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.
Cheaters, Comeuppance, Exes/Old Flames, Fights/Breakups, Maryland, Non-Dialogue, Text/Chat/Email, USA | Romantic | July 27, 2018
There was a guy I met via a dating app, with whom I went on several dates. It got very serious, very quickly, and he started talking about me potentially becoming his girlfriend.
After a little over a month of going on dates, I got a Snapchat from him with the caption, “Girlfriend hack!” and a picture of some other girl. I immediately asked him about her, and he confessed that it was his girlfriend of over a year. I was heartbroken, and the fact that he wouldn’t add me on any social media platforms suddenly made sense.
A week later, I reached out to his girlfriend via Facebook to inform her of her boyfriend’s actions over the past few weeks with me. I felt that if I were in her situation, I’d want someone to tell me. I didn’t tell her out of spite, or to try to get him all to myself. I’ve always felt that when a man cheats, the women shouldn’t blame one another; they should blame him for his actions and his lies.
She didn’t feel the same way. She responded by calling me a liar and yelling at me for interfering in their relationship. I took that moment to remind her that he pursued me on a dating app, meaning that it was his intention to find someone to cheat with. She continued to defend him, and it became very clear to me that she was so in love with him that she’d never leave him, even for her own good. The way he spoke about her, it was obvious that she had low self-esteem, and I guessed that she assumed she couldn’t get another man as attractive and as seemingly sweet as he was. So I let it go.
A few weeks went by, and a mutual friend told me the guy and and his girlfriend got engaged. This really upset me, because I knew the girlfriend/fiancée deserved better, so I took it upon myself to text him and inform him that I was pregnant. He freaked out and started blaming me for getting pregnant, claiming it wasn’t his child. I convinced him that he was the only person I had been with, and that I’d definitely be having a paternity test, which would include him. I also sent him a picture of a positive pregnancy test. He began to panic, telling me to get rid of the baby, and then verbally attacked me personally, saying this would ruin his life. He asked me how could I be so selfish.
The irony was almost too much to handle.
I then told him that he had two options: he could either tell his fiancée himself, or I would. After several text messages convincing him I was serious, he stopped responding.
After an hour without a response, I got a phone call from him, and through tears he told me that he told his fiancée and she left him. He called me names and said I ruined his life. After I let him get it all out of his system, I calmly reminded him that he had no one to blame but himself, because he went on a dating app to find someone to cheat on his girlfriend with, and then broke not only my heart, but his fiancée’s heart, as well. He finally seemed to realize how badly he had screwed up. He asked me how many weeks along I was, because he was wondering if I was still early enough to have an abortion.
I responded by telling him I wasn’t pregnant.
He flipped out so bad. It was one of the funniest moments of my life. I told him that he got exactly what he deserved. I also told him to Google positive pregnancy tests, because he’d find the picture I sent him right at the top. I then hung up the phone and blocked him permanently.
The best part about this story, which happened several years ago, was that recently the ex-fiancée reached out to me to thank me for breaking them up. She told me it was the best thing that could have ever happened to her, and that now she was engaged to another man who treats her well and who she believes is truly her soulmate.
I confessed to her what I did to end her relationship, and she laughed for a good minute before catching her breath enough to call her ex-fiancé several explicit names, saying he got what he deserved. She apologized for all the names she called me, and told me that he constantly made her feel like she wasn’t good enough, so she didn’t believe she was, and let him walk all over her. If she hadn’t believed he had gotten another woman pregnant, she never would have been able to leave him. She and I are now quite good friends, and she even invited me to her wedding.
He, on the other hand, lost all his hair by the age of 30, has a beer belly, is still single, and had to move back in with his mom after the breakup, where he’s lived ever since.
I always felt a little petty for breaking them up, but I’m so glad it ended up working out for the best.
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Florida, Silly, USA, Vacation |
Romantic | July 25, 2018
(My boyfriend and I are walking back to our hotel room rather late at night after a couple of very busy days. He falls asleep on my shoulder on the bus ride back to the hotel. I am not convinced that he’s entirely awake when we get off of the bus and begin walking.)
