Overcome

“Do one thing every day that scares you. “

Eleanor Roosevelt

I’ve mentioned before that I’m absolutely terrified of public speaking. It’s almost to the point where it’s irrational, but I can’t help it. Even thinking about having to give a presentation gives me heart palpitations.

I get the joy and privilege of having to overcome this fear once again on this Thursday. I’ve just completed my PowerPoint presentation, which I spent a lot of time on and I’m hoping the colorfulness of it will distract my audience from my shaking and terrified voice. I’m also 11 weeks pregnant and have been experiencing morning sickness, except all day, for the last 3 weeks. So now I’m terrified of being sick on my audience as well.

I may just keep a paper bag in my pocket, you know, for worst case scenario type stuff.

Anyway, my presentation is on antibiotic resistance, which as a microbiology MSc student I am very interested in. I usually gripe over my friends for saving their kid’s leftover antibiotics to use as they see fit should they get sick. I mean I really do harp on them over this. Or anyone who will listen really. So you would think I’d have no problem getting in front of less than 20 fellow students and doing the same thing.

Either way, nervous or not, it is such an important topic and I feel that everyone should be as excited about it too. It’s amazing to me that as much as we use and rely on antibiotics in modern medicine, so many people still seem to be very unaware as to how they work and the dangers or misusing them. Even doctors have gotten a bad reputation for prescribing them to people suffering from a cold, which is viral in nature and not treated by antibiotics.

I think if people genuinely understood what was happening in their body whenever they didn’t finish a full course of antibiotics, or what transferring resistant strains to their family members could do, or how this entire crisis is going to have an immense effect on everyone in the future, maybe…just maybe they would do their part to help.

So I will overcome by fears on Thursday to discuss this topic for 10 agonizing minutes and maybe someone will be there listening and if they didn’t know before, maybe they will be more wary in the future when it comes to antibiotic use.

And I will overcome so we can all overcome.