Letter to myself in 10 year's time, by Lisa...

 Now and then...

Dear Lisa,

I’m writing this letter to you from 2011. I am going to remind you of where you started from, of all the hopes and dreams that you had when you were seventeen...

Right now, I’m still in Aurillac, and I want to get out! I really hope you are living and working in a foreign country. I hope you are a journalist or something related to culture and the media because it’s what you’re made for I think. I am not completely sure about my future, but I want you to do something great, something big, for you and for others. You need to keep reading books and watching movies. Do you still love TV shows? You probably know all the endings of the ones I’m currently watching. I’m telling you, right now, I’m having the time of my life watching them!

I hope you are happy in everything, that you have the feeling that you are in the right place with the right people. Do you know who you are as a person? Do you still keep in touch with your mother? I think she’s awesome! Have you found love? You know, I’m not really into that right now...

I’m going to give you a list of all the things you MUST have achieved:

• Visited at least ten countries ;
• Have a motorbike ;
• A parachute jump ;
• To be able to speak more than three languages (easy!) ;
• Kept in touch with your friends from High School ;
• Really long hair ;
• Found true happiness!

Don’t hesitate to add some stuff if you want. Also, it seemed pretty obvious when I started this letter, and if you’re reading this, it means that you have : continue practicing your English!

I know all of this must sound childish or superficial, but it’s really important for me that you do everything I want you to. All of it. I need to be sure that I will live a decent life, one that I really want. So, fight for it, work for us, so you and I can be proud of each other.

Don’t disappoint me, and, also, don’t forget your favorite movie is For Lovers Only. You have to watch it at least twice a year! OK?!

Have fun and see you in ten years' time!

Love,

Lisa

My chosen career, by Marylou

When I was eight years old, my General Practitioner asked me what job I wanted to do later and I answered: “I will be a doctor, just like you!”.

This idea of my future job has not left me, but my thoughts on it have evolved. If I want to be a doctor, it’s because I want to help people, to take care of them, to ease their pain...

My wish to become a psychiatrist came when I was fifteen years old, following my first work experience. My mother worked as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital and I had hoped to work with her. However, the hospital did not accept me because I was too young. That’s why I went to Toulouse and helped my uncle who is a liberal nurse. The majority of his patients were mentally ill, disabled, or senile. It was an amazing experience. From that moment on, I began to think seriously about mentally ill people.

What happens in the head of a mentally ill person? I want to find answers.

A programme on television about serial killers also, strangely, convinced me to enter psychiatric care... One has to be oneself mentally strong to do this job ! You can be faced with death or incurable diseases. Mentally ill people can also be physically ill (they often are). It is perhaps surprising, but people often only see the psychiatric disease and forget the rest. It is not easy to speak with someone who is, say, thirty years old and who has a child's behavior, or to know that you are speaking with someone who has already killed somebody... It can be frightening, it can be difficult, it can be impressive but it is also what makes the job particularly interesting.

Being a psychiatrist means that you must be serious, strong, respectful, tolerant and patient and that you must know how to listen to others. You must observe carefully people's behaviour, have empathy and not a sense of pity. It is important not to get too involved emotionally too.

Being a psychiatrist also means being a doctor, and when you are doctor you must have knowledge of medical and scientific progress. You need to be aware of the social and ethical aspects of the job, for example on the question of euthanasia. Euthanasia is banned in France because it is considered murder. It is a very controversial subject. From my point of view, the Government should accept euthanasia in certain contexts. When a person, who is totally disabled and disfigured by his or her disease, suffers and begs one to be left to die, is it right to refuse that wish ? I think not, but of course there are many negative aspects to euthanasia which I still need to think about...

Although attitudes have evolved over the years, psychiatry is still not universally accepted. There are still people who think that mental disorders are not diseases, that they are just a way for people to act different, it's a kind of fad. The equipment used in psychiatry is not the same as in other types of care. Of course you have also injections, bandages and things like that, but you also need a lot of security. The personel that work with mentally ill patients can easily get into dangerous situations, so precautions must be taken and it is not the case in all hospitals because psychiatry is not totally accepted. Being a psychiatrist also means fighting prejudice about your profession...

When people ask me what I want to do later, they are very surprised by my answer. They are in fact afraid of the mentally ill. Indeed, psychiatric disorder is still a taboo subject for many, and mental illness is not taken as seriously as, for example, diabeties. Psychiatry has evolved; care is now much better, and less reliant on drugs. It is becoming more accepted.

Psychiatrist is definitely my career choice.

When I get older... by Marion

Marion... "morphed" into a 30 something!

Getting older and old age scare me!

I have projects for the future but, before presenting them, I want to say that the future is really strange for me because it's completely uncertain. What is frightening is that I cannot really imagine myself in 10 or 20 years' time... Well, I can approximately imagine how I will be, but I can't imagine what my ideas will be, or who my friends will be, and that is stressful. In fact the only thing I have for the moment are projects and hope, but I'm not sure I will achieve everything I want to, even if I'll do everything in order to succeed...

Let's be a bit more optimistic ! In ten years, I will be 28 years old (oh my God!) and if I fulfil my professional ambition, I will be an events communication manager, that is I will organize meetings to connect different people around special events. In this job, you have to be ready to listen, to be quick and creative and these are qualities I have. I hate to be alone, and that's why I have chosen a job where I will be in constant contact with others, a dynamic job which will use every skill I have.

In my personal life, I hope to have a real family life : children and a loving husband. It's the hope of many women I think. Sure, it's a classic scenario, but I think family is an important thing because it allows you to share your love and generosity with people you love more than everything. We don't have to be selfish !

Nowadays, people are living in a “ everyone for himself” mind set, which is just unbearable and inconceivable. How can we be so selfish in a world in constant economic and environmental crises ? It sounds ridiculous to say it, but solutions and ideas are better when you are all together, working towards the same goal. If everybody thinks only about himself, it's the survival of our species which is put in jeopardy! The future is uncertain for all of us...

The world is not well and I think we all have something to do to make things a bit better. That's why I want to make a commitment to an association or to an environmental organisation to help those who need to be helped. I think it's important to be involved in such projects because there will always be someone who will need you and it is essential not to ignore others ; a favour given could be a favour returned!

This is what I want to do and what I want to be later, but maybe my ideas will have changed and I will be a cynical and selfish woman... But, hey, let's be honest: I won't be transformed into a devil having always been an angel!