Success vs Value
This quote really speaks to me. I mean pretty much all my life I've been pushed to succeed. Failure wasn't an option, with my high-flying father and impeccably dressed mother. Of course, they weren't perfect. Daddy was always off screwing around with one woman or another. I never understood why Bizzy (my mom) didn't just leave him. Both of them liked to drink too much, and sometimes they even argued.
Nevertheless, I was raised to believe that as a Forbes-Montgomery it was my destiny to lead the world into a new era, or something just as noble. Both my brother Archer and I discovered that we had a passion for medicine. It wouldn't have been enough for dad if I had just become a GP, and I wanted to do more anyway, so I went on to surgery. I loved it, even as an intern, the control, the rush of saving someone's life. It was made even better by my new husband, Derek, who was on the same program as me. He was a brain guy, and the years passed in a blur until we were both among the best in our respective fields - he in neurosurgery, I in neonatal & obstetric surgery.
We were successes. Daddy and Bizzy weren't exactly proud, but they were satisfied with how I'd turned out. Of course, having such high-pressure jobs took it's toll on my relationship with Derek. We were always working, trying to maintain that success, trying to take it to the next level. We stopped talking outside of work, stopped making love. I was lonely and miserable, and then Derek's best friend was there, and I did something stupid.
It didn't stop me chasing success though, I kept it up for another year before I saw Derek again. We didn't save the marriage, but we worked together for a while. But I was still chasing success, leaving my emotional upkeep by the wayside.
It wasn't until I found out that I couldn't have children that I stopped. Suddenly, success wasn't the most important thing in my life. I wanted a life that meant something, a life of value. So I gave up my breakneck life in Seattle and moved to LA. It hasn't always been an easy ride, but since I've been there I've learned that you don't have to be on the cutting edge to be successful. I save just as many lives, but most importantly I saved my own from being consumed by my own desire for success.
Words: 438
Muse: Addison Montgomery
Fandom: Private Practice/Grey's Anatomy
Nevertheless, I was raised to believe that as a Forbes-Montgomery it was my destiny to lead the world into a new era, or something just as noble. Both my brother Archer and I discovered that we had a passion for medicine. It wouldn't have been enough for dad if I had just become a GP, and I wanted to do more anyway, so I went on to surgery. I loved it, even as an intern, the control, the rush of saving someone's life. It was made even better by my new husband, Derek, who was on the same program as me. He was a brain guy, and the years passed in a blur until we were both among the best in our respective fields - he in neurosurgery, I in neonatal & obstetric surgery.
We were successes. Daddy and Bizzy weren't exactly proud, but they were satisfied with how I'd turned out. Of course, having such high-pressure jobs took it's toll on my relationship with Derek. We were always working, trying to maintain that success, trying to take it to the next level. We stopped talking outside of work, stopped making love. I was lonely and miserable, and then Derek's best friend was there, and I did something stupid.
It didn't stop me chasing success though, I kept it up for another year before I saw Derek again. We didn't save the marriage, but we worked together for a while. But I was still chasing success, leaving my emotional upkeep by the wayside.
It wasn't until I found out that I couldn't have children that I stopped. Suddenly, success wasn't the most important thing in my life. I wanted a life that meant something, a life of value. So I gave up my breakneck life in Seattle and moved to LA. It hasn't always been an easy ride, but since I've been there I've learned that you don't have to be on the cutting edge to be successful. I save just as many lives, but most importantly I saved my own from being consumed by my own desire for success.
Words: 438
Muse: Addison Montgomery
Fandom: Private Practice/Grey's Anatomy