Boyfriend: “Babeeeee.”
Me: “What?”
Boyfriend: “Hold my hannnnnnd.”
Me: “Okay.” *takes his hand*
Boyfriend: *whispers* “The alliance will be greatly pleased.”
China, home, Hong Kong, Silly, Spouses & Partners | Romantic | July 23, 2018
(My partner and I are both school teachers with a long commute. On weekend mornings we get up early for training, so a lie-in is a rare treat for us. This happens on our first Sunday lie-in in a long time. I am absolutely useless as a human being until my first cup of coffee in the morning. My partner lightly nudges me awake.)
Partner: “Hey, sweetheart.”
Me: “Mrrrphrrr.”
Partner: “It’s Sunday.”
Me: “Yay.”
Partner: “What shall we do?”
Me: “Mrrrphrrbrdrrr .”
Partner: “We could go to church? Or a healthy jog?”
Me: “Sure, sure, that sounds nice.”
Partner: “The only problem is you’re Jewish and you hate running.”
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, England, Friends, home, Jerk, Prank, Proposal, UK | Romantic | July 21, 2018
(One of my long-term friends has a pretty unconventional way of doing things, and this unusual streak runs through every aspect of his life. He tells me this story about a conversation he had with his girlfriend at home.)
Friend: “[Girlfriend], we need to talk about something.”
Girlfriend: “Sure, what’s on your mind?”
Friend: “I don’t think I want you to be my girlfriend anymore.”
Girlfriend: “Sure, so what do you want to talk about?”
Friend: “I’m being serious; I don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore.”
Girlfriend: “Er… what?”
Friend: “Yeah, I just felt it wasn’t working, so, yeah, we’re going to have to reevaluate things between us.”
Girlfriend: *getting pretty angry* “Are you even going to give me a reason? You can’t just stroll in and dump me and expect me to fine with it. Are you seeing someone else?”
Friend: “Not at all. I just don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore…” *gets down on one knee and produces a ring* “… because I’d much rather have you as my fiancée, instead.”
Girlfriend: *in tears and borderline hysterical* “YOU A**HOLE! YES!”
(He then calmed her down and took her out to her favourite restaurant for a meal. I told him that the fact she didn’t at least backhand him for that is proof that they’re made for each other.)
Arizona, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, Phoenix, Silly, Telemarketing, USA | Romantic | July 17, 2018
(Due to being a small business owner, I get all types of spam calls, but due to the clientele and our cloud-based services, I can’t afford to not answer the phone, as it may be a client’s phone number I’m just not familiar with. A particularly dense and determined telemarketer calls me repeatedly from one of those “unknown ID” lines that are impossible to trace. I am getting fed up with them, and so is my girlfriend. She decides to answer the call since my attempts thus far to get them to stop have been unsuccessful
Girlfriend: *sultry voice* “Are you ready for something hot and satisfying?”
Telemarketer: “…huh?”
(My girlfriend lets out a low and guttural belch into the phone and hangs up.)
California, home, Los Angeles, Movies & TV, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | July 15, 2018
(While watching “Train to Busan,” a Korean zombie flick set on the titular train
Me: “Apparently, they’re making a Hollywood remake of Train to Busan.”
Husband: “How the h*** are they going to do that? Our public transport here is s***.”
Me: *cracking up*
Husband: “It’d be what? The Long Drive to Busan? Everyone’s just stuck in traffic. For two hours. Including the zombies.”
(Zombies begin falling from broken windows and rapidly swarm towards the survivors in a craze, snarling and spitting. They scramble over barriers and each other, broken limbs jutting out at odd angles, making them resemble a horrifying stampede of twisted, mangled marionettes.)
Husband: “Looks like a typical Black Friday, if you ask me
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, Language & Words, Silly, USA | Romantic | July 13, 2018
(My boyfriend and I are sitting at home eating our personal pints of ice cream. I’m about to take the last bite before putting it away for the night, so I dig out a chunk of brownie before handing him the pint to put in the freezer.)
