again.)
Regular: “Hey! I need to talk to you.”
Me: *currently with other visitors* “Okay. Sure. Give me a second.”
Regular: “Will you go out with me?”
Me: *stunned but not wanting to be mean* “Uh… We can discuss that but I have to finish helping these people.”
Regular: “I think you and I have a real connection. I’m in love with you.”
Other Visitor: “You know what? We’ll… we’ll wait, if you want to deal with this. It’s okay.”
Regular: “I’m in love with you.” *raising his voice* “I love you!”
(There’s several visitors nearby and all of them look over.)
Me: “Uh. Okay. Cool. That’s very nice, but I have a boyfriend.”
Regular: “But he doesn’t love you like I love you! You and I are perfect for each other!”
Me: “Dude. Look. I’m very flattered, but I don’t feel that way about you.”
Regular: *completely unembarrassed and smiling* “That’s not true! I know you love me, too. We understand each other.”
Me: “We really don’t. Please stop.”
Regular: *laughs* “Don’t be silly. Come on.”
Me: “Seriously? I am at work, I have a boyfriend, and I am not interested. Okay?”
Regular: “But your boyfriend doesn’t get you like I do!”
Me: “Oh, really? Hey, quick question: What’s my name?”
Regular: *smile fading* “What?”
Me: “What’s my name?”
Regular: “Oh. Uh. It’s… Um…” *getting flustered* “Well, that doesn’t matter. I love you! I don’t need to know your name to love you!”
Me: “I’m going to walk away now. Please leave.”
(He kept shouting how he loved me while I walked away and went out into the store room. One of the security guards had to come over and explain to him that a woman being nice to you while she’s at work doesn’t mean anything. He hasn’t come in since.)
home, Language & Words, Massachusetts, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | October 7, 2018
(My husband and I have been having trouble with a particular appliance lately. I told my husband that I would ask my mother what brand she uses so we can get a good replacement.)
Husband: “Oh, have you asked your mom about those… rug mowers?”
Me: *very confused* “Rug mowers?”
Husband: “You know… vacuum cleaners!”
(We both had a good laugh at his temporary verbal lapse.)
Atlanta, Georgia, home, Movies & TV, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | October 5, 2018
(A few years ago, my husband managed to be in the right place at the right time, and he was cast as an extra in a movie. It was a negligible role, but he ended up meeting the star actor, a well-known heartthrob, famous for playing a certain underwater superhero. They look similar, most noticeably tall with long hair. However, my husband is fairly thin, and this actor is very muscular with a large frame. They both share a scar through the same eyebrow, a trait that they seemed to bond over when they met. It’s also worth noting that my husband and I have recently been looking for a new work truck.)
Me: “I read online that The Rock got his stunt double a new truck.”
Husband: “Really?”
Me: “Yeah. You’ve got a rapport with a famous actor. Maybe you should rekindle your old flame.”
Husband: *scoffs* “Yeah, sure. He’s Aquaman. I’m more like… Waterdude.”
Czech Republic, Field Trip, Silly, Spouses & Partners | Romantic | October 3, 2018
(My husband and I just had an adventure that was 35 years in making. He is smart, but scatter-brained, and often forgets things overnight. Before he had a smartphone and me to keep schedules, things were tough for him. When he was in grammar school, his class was scheduled for a field trip to an astronomical observatory. My husband, an astronomy geek, was looking forward to it, but he forgot and went to normal lessons, while the rest of class was already on the train. Well, at least everyone had a good laugh about it. Then he went to high school… and the scenario repeated itself to the last detail. So, thirty years later we decide to treat ourselves and go on a trip, ending at the observatory. My husband is ecstatic, despite a bout of migraine, and keeps repeating that he finally is going to see the lecture. So, we buy the tickets, sit in the lecture hall, the chair rests lower themselves, lights go dim… and my husband falls asleep, waking up after the lecture, rested and refreshed, but none the wiser about the lecture.)
