Does anyone know what the social determinants of health are?.....

Hello dear friends!

I feel like it's no surprise that I feel about the same as everyone else---overwhelmed, confused, unable to process this transition in my life, and endlessly finding myself comparing everything here to Seattle/HealthCorps/etc.

Went from one depressing good-bye to 4-days of driving to WA-BAM school. I often find myself throughout my classes questioning as to why I convinced myself to go back to school.....Hmm, but I believe it's a matter of time. Just need a bit more time to process things and become fully present in what I am doing here. Having any sort of commitment past 5pm is a big adjustment and having homework, impossible.


With all that, things are pretty good here. Got my basement room with the "crazy" roomie and "cool" roomie. Turns out the "crazy" roomie is reasonably cool (nothing like my past roommate in Seattle). She just seems slightly clingy and unable to be alone.....something that I believe I can handle. The basement room is ok. It is an incredibly weird shape with an uneven floor-which truly makes for a good time when shutting drawers in my dresser. There have been 4-5 creepy centipedes with insanely long legs.......so I'm only hoping they never find my bed. Fingers crossed. The neighborhood is nice and I constantly long to find where the water and mountains are. Not the same as West Seattle :(

School is decent but I quickly become uninterested and unmotivated when one of the first lectures we had was on "What is population health, SDOH's, and health disparities." I found it rather amusing, though, that the first lecture in my outcomes/measurements class in maternal/child health was literally on the topic I researched with my ISP. Even some of the same articles were referenced. Indeed, small world and clearly-well-prepared from the ole AmeriCorps. And all I could think about was the fact that I have written a song dedicated to the SDOH's....if they only knew.



And for the record, I definitely reference you guys WAY too much. I think my roommates are already sick of hearing about "well this one time in AmeriCorps...." "Oh well, in our clinic..." "Oh in Seattle...." But, I can't help it. Nothing, thus far, has measured up to the standards of last year. I feel like this year is lacking the sense of adventure I felt in Seattle. Maybe that's because I actually know a few people here or knew the area before I got here---but I feel less motivated to explore it. I'm getting there, I swear.


I guess I'll leave it at that but Jenna, agreed- the vegetarian life is a difficult one in the midwest. One girl in our orientation literally said "I'm vegetarian" in her intro as her INTERESTING FACT. She's got nothing on the Seattle specialty of vegans.

Miss you all dearly. Come visit asap.