#6 - "Introduction to Sports Medicine & Athletic Training" by Robert C. France

Introduction to Sports Medicine & Athletic Training by Robert C. France was published in 2004 and is a full on text book for a high school or intro college course. I picked this book and waded my way through the over 600 pages in order to see if I might be interested in a career in physical therapy. The book was split up into three different sections including: introduction to sports medicine and athletic training; roles and responsibilities in athletic training; and the longest and most interesting section, which was injury assessment and management. At times the book was overly simplistic and at times it just got a little boring, but on the whole, I found it pretty interesting and informative, and I'm glad that I read it.

If I could rewind my life and do my education over again, perhaps I should have gone to school with the idea of becoming a physical therapist rather than a lawyer. But fast forward ten years and here I am sitting here with a law degree and a lot of student debt. I have the means to make money and there are things about the law that I like. Should I take the plunge, at least triple my debt, and go back to school once again? I don't think I possibly can at the moment. And even if I were brave enough to take that kind of risk, how do I know this interest will last? I do tend to have very intense interests about new topics until I learn a certain amount about them and then my interest starts to wane. Perhaps I should let go of my fanciful dreams of going to school forever and somehow avoiding this rat race where we all seem to find ourselves once we give up on our idealistic notions of life from our childhood.

I kind of feel like Peter Pan because I'm not looking forward to growing up and gaining responsibility. I wouldn't mind staying in the college mindset forever. But if I'm going back to the law, I need to find a specialty, stick with it, and really improve myself. Idling in neutral isn't helping me fulfill my dreams and it's not doing me any good. Perhaps this is a sign that I'm starting to be ready to be a responsible adult.