Familiar with the phrase

Could it be possible that a four-year old be more adept and actually be more “matured” in making decisions and choices than a fifth-grader who was actually already taking high-school level Algebra, or an eighth-grader who suddenly showed an aptitude for music and was playing the piano like a pro?

For some reason, that incident at the toy store became nothing more than a memory. The older I got, the more I got confused and distracted even as my intellect had grown by leaps and bounds. In fifth-grade, I was the school nerd who took high-school Algebra lessons for the fun of it. But when it came to making choices about summer-camp, or something as trivial as what type of breakfast cereal to eat, I was a wreck; an annoying, back-tracking, undecided 11-year old. In eighth-grade, I could read sheet music as if they were comic books.

That choice by the way, was deciding to go to medical school and later joining the United Nations medical corps for special missions to places in the world where crucial medical and surgical procedures were urgently needed.

Fifteen-hour work days, lack of equipment, threat ofcivil war, the pains and aches of the sick and a child’s smile thanking you for saving her life- yes, I am like a child again in a toy store.