Boyfriend: “You know, you always take such big spoonfuls of ice cream. It’s quite… vexing.”
(I stare at him in confusion, as he’s usually extremely laid back.)
Me: “My ice cream eating angers you?”
Boyfriend: “What? No!”
Me: “That’s what vexing means!”
Boyfriend: “Well, I didn’t know what vexing meant!”
Me: “Then why did you use it?!”
(He just throws up his hands and walks away. A few minutes later…)
Boyfriend: “So… vixen and vexing have nothing to do with each other?”
(The best part of this is that he’s a published author
My ex-boyfriend had a habit of not buying me birthday gifts. Usually his excuse was something like, “I couldn’t figure out anything,” or, “I’ll get you something later.” The latter also ended up with, “Sorry, couldn’t figure out anything for you.” I didn’t mind too much, because I didn’t want to be materialistic, and I had some self-esteem issues, too, at the time, which made me think I didn’t even deserve any gifts.
One year, my birthday was approaching and my ex-boyfriend’s mother asked me what her son had given me as birthday gifts in the previous years. When I told her, “Nothing,” she was quite astounded, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
However, my ex actually got me something that year: a pretty piece of jewelry. I was very happy that he had made some effort and got me something; he had thought of me. I figured that his mother had had a talk with him about the matter.
A couple of months later, I was cleaning our apartment and I found the receipt of my birthday gift. I was about to throw it away, when all of a sudden I realized something. I remembered the date on the receipt. We were at our friends’ place out of town the whole day. There was no way he was in jewelry store at the time.”
Then it hit me. I went to my ex-boyfriend and asked, “Did… Did your mother buy this gift?”
“Haha, yeah!”
It turned out his mother had gone alone to the jewelry store and picked out something for me. My ex hadn’t asked her to, and she hadn’t consulted my ex. Then, she gave the present to my ex and told him to give it to me as a birthday present. She did not ask money for the jewelry, and my ex never paid anything for it. And he had happily accepted. Again, he hadn’t had to expend any effort for my birthday.
Of course my ex’s mother meant well, and I appreciated that. However, my ex’s actions — or non-actions — made me so sad and disappointed. I even started to cry after the revelation, and he couldn’t understand why. “It’s still a gift, right?” To this day, I wonder if I was in the wrong to be disappointed.
California, Harassment, home, Strangers, USA | Romantic | July 9, 2018
(It’s late at night and I get a call from a number I don’t recognize. I usually answer, anyway, so I can include telemarketers in my block-call list. I’m female and the caller is male.)
Me: “Hello?”
Caller: “Hey, girl! Wassup?”
Me: “I think you have the wrong number.”
Caller: “Woah. You’re not my baby momma.”
Me: “Nope.”
Caller: *pauses* “So, what’re you doing?”
Me: “I think you need to call your girl.” *hangs up*
(I don’t know what that guy was thinking! I was suddenly going to flirt with an unknown stranger who had a girlfriend or wife?)
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, North Charleston, Silly, South Carolina, USA | Romantic | July 7, 2018
(My boyfriend and I are getting ready for bed when I notice that the living room light is still on. I am tired and comfortable and have a gently purring cat on my chest, so I whine
Me: “Why is the living room light on?”
Boyfriend: “Because you left it on.”
Me: “No, babe, it’s the automatic light.”
(It’s supposed to turn off at 10:00 pm; it is 10:06.)
Boyfriend: “Oh. I shall go investigate! And by that I mean…”
(He gets up and makes a show of getting a decorative knife from our dresser.)
Boyfriend: “Imma kill it!”
(Just as he steps toward the bedroom door, the light flicks itself off, leaving me in hysterics and him saying
Roundups | Friendly Healthy Hopeless Learning Legal Related Right Romantic Working | July 4, 2018
Happy Birthday to the United States of America! Today we celebrate… with barbeques and picnics and parties and, of course, lots and lots of fireworks.
