The latest addition to my collection came earlier this week, when my mother handed me one of those cute little boxes that jewelry stores package earrings/rings/pendants in. Before I opened it, she told me not to wear it until I graduated, and when I pointed out that that was still quite a way's away, she said, "Okay, you can wear it for inspiration until then."
So I opened the box, and lo and behold, I found this:
Now I'm never one to turn jewelry down and unless something is incredibly tacky, chances are that I'm going to like whatever you want to give me. And I really do like this pendant, but one thing that whomever designed it failed to realize is that the Caduceus isn't a symbol for medicine. In fact, our good friends at Wikipedia go as far as to suggest that it's associated with "theft, commerce, deception and death" (and since it's on Wikipedia, clearly it must be true). The less aesthetically pleasing but far more mythologically accurate Rod of Asclepius is what the designer should have aimed for, but apparently confusion between the 2 symbols arose as far back as the 19th century. (It's also noted that the Americans realized the mistake not too long afterward, but maybe everyone figured that it was just funnier to not clear up the matter, even over 100 years later.)
It's still a lovely pendant, though. All the inaccuracies aside, I am wearing it for inspiration. Partially in a "think of all the lives you'll save one day!" sort of way, but mostly in a "Okay, this actually has 'MD' on it. So if you fail medical school, you are going to look like a giant ass and a raging liar and you will be stuck $50,000 in the hole. For the love of God, don't flunk out!" sort of way.
I secretly hope that if I don't flunk out, I someday might end up making enough money to be able to trick myself out with bling à la Lil Wayne. But hopefully without, you know, going to jail.
