We need to do a better job raising our girls.

Two ninth-grade girls were asked how they felt about the felony charges Chris Brown faced for allegedly beating his girlfriend, Rihanna. "I thought she was lying, or the tabloids were making it up," one girl said. And after being shown a photo of Rihanna's bloodied and bruised face the other replied in defense of Chris Brown. "She probably made him mad for him to react like that. You know, like, bring it on?"

A recent survey of 200 teens conducted by the Boston Public Health Commission reported that 46 percent felt Rihanna was responsible for what happened to her and 52 percent said that both parties were responsible, despite knowing that her injuries required hospitalization.

Clearly we are failing as a society to instill a strong level of self-esteem, self-worth and self-respect in our youth. I was shocked to hear these statistics. I just can't justify this incident in my head. It is absolutely horrifying that so many young girls are turning to his defense! Horrifying!

I like to think that at one point in my life I served as a strong female role model for young girls and I also like to think that I will continue to do so in the future as a physician and through community work, but am I really above all this?

Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, we are bombarded by superficial media/tabloid exploitations. I'm constantly told that if I turn to a size two, I'm going to be horrendously fat, that I shouldn't put on a bikini (Sorry Jennifer Love) and that no one will love me. Excuse me?! And I can't say that I'm above this. I've grown up with a warped sense of body image, have gone through crash diets and detoxes and toyed with the idea of boob jobs. I love food but am constantly aware of every calorie that goes into my mouth and feel overwhelming guilt at taking a bite of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting 23 days before spring break because I'm having anxiety about getting into a swim suit. Wow. Wow...

We as women, continuously fight for gender equality, socially and occupationally, yet 46 percent of our youth justify dating violence against a woman who they once viewed as a "strong female role model". Where has our level of self-worth and self-respect gone? What are we teaching our girls when women they look up to are running back to their loser, scum-bag, girl-friend-beating boyfriends. He choked, punched and bit you for God's sake! I feel like shaking her.

I don't have children yet, but I hope to one day. And I hope by that time we as a society make a radical change. I hope that we choose to empower them, to place their lives and self-worth in their own hands and not in those of sleezy good-for-nothing magazines. I hope my children don't find themselves victims of dating violence and that if they do they have the strength and self-worth to leave the douche bag and prosecute them to the full extent of the law (excuse my French). I hope that one day we all become comfortable in our own skin, fight for injustices done against us and others, and realize that we ourselves are our own harshest critics. We are what view ourselves to be, so be strong and be proud. If not for ourselves than for our children.

I'm beautiful, inside-and-out, and I don't need some tabloid to tell me so. You don't either. So enjoy that cream-cheese frosting. I know I will.

21 Things You May or May Not Know About Me

1. I love good food shared with good company. One of my favorite moments with you has probably been over a fabulous meal. Food has a way of comforting and uniting. A good meal warms my soul. I spend far too much time thinking about food, about my next meal, about the perfect meal. It also means I'm deathly afraid of becoming obese or diabetic as I age. One of my biggest fears is having uncontrolled diabetes and having my legs amputated. My brother forever will point and laugh, calling me "Stumpy". It's not funny.

2. I'm a terrible liar and never keep in touch.

3. There are two types of women in this world: bag hags and shoe whores... I'm the latter. I want to be buried in a fabulous Jimmy Choo stiletto.

4. I have recurring nightmares about my teeth. One day I'll way up with a snarly grin with huge gaps and teeth pointing in every direction. I had terrible teeth as a kid. Thank God for braces.

5. I'm afraid of people in masks, costumes and heavy make-up. I don't do well on Halloween and Mickey Mouse... well, he makes me feel uncomfortable.

6. My name is Sanskrit for cool (not moist! - I'm never going to live that one down). And I absolutely hated it growing up.

7. I would have killed to be Kelly Kapowski.

8. I'm an astrology nut. I don't really believe in it, it's just a fun hobby. But if you're an Earth or Water sign you'd better think twice before getting into a serious relationship with someone who isn't a Pisces, Virgo, Scorpio, Cancer, Taurus or Capricorn. And if you come asking me if you and your boyfriend/girlfriend are compatible signs I AM going to lie to you and say yes... even if you're a nurturing, motherly Virgo and he's a fire-breathing "look at me! look at me!" Leo. No offense Leos. I still heart you. Well a few of you.