Here are some of our favorite stories about the Fourth of July. Enjoy! And if you’d like to share your own tale of the Fourth, leave us a comment or submit it here!
Happy Treason Day! — But will they be serving tea?
Viva La Revelation — There’s no independence from annoying customers…
Independent Of The Closing Times — …or the entitled customers…
Independent Of This Holiday — …or the geographically confused customer.
Independent Of Your Day — Some Americans still forget that Canada is not the US.
The Fourth Is Not Strong With This One — Some British still forget that the US is not part of Great Britain.
Murica! The Lullaby — Well, is there one?
Not The Brightest Spark In The Firework Display — Same holiday, different day?
Were You Born On The Third Of July? — Same holiday, different month?
Those Silly Colonies And Their Quaint Rebellion — Same holiday, different holiday?
Leap Days Of Logic — Different country, different calendar?
An Argument For The Separation Of Church And State — And sometimes folks forget that we still have ties to where our country came from!
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Cheaters, Chicago, Extra Stupid, home, Illinois, USA | Romantic | July 3, 2018
(I’ve just broken up with my boyfriend of two years, and I rebound into a pretty unhealthy relationship. He raises a lot of red flags on our first date, including the ultimate crime on this site of being rude to the waiter, but I don’t care. Two weeks later, I get laid off and go to his apartment, distraught and seeking reassurance.)
Me: “[Boyfriend]?”
Boyfriend: *muffled* “Oh, s***.”
Me: “Uh, it’s me, [My Name].”
Boyfriend: *opens door, sweating* “[My Name], what are you doing here?”
Me: “I just got fired… Who’s that?”
(I point to a shirtless man clearly trying to hide behind the couch.)
Boyfriend: “He’s, uh, my new roommate.”
(He lives in a pigsty that no one would pay to inhabit.)
Me: “Are you f***ing cheating on me? How could you?”
Boyfriend: “I’m not cheating!”
Me: “You were just having sex with another guy! How is that not cheating?”
Boyfriend: “We weren’t having sex; we were just [engaging in sexual act of sorts]! That’s not cheating; it’s microcheating.”
Me: “What the f*** is microcheating?”
Boyfriend: “[Popular National Tabloid] says it’s microcheating it you don’t have sex and just [engage in sexual act].”
Me: “First of all, that’s bulls***, and secondly, how is that not cheating?”
Boyfriend: “It’s microcheating! “
(Needless to say, I think I dodged a bullet there. The kicker? I looked at the article, and his interpretation of “microcheating” was way off.)
Bad Behavior, home, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | July 1, 2018
(When we were together, my husband would tell me who I could talk to, where I could go, how I could cut my hair… basically how I could exist within his life. I told myself he was just protecting me and I should respect his decisions. When we would talk about upcoming plans — work, spending time with my family, etc. — he would say we never talked about it. I brushed it off for a while because I told myself he was just focused on other things. This is the story of when I’d had enough. A few weeks before this conversation, I csme up with what I thought was a foolproof way to avoid the “you never told me” conversation.)
Me: “Okay, I’m heading out. I’ll see you later. I love you!” *leans in for a kiss*
Husband: *backs away* “Where are you going?”
Me: “Uh, out shopping with my sister.”
Husband: *exasperated* “Why don’t you ever tell me your plans?”
Me: “I did.”
Husband: “NO. You didn’t.”
Me: “I did. We were making dinner on Sunday night and I told you–”
Husband: “You did not. You’re not going.”
Me: “Are you telling me I can’t go see my sister because you don’t remember a conversation?”
Husband: “I’m telling you that you can’t go because you’re always making plans and not telling me about them until you’re halfway out the door, and I’m sick of it!”
Me: *frustrated* “That’s not true.”
Husband: “It f****** is true!”
Me: “I told you!”
Husband: “Prove it and you can go.”
Me: “Okay.”
(I pull out my phone and open our text conversation. There, on Sunday night, around the time we would have been making dinner, is a message from me, to him. It reads, “I’m going shopping with my sister on Friday.”)
Husband: “Doesn’t count.”
