Feeling Small 

Today, I awoke before the sun rose. 

I laid on the balcony, staring at an ocean that made me feel small. 

Everything I accomplished in my life felt past tense and far away. 

I knew I had to do more. 

I walked into campus and thought about what I could do differently with students today. 

They feel small and somewhat defeated by head and neck anatomy. 

It’s hard. 

I know it well. 

So, I let them lead. 

I gave them some landmarks and boundaries. 

We talked out clinically important relationships. 

I didn’t ask them to simply identify structures. 

We discussed innervations and pathways. 

We noted the relevancy of why they needed to learn the structures. 

We laughed hard. 

We helped each other. 

No one was watching the clock. Three hours quickly sped by, as they dominated the head and neck anatomy. 

They were so thankful that one student asked me if she could hug me afterward. 

They went from nervous to confident in three hours. 

This is the meaning of life. 

We helped each other to better help everyone around us. 

We had a blast and shared knowledge that will stay with us. 

These are the doctors that will go on to save lives. 

It might even be each other’s. 

It might be mine. 

They left not feeling small. 

The difficult head and neck anatomy became doable.

Feeling small is easy.

But helping others to feel less small can bring everyone involved to a higher level. 

As always, it’s your call.

– Dr. Kathy Dooley