Husband: “Why didn’t you wake me?”
Me: “I tried. But honestly, you clearly needed a nap.”
Husband: “Well, I am clearly cursed. God doesn’t want me to see the lecture.”
(Pause.)
Husband: “What was it about? C’mon, people will ask me and I will look like idiot! Again!”
Bizarre, Dating, home, UK | Romantic | October 1, 2018
(I am talking with my cousin about her upcoming tenth anniversary.)
Me: “It’s so great that you’ve managed to last so long in a happy marriage.”
Cousin: “Well, it’s God’s blessing.” *pauses* “But it’s better than [Workmate]. She tried to go on a date with someone I hooked her up with.”
Me: “What happened?”
Cousin: “Well, the first few dates went okay with him, but when she asked if he would be comfortable with having sex, he just said, ‘How do I know you won’t call the police afterward and say I raped you?'”
Me: *a little taken aback* “What?”
Cousin: *shrugging* “That was her reaction, too. She told me, as well. [Another Workmate] is his sister and said that when he goes on blind dates or even spends a long time with a woman, he wears a homemade chastity belt.”
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, Jerk, New York, USA | Romantic | September 29, 2018
(My friend is over for a night of video games and “bro time” when his girlfriend tries to video chat with him. Because he is playing the game, he doesn’t answer. This does not go over well with her; she calls repeatedly until he picks up. He puts the phone in his lap so he can keep playing.)
Girlfriend: “What the f*** are you doing that you can’t answer your phone?”
Friend: “I’m playing a video game.”
Girlfriend: “Where? Where are you right now? I got home and the apartment was empty!”
Friend: “I’m at [My Name]’s house.”
Girlfriend: “I don’t recall you telling me you were going there. Are there girls there?”
Friend: “Well… I did. And no. Look. I’ll be home later.”
Girlfriend: “No, you need to come home now.”
Friend: “Why?”
Girlfriend: “There’s dishes and laundry to be done, and I haven’t seen you all day. You can’t just run off and play video games whenever you want. You have responsibilities! Are your friends more important than me?”
Friend: “No, I’m just hanging out with some guys. I’ll help clean when I get home tonight.”
(He hangs up and keeps playing the game like nothing happened.)
Me: “Uh, don’t you want to… fix that?”
Friend: “She’s always saying crazy s*** like that. She doesn’t mean it. If I didn’t come home, she’d probably b**** about that, too.”
(They broke up shortly thereafter because she made the same threat and he didn’t come home “on time.” She locked him out of the apartment and threw all his things out the window. He’s crashing on my couch right now. She still calls every now and then, and yes, she’s still crazy.)
Aunts & Uncles, Bizarre, Engaged, Funny Names, home, USA | Romantic | September 27, 2018
(My cousin is Chinese-American and a single child, and has recently announced his engagement to a divorced white American with three girls. She kept her ex’s name to match her kids. My aunt and uncle aren’t very pleased that my cousin will have three step-daughters right off the bat, because that could deter them from more children, especially a boy.)
Fiancée: *hands my aunt and uncle an item that includes her maiden name*
Aunt: “‘Bell’ is your name?”
Fiancée: “Yes, it’s my maiden name.”
Aunt: *drags [Uncle] aside for a bit, then they smile and return*
Uncle: “Your name is Bell! I think our son chose you on his first birthday!”
(My aunt and uncle then proceeded to explain that in Chinese tradition there is a fortune-telling ceremony where objects are placed down for the baby to pick. They didn’t use the traditional set of items, and one of them was a bell. It was supposed to represent growing up to become a shop owner, because that was the bell my aunt and uncle used in theirs. Apparently it decided to come true in another way.)
Alabama, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, Huntsville, Silly, USA | Romantic | September 25, 2018
(My boyfriend and I are lying in bed watching TV. We are spooning, with me as the big spoon. He is really talented at watching TV and forgetting the world around him. I kiss his ear and he jumps up, freaking out.)
