Hey Everyone,
Considering I got a late start on this whole blog thing, I figured it would be kinda fun to post a blog about my summer. This summer has been, well it's been interesting. It is scary to think that this is one of the last summers I will ever get! I can't believe how fast time continues to fly by. As most of you know my stories are never short, so enjoy the book below :)
One of the coolest things I was fortunate enough to do this summer was to be a leader for theROCK tour. theROCK tour is a trip that the middle school youth group at my church in Cedar Falls takes each year. As a small group leader for a group of 7th grade guys, I was asked to go along. I have never been on a trip like this, and I was really nervous going into the trip (me be nervous? never!) We left super early one morning, and made the 6 hour drive to Kansas City. I am one of those freaks that really enjoys bus rides, and I definitely had a great time one the bus ride. I got to know so many of the kids that I had never had the opportunity to talk to on Wednesday nights. When we got to KC we spend the day at Worlds of Fun. Being the avid roller coaster rider that I am this was quite the experience ;) I was teased all day by the kids who thought I was being a baby, but I stood strong and rode 0 roller coasters. I did ride the water ride about 4 times....yeah, it was pretty intense. All of my campers made it out of the camp safe and sound (probably because they had the best leader ever, but I'll continue to be modest). That night I got into a pretty intense game of UNO, and I dominated. After my win I took my victory lap around the hotel.....it was similar to an Olympic gold medal winners victory lap. I was, for some odd reason, labeled a cheater and was forced to make a deal. The girls promised to admit that I won if I let them paint my nails (see pictures on Facebook). WORST IDEA EVER. I found out quickly that nail polish is a pain in the rear to get off. The next day we went to Oceans of Fun, which is a huge waterpark. It was a blast. We were there for the entire day. I am known for my dolphin-like swimming abilities, and I gained a little bit of respect back from the kids that day. The final day of our trip we spend the morning cleaning up Lake Olathe, and then continued the long drive back. We stopped in Ames for pizza and games at a local community center. My competitive side got the best of me, and in the process of dominating the games I may have scared and or injured a few of the kids :/ ooops. The trip ended up being a great experience. I absolutely fell in love with the kids, and found myself dreading returning home. I will never forget that trip.
Two of my best friends (Brent Ford and Steven Staggs) came up and spent the weekend at my house. For those of you that have never seen us all together, consider yourselves lucky. Brent and Steven are two of the greatest guys I've ever met, but they are crazy. If you have ever seen Wild Hogs (quit laughing, it's a great movie!) we are similar to that group of guys. Steven is the fearless, spontaneous, out for a good time "Woody", Brent is the reserved, funny, "Bobby", and I fall somewhere in the middle of "Doug" and "Dudley". We had the great idea of going to Lost Island Waterpark. One of the best days of my life. From terrorizing the wave pool, clearing land speed records on the steep water slide, to quite possibly breaking one of the rides we had a blast. I grew up with Steven and Brent, and we spent A LOT of time together over the years. We all go to different colleges now, and don't get to see that much of each other. I consider these guys to be two of my best friends, and I know that whatever happens they will always be there for me. This weekend was great to just spend time with them like old times.
The final fun part of my summer was seeing two of my great friends, Molly Troendle and Seth Webb, get engaged. I have been very fortunate two have know these two love birds since the summer of my Freshman year. I had no idea the night I met them that they would end up being a huge part of my life. I am so excited to see where their lives take them, and to watch as they start their lives together. Seth was even crazy enough to make me his best man. Oh the problems I could cause ;)
Well those three events sum up the fun part of my summer (minus the trip to Colorado I am about to take this week with my room-mate, and the return home of a close friend). The rest of my summer was spend shadowing doctors, working (as always), and studying for the MCAT on Sept 1 (scary). I have grown so much this summer, and the lessons I have learned are more valuable than any trip I could have taken. I was forced to grow up a lot, and for that I count this as a great summer. I am extremely ready for school to start, and to begin my final year at UNI. I hope you all had as great of a summer as I did (hopefully a little more eventful). Thank you for reading the book above, but I hope you got a few laughs out of it, or at least a smile :)
Preston Sereg
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
My Calling
Hey Everyone,
I have always been one of those crazy people that has to have every aspect of my life planned out in full. I like to know what I'm doing, and where I am going. Many of my friends tease me, and I've even been told the number one word that describes me is, "prepared." In my opinion being prepared is a good thing. I never have to worry about problems that come up in every day life such as; flat tires, speeding tickets, forgetting money, losing homework, etc. because I am always prepared (and freakishly early to everything). However, being a planner has a huge negative. When things aren't going according to plan, or there is uncertainty in the future, it scares the crap out of me.
One of the biggest concerns of mine for that past few years has been what my calling in life is. For those of you that don't know me very well, my faith is a big aspect of my life, and following God's plan for my future has always been a huge priority for me. I have prayed, literally, for years that God would give me some sort of sign as to what I am supposed to do. You see, I am this black and white kinda guy. I don't like to read between the lines, or look abstractly at things. I like everything laid out, and simple. Faith, in general, is not black and white, and learning to be okay with the unknown has been one of my biggest struggles as a Christian. There were times I would literally get angry with God because he had not shown me my calling under my terms. (I really hope you are all chuckling at this so far because I know how ridiculous this sounds, but it's unfortunately true) Okay, I will stop with the background, and get to the point. This past week I was finally, after years, given that sign.