Me: “And why not?”
Husband: “Because you can’t just text me and expect me to read it!”
Me: “You… You’re not serious right now.”
Husband: “I am serious!”
Me: “You will call me repeatedly until I pick up, but you aren’t expected to read a f****** text message?”
Husband: “I have a full-time job! I run this house! I can’t be expected to look at my phone all the time like you do!”
Me: “Okay.”
(That was the last time we had a remotely civil conversation. I will miss the good times we had, but living like someone’s blow-up doll is no life.)
home, Military, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | June 29, 2018
(After weather-related delays and some layovers, very late at night, I have the chance to make it home earlier than predicted, but too late to call. This flight will get me to my doorstep at 2:30 or so in the morning, unexpectedly for my retired military husband with mild PTSD. We’re out in the country, and the dogs bark when they hear the truck. I manage to drop a bag on the porch, and I’m not quiet going into the house, but my husband doesn’t stir. I set down my bags, and take a look in the bedroom. He’s solidly asleep. I consider joining him, then think… PTSD. Loaded 45 handgun on the bedside table. He doesn’t expect me until afternoon. Instead, I bunk down in the guest room. When I hear his alarm go off at 5:30 am, I text him
Me: “I’m HOME!”
(He goes to the front door, passing by the guest room on the way. I text
Me: “In here.”
Husband: “Why did you sleep in the guest room?”
Me: “I didn’t want you to accidentally shoot me!”
Husband: *considering* “Probably not a bad decision.”
Dover, England, home, Kent, Silly, Spouses & Partners, UK | Romantic | June 27, 2018
(I’m saying goodnight to my wife as I have to be up early for work. We are standing there hugging and I go for a cheeky feel of her backside. As I do, a 2p coin drops to the floor.)
Me: “Did you just poop out a 2p?”
Wife: “It must have got stuck to my bum.” *she’s not wearing pyjama bottoms*
Me: “Sure! Come on. If you can just do that with a few hundred rolls of £50 notes, I can give up work! You can be my golden goose.”
Wife: “I’ll goose you in a minute! I’m not pooping money for anyone.”
(My husband is always buying me gifts that are more suited to him, such as computer games, programs, and videos that I’m not really interested in. Then, he complains that I don’t use such gifts that he spends good money on. If you notice, to use all these things, I have to use electricity to power up TVs, computers, and the like. This year, he bought me a gift that I loved: a fan that when turned on becomes a clock. It’s a hot day; we do have the AC going, but I’ve put the fan in a room with no AC just to get the air moving.)
Husband: *after noticing the fan and clock are going* “Why do you have that turned on? Electricity costs money, you know!”
Me: “How am I supposed to use it if I can’t turn it on?”
Husband: “It’s wasting electricity.”
(I turned off the $50 gift that I was not allowed to use, but went back to playing his video games on his big TV.)
Bookstore, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Canada, Health & Body | Romantic | June 21, 2018
(My boyfriend and I are wandering around a bookstore while I try to find a new summer reading book. Note: I have a lisp that I can usually hide, but it has been really bad today.)
Me: “I can barely speak today.”
Boyfriend: “That sucks; can you see well enough to read, at least?”
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Ellenwood, Georgia, home, Silly, USA | Romantic | June 19, 2018
(I’m six months pregnant, and I’ve just woken up, as my boyfriend is getting ready to leave for work. He sees me sitting up, looking a little grouchy, and he comes over and sits on the side of the bed, giving me a hug.)
Boyfriend: “Doing okay there?”
Me: *grunts* “Yeah. Didn’t sleep well.”
Boyfriend: “I’m sorry.” *kisses my forehead* “I’m about to head out. Do you want me to bring you anything back?”
Me: “The winning lottery ticket?”
Boyfriend: *smirking* “How about food?”
Me: *snickering* “That sounds good, too; probably more immediate payout, as well.”
Boyfriend: “Agreed. You’ll probably be much happier, anyway.”
(He sure knows the way to my heart! And how to brighten my morning!)
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