Boyfriend: “What the heck, babe?! Were you trying to slice my ear open or something?”
Me: *deadpan* “No, I need something sharp to do that.”
Boyfriend: “Oh. Yeah, that’s true.”
(He snuggles back against me for a second before saying
Boyfriend: “I don’t know which is worse…”
Me: “What?”
Boyfriend: “That that is your answer to why you didn’t slice my ear open, or that I accepted it without a second thought.”
College & University, Flirting, Friends, Ignoring & Inattentive, LGBTQ, Non-Dialogue, USA | Romantic | September 23, 2018
I’m an asexual woman, but back when I was in college, “asexual” wasn’t really “a thing.” I just ended up telling all my friends, “I don’t date,” as a personal rule.
One of the boys who was in theater with me had a very strong crush on me. The two of us practically built the theater department, so we were always hanging out together and were pretty good friends, but he was always trying to convince me to go out with him. He would buy me gifts even though I had told him I didn’t date and didn’t have the money to reciprocate the presents.
One day he told me his brother was trying to sell a rare draft script for the first Star Wars movie ever made. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge Star Wars nerd, and I would have flipped to have that script or even just a photocopy of it. I even said as much to him. Unfortunately I didn’t have the money his brother was asking for, and the script sold online.
Fast-forward a year. I could tell our friendship was cooling because he was getting frustrated that I still wouldn’t go out with him. The last time it came up, he handed me a birthday gift: a pair of gold and ruby earrings. I don’t wear jewelry, so I had no idea what they were worth, but all I thought was that he had to have spent far more than what his brother asked for that Star Wars script! I stared at the jewels and then looked at him, finally saying, “Um, my ears aren’t pierced.”
He took the earrings back and we never really hung out again. He did finally move on, get a girlfriend, and get married. I have never broken my rule about “not dating.”
The moral of the story is: If you’re trying to get someone to go out with you especially by giving them presents, maybe take a cursory review of the three years you’ve been friends to notice that she doesn’t wear jewelry or have pierced ears, but is fanatically obsessed with Star Wars and would have felt obligated to go on a date if you had just given her that incredibly rare artifact you somehow had access to!
home, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | September 21, 2018
(My husband is not one to care about buying clothes, so that usually falls to me. He also has a birthday coming up.)
Me: “I noticed [Online Store] is having a significant sale on the underwear I prefer, so I think I’m going to stock up. Do you want me to order anything for you?”
Husband: “No, I don’t want anything.”
Me: “Okay, but just to be sure: I know that if any package is delivered this close to your birthday you are going to get excited, so I didn’t want you to be disappointed if there is nothing in it for you.”
Husband: *pauses, then, sheepishly* “Um, maybe I need some socks.”
(He got more for his birthday than just socks, but he also got some socks.)
Grocery Store, Jerk, Maryland, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | September 19, 2018
(I’m at the store pharmacy in a retirement community waiting for my prescription. There is a row of chairs, and I watch an elderly couple come over. The man sits down. His wife has a grocery cart, and apparently he plans to wait while she is shopping. I assume that due to his age or a disability, he isn’t able to walk around the whole store with her. Then, I overhear this
Wife: “Do you want to have a cookie while you wait?”
Husband: “Yeah.”
Wife: “Then go get it yourself. I’m not getting it for you!”
Grocery Store, Jerk, Maryland, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | September 19, 2018
(I’m at the store pharmacy in a retirement community waiting for my prescription. There is a row of chairs, and I watch an elderly couple come over. The man sits down. His wife has a grocery cart, and apparently he plans to wait while she is shopping. I assume that due to his age or a disability, he isn’t able to walk around the whole store with her. Then, I overhear this
Wife: “Do you want to have a cookie while you wait?”
Husband: “Yeah.”
Wife: “Then go get it yourself. I’m not getting it for you!”