Over the past few days I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to follow Dr. Tim Breon, a general surgeon from my home town. For those of you that don't know him, he is one of the most incredible Christian's I have ever met, and a fantastic doctor. I'll cut out my favorite details about all the blood, and wicked cool organs I got to see while observing surgeries because I am a nerd, and could write for days about that experience. On the last day of my shadowing we were returning home from Pella (my least favorite town in the world, grrrrrr), and Dr. Breon was sharing his testimony with me. I was amazed at how faithful he had been in his med school application process, and even his time in medical school. I was really touched by everything he had to say. When we got back to the hospital he stopped his car in the parking lot, and we talked for probably a half hour, just sitting there. Here comes the cool part. Dr. Breon looked me in the eye, and listed off every single fear that I had about applying to medical school, not a single fear more or less than the ones I've been having lately. Like I said earlier, I have A LOT of worries about my future because I have so much I want to accomplish, and he literally listed every single fear like God had just pulled them from my brain and placed them in his words. He continued to tell me that none of those mattered, and that God would take care of them as long as I was faithful in trusting him. The next words he said hit me the hardest, he said that as long as I was following God and carrying out his plan for my life that nothing else mattered.
Okay, so that may seem pretty weak sauce to some of you, but holy smokes it smacked me right upside the head. This whole time I had been doubting God's ability to use me in his greater plan. For a long time I've known that I'm called to be a doctor, but my doubt and distrust had mangled that message in my head. This was one of the greatest and most eye opening experiences of my life. Immediately following this conversation, I was filled with a new sense of confidence and passion about getting into med school. This experience was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I found it fitting for my first blog post. For those of you struggling with similar things, I encourage you to get rid of your doubt. It only holds you back from accomplishing God's will in your life.
Preston
I have always been one of those crazy people that has to have every aspect of my life planned out in full. I like to know what I'm doing, and where I am going. Many of my friends tease me, and I've even been told the number one word that describes me is, "prepared." In my opinion being prepared is a good thing. I never have to worry about problems that come up in every day life such as; flat tires, speeding tickets, forgetting money, losing homework, etc. because I am always prepared (and freakishly early to everything). However, being a planner has a huge negative. When things aren't going according to plan, or there is uncertainty in the future, it scares the crap out of me.
One of the biggest concerns of mine for that past few years has been what my calling in life is. For those of you that don't know me very well, my faith is a big aspect of my life, and following God's plan for my future has always been a huge priority for me. I have prayed, literally, for years that God would give me some sort of sign as to what I am supposed to do. You see, I am this black and white kinda guy. I don't like to read between the lines, or look abstractly at things. I like everything laid out, and simple. Faith, in general, is not black and white, and learning to be okay with the unknown has been one of my biggest struggles as a Christian. There were times I would literally get angry with God because he had not shown me my calling under my terms. (I really hope you are all chuckling at this so far because I know how ridiculous this sounds, but it's unfortunately true) Okay, I will stop with the background, and get to the point. This past week I was finally, after years, given that sign.
Over the past few days I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to follow Dr. Tim Breon, a general surgeon from my home town. For those of you that don't know him, he is one of the most incredible Christian's I have ever met, and a fantastic doctor. I'll cut out my favorite details about all the blood, and wicked cool organs I got to see while observing surgeries because I am a nerd, and could write for days about that experience. On the last day of my shadowing we were returning home from Pella (my least favorite town in the world, grrrrrr), and Dr. Breon was sharing his testimony with me. I was amazed at how faithful he had been in his med school application process, and even his time in medical school. I was really touched by everything he had to say. When we got back to the hospital he stopped his car in the parking lot, and we talked for probably a half hour, just sitting there. Here comes the cool part. Dr. Breon looked me in the eye, and listed off every single fear that I had about applying to medical school, not a single fear more or less than the ones I've been having lately. Like I said earlier, I have A LOT of worries about my future because I have so much I want to accomplish, and he literally listed every single fear like God had just pulled them from my brain and placed them in his words. He continued to tell me that none of those mattered, and that God would take care of them as long as I was faithful in trusting him. The next words he said hit me the hardest, he said that as long as I was following God and carrying out his plan for my life that nothing else mattered.
Okay, so that may seem pretty weak sauce to some of you, but holy smokes it smacked me right upside the head. This whole time I had been doubting God's ability to use me in his greater plan. For a long time I've known that I'm called to be a doctor, but my doubt and distrust had mangled that message in my head. This was one of the greatest and most eye opening experiences of my life. Immediately following this conversation, I was filled with a new sense of confidence and passion about getting into med school. This experience was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I found it fitting for my first blog post. For those of you struggling with similar things, I encourage you to get rid of your doubt. It only holds you back from accomplishing God's will in your life.
Preston
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