My Very First Interview!

I am excited to have been chosen to do my very first meme...the only reason I have been chosen is because I volunteered myself!! ha ha Calliope has asked me five questions that I need to answer:

1. Have you ever written or wanted to write a fan letter? Who was / would it be to?
No, I have never written a fan letter, but if I did it would probably be to Ina May Gaskin. She wrote the first book that I ever read about midwifery and it was a revelation. I really admire her for what she does. I saw her a year ago at Michigan State University giving a speech for International Midwives Day. I love the fact that if women would take the time to listen they would realizer that everyhting that she says makes sense, she has a great sense of humor, and she is a very strong woman in every sense of the word.

2.What was the 1st cd you ever bought?
My first CD? I can't remember, but one big moment of my life was when I bought the vinyl disc of New Kids on the Block! I believe it was for the song "Step by Step." Those were the times!!

3.In the big screen movie version of your life who plays you? Who plays your s/o?
I have been thinking about this question for a couple of days, and I think that the couple in "King of Queens" could play our parts. Their characters seem like they could be a couple in real life; They are really funny, they sometimes argue, but they also seem to be deeply in love with each other. I like the way they interact with each other.

4. What made you decide to become a midwife?
I realized that I was really interested in pregnancy and birth by watching Discovery Health Channel and their show Birth Day. I have goosebumps and a little tear everytime the child is born! I am annoyed when I watch it now that I know more about the process, because of the high level of often unnecessary interventions that are being offered, or more often just performed, to the women giving birth. After reading books and websites, I realized that I would love to be a part of this miracle that happens every second somewhere in the world.

5. How have you changed or shifted since you moved to America?
I have definitely changed since I moved to the U.S. I was really not motivated when I was in France. I had graduated from high-school and wasn't sure what career to pursue, and so I just took small jobs as cashier and such (In France, a student has to decide what career they want to pursue as soon as they come out of High School, because this dictates what univesrity they are going to attend....It is really hard to know at 18 what you want to do for the rest of your life, so many students end up waisting time going to school for something that they'll eventually abandon, or just like me, delay their studies to later), and I am really not sure what I would have been up to if I had stayed. Here I have become a really motivated young woman. After a little more than 5 years in this country, I will be graduating with a Bachelor degree in Science in August! I think that it has a lot to do with the environment that I am in....but I'll keep all this for a later post...

If anybody has made it this far and wants to play along, here's how:

• Leave me a comment saying “Me Next, Me Next!.” The first five (or so) commenters will be the participants.
• I will respond by asking you five questions.
• You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
• You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
• When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions

The Evolution of Dance

I found this video at Midwiffle Seed's blog....be ready to laugh!

The Evolution of Dance by Judson Laipply.

Celebrating Midwives and Moms

When I first met Shawn (the writer of the birth story and founder of the birthNETWORK) we talked about setting up an event to celebrate International Midwife Day and Mother's Day. So during the last 2 or 3 months we have been brainstorming via e-mails and getting the event ready, which will be happening this Friday. I am really happy to feel like I am a part of it. Yesterday night was the final meeting to make sure we'll have everything we need by Friday and Shawn made sure that I was able to be there.

I am really looking forward to it, there will be a fashion show of pregnant women, a photo presentation, mini-massages will be given during the whole event, a movie called "Totally Birthing Barbie" will be shown, and a lady will be singing/reading poems. We have no idea how many people will show up, but even if there aren't too many people we'll have fun.

To get this event ready I have been trying to get people to donate things. I have to admit that I got nutin! I tried to get a free room....I failed! I tried to get flowers donated.....I failed! I was supposed to find pregnant women who would want to do the fashion show.....I failed! I realize now how hard it is to be a non-profit organization and get people to want to help you get your message out.

A really interesting thing is happening though. I am taking my very first Marketing class this semester. This is a class that people usually take when they are Juniors...I am graduating in 4 months! This professor makes the students write a marketing plan for a company. The person in charge of the marketing department from a company that professor chooses comes to the class and gives a speech about what their marketing goals are, their timeline and who they are trying to reach....At the end of the semester the person comes back to listen to the students' presentation and maybe even get some interesting ideas from them.

It so happened that the company that my professor chose for us this semester is "Big Brothers Big Sisters", a non-profit organization! I am excited and I hope that I will learn enough to even give some inputs and help the birthNETWORK be more successful! I think that it's funny how things happen. It might sound silly, but I am taking this as a sign. A sign that I am going in the right direction.

Happy International Midwife Day!

I would like to take this day to thank all the midwives around the world who make the birthing community a better place! Hopefully one day I'll be one of them!