Thursday, July 21, 2005
Half Year Snapshots
Despite my last visit entailing a shot and painful drilling, I love going to the dentist. I've been going to the same clinic since I was three years old and the dentist and his assistants have watched me grow up in six month snapshots. Every time I go for a cleanup they get me talking about the biggest things that have happened in my life in the past six months.
I remember once being all excited about starting high school. Then it was winning the French national contest and getting an all expenses paid trip to France for a week. Then I started taking classes at the University of Minnesota. A check-up to two later I was talking about getting involved in the Sierra Club and they had seen me on TV or heard me on the radio because of it. Then the whole college search frenzy, and by the next visit I knew I was heading out east to mingle with the "ivy elite", but I already started to show signs of burnout. Then excitement peaked again with my Hilary Duff/Teen People photoshoot and the stakes got high and almost everyone but me was planning for my upcoming stardom which never really got to shine.
The folks at my local family dental clinic got used to expecting a chaotic fast-paced life out of me, but more importantly somewhere along my journey through the high school corridors and the college quads they gained a lot of respect and admiration for me. But I didn't really notice that most important bit until today.
I walked in and took a seat in the waiting area, where I started flipping through some magazines they had lying around. Less than a minute had gone by, but the secretary couldn't contain herself, "So have you been in any other magazines?" she blurted shyly. I smiled and told her I hadn't, but within seconds she had me talking about flying to Hollywood and the photoshoot and then flying to NYC for the release of the magazine. All the while she was smiling and was filled with wide-eyed excitement because somehow my going to that clinic for years linked her to all the madness.
Later when I saw the dentist and his assistant, their first question was "how is your summer, are you busy?" They probably thought that was a rhetorical question because when I confidently said "no," they seemed to stop still and do a double take. In between poking my teeth I told them about my job search and how nothing worked out and that was probably the best thing that could have happened to me because I really needed this time to rest up. Plans for the future were up in the air. Grad school? Probably, but not right away. I'm taking my time.
The dentist took his sharp tool out of my mouth and pushed his chair away announcing, "you're fine..."
I remember once being all excited about starting high school. Then it was winning the French national contest and getting an all expenses paid trip to France for a week. Then I started taking classes at the University of Minnesota. A check-up to two later I was talking about getting involved in the Sierra Club and they had seen me on TV or heard me on the radio because of it. Then the whole college search frenzy, and by the next visit I knew I was heading out east to mingle with the "ivy elite", but I already started to show signs of burnout. Then excitement peaked again with my Hilary Duff/Teen People photoshoot and the stakes got high and almost everyone but me was planning for my upcoming stardom which never really got to shine.
The folks at my local family dental clinic got used to expecting a chaotic fast-paced life out of me, but more importantly somewhere along my journey through the high school corridors and the college quads they gained a lot of respect and admiration for me. But I didn't really notice that most important bit until today.
I walked in and took a seat in the waiting area, where I started flipping through some magazines they had lying around. Less than a minute had gone by, but the secretary couldn't contain herself, "So have you been in any other magazines?" she blurted shyly. I smiled and told her I hadn't, but within seconds she had me talking about flying to Hollywood and the photoshoot and then flying to NYC for the release of the magazine. All the while she was smiling and was filled with wide-eyed excitement because somehow my going to that clinic for years linked her to all the madness.
Later when I saw the dentist and his assistant, their first question was "how is your summer, are you busy?" They probably thought that was a rhetorical question because when I confidently said "no," they seemed to stop still and do a double take. In between poking my teeth I told them about my job search and how nothing worked out and that was probably the best thing that could have happened to me because I really needed this time to rest up. Plans for the future were up in the air. Grad school? Probably, but not right away. I'm taking my time.
The dentist took his sharp tool out of my mouth and pushed his chair away announcing, "you're fine..."