Grocery Store, Michigan, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | September 17, 2018
(I work in a bakery in a grocery store. We have full loaves of bread that the customer can cut themselves or take home. One night, I notice a woman idling by the bread slicer.)
Me: “Hi, do you need any help?”
Customer: “No, I’m just waiting on my husband to come slice the bread for me.”
Me: “I can do it if you want.”
Customer: “No, that’s okay. He doesn’t come with me to the store often, so I like to make him feel useful when he does.”
Chicago, Extra Stupid, Health & Body, Illinois, Medical Office, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | September 15, 2018
(I love my husband to pieces, but when he’s sleep-deprived, the absolute dumbest crap comes out of his mouth. Example: After working multiple night shifts as a police officer on an incredibly busy holiday weekend, he insists on coming with me to my first sonogram appointment instead of getting some much-needed rack time.)
Technician: “Okay, there’s your baby’s head! And… oh, my.”
Me: “What? What’s wrong?”
Technician: “Oh, there’s another one in there!”
Husband: *horrified* “Our baby has two heads?!”
Me: *forcing down the laughter* “No, honey, we’re having twins. I think I’m driving us home.”
Husband: *face firmly in palm* “Okay, yeah, that’s fair.”
Car, Pennsylvania, Punny, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | September 13, 2018
(My husband and I are driving on a road near our house where they are putting up a natural food store right next to a restaurant. It looks like it’s almost touching the restaurant.)
Me: “It looks like they’re spooning one another.”
Husband: “Store sex! Does this mean they’re going to have kiosks?”
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Canada, home, Silly | Romantic | September 11, 2018
(My boyfriend is bad at giving compliments, and I’m bad at taking them. We’re both working on it. My boyfriend has blue-brown eyes that change colour depending on the lighting. I’m Asian and have the regular, brown Asian eyes.)
Boyfriend: “Your eyes are so pretty.”
Me: “Thank you. But they’re not as colourful as yours, though.”
Boyfriend: “No, they’re super colourful.”
Me: “They’re just brown.”
Boyfriend: “No, they’re also red.”
Me: “So, my eyes are bloodshot?”
Boyfriend: “NO! They’re not bloodshot. They’re just very pretty reddish-brown.”
Me: *skeptical*
Boyfriend: “And your eyes are so small.”
Me: “Are… Are you making fun of my Asian eyes?”
Boyfriend: “No! Not your eye shape! The holes in your eyes! It’s so small!”
Me: “Are you talking about my pupils?”
Boyfriend: “Yeah, they’re so small, so I can see more of the coloured part of your eyes.”
Flirting, Harassment, New York, Supermarket, USA | Right Romantic | September 8, 2018
(I’m cashiering in the early morning. An older man comes through my line and as usual I try to be friendly, polite, and provide the best service I can.)
Customer: *after I’ve finished scanning and bagging about all his things* “You know you’re a real sweetheart, and do a great job!”
Me: *smiling, as the compliment seems genuine and kind* “Thank you, sir, your total is [total]. Would you like help out to your car today?”
(He declines, pays, and I hand over his change.)
Customer: *as I hand over his bags* “If I was sixty years younger, I’d try to kiss you!”
(I’m quite shocked at this. Yes, I am a young woman in college, but I’ve never had something like this happen.)
Me: *giving a little fake chuckle* “Have a great morning, sir.”
(He laughed and walked away. I stood at my register still in slight shock. I’d heard about stuff like this happening but I honestly felt really flustered and embarrassed. In all honestly, though, I’m sure the customer didn’t mean to offend me and was just trying to be sweet.)
Australia, Flirting, Language & Words, Market, Silly | Romantic | September 7, 2018
(My mum and I are walking up to a market stall to buy coffees. There is an older man working at the counter. He turns to face my mum and says the following
Man: “Would you like me to date you?”
Mum: *turns red* “Um… What?”
Man: “Date? Yes?”
(At this point, the man holds up a pair of tongs with a dried date between them.)
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