9. I want to get my hair tested for mercury levels because I know I've eaten way to much tuna for my own good. I'd give up my right arm before giving up sushi. For those of you who think I'm exaggerating, I'm not sure it isn't at least half true.

10. Tequila makes me want to slit my wrists and wretch up something awful, but if you're buying I'm drinking!

11. I don't drink nearly as much water as I should. I'm like a two year old... unless you're going to give it to me with a twirly straw or in a slurpy cup, I'm not drinking it. At the very least I HAVE to have a straw to drink adequate amounts. When I do, it's because I'm paranoid about my skin.

12. I have an unhealthy and unjustifiable hatred/anger for pigeons. Don't ask.

13. I love the coffee dates Tyler and I have.

14. I have an overwhelming desire to be worldly. I try to be well read and work to develop a strong knowledge of the more exotic/finer things. But when it really comes down to it, I'm a burger joint-movie date kind of girl.

15. I respect people who speak their minds, those who exude confidence, independent thinkers, and natural born leaders... people I wish I were more like.

16. I have a knack for always choosing to see the absolute worst movie playing at the theater and I'm always convinced it's going to be the most AMAZING film of the year.

17. I don't have a lot of tact but I mean well.

18. I love kids and am excited to experience motherhood, but not anytime soon. One of my fondest desires is to have a strong relationship with my future niece. I say niece instead of daughter because my dada, who is an astrology whiz, told me I wouldn't have any daughters of my own. Regardless of what my brother decides to name her, I'm going to call her Laila. I want to dress her up in frilly things and bows and call her "Lailoo" when she's young... and I'll be her Fiya (baby name for aunt (father's sister)). Which would make Tyler, Foowa. Cute huh? Fiya and Foowa... sigh... Thanks Moe for indulging me.

19. Commercials were made for people like me. I'm a sucker for good marketing and can be convinced to buy almost anything if it's pitched to me right. I'm not proud of it but I deal.

20. I'm superstitious and my brother swears I have an uncanny way of jinxing things. I like to think of it as good intuition. When I was young my mom taught me to count crows and I can't see one without thinking of the rhyme. It's second nature. "One for sorrow. Two for Joy. Three for letter. For for a boy. Five for silver. Six for gold. Seven for a secret not to be told." If I only see one, I desperately search for a second. It's completely irrational.

21. I'm a summer baby but I've come to love SOME things about winter too, especially winter in Vermont: snowflakes tickling your eyelashes, the smell of apple cider donuts on my walk home from work, woolen caps, snow drifts that twinkle and Tyler's warm feet. I've also learned that I DON'T like digging a car out from piles of snow when it's only 8 degrees out. But Tyler did make it snow inside the car once, I liked that. It was sort of magical.

And that my friends, is a hat-trick.

If by the slimmest chances you're one of those hairy, smelly, I haven't showered in 4.68 years, "What's that caught in my beard, a WOMBAT?!, cave dwelling hermits, you may not have heard what all the excitement's about. Let me do the honors "one mo'gain."

I was officially accepted to The University of Vermont College of Medicine Class of 2013, my first choice med school (and only eight days post-interview... ya ya... I'm showing off)! For those keeping track, yes that IS 3/3 (hence the hat-trick and yes I'm still showing off). Although some may argue it's really a 2.65/2.65. Whatev. Why y'all always gotta rain on my parade?!

Seriously, I must have read the e-mail and status page about 2, 475,692 times and it still shocks me each time! It didn't come easily by any means it's just that it came so quickly and clandestinely (I know you like that use of SAT vocab) that I'm not even sure if it's even sunk in yet, 3 days 5 hours and 41 minutes post inbox attack.

But my Mama always taught me never to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I'm just looking forward, basking in the glory of my victory, actually our victory (mine and Tyler's because I couldn't have done it without him), and enjoying what should lead to a serious loss of back-breaking, sleep-stealing stress.

This is even better than rainbows, sprinkles and dare I say... Christmas! Now Tyler get's to see my ugly mug everyday prancing merrily through the halls of the med school and can dashingly save me from the countless tactless remarks, caffeine overdoses, cardiac events and perilous gunshots to the foot I'm sure to encounter. EEK! So exciting! Right, Ty?... Ty?

I love you too, Goober.

Be thrilled! I know I am!

Hi. My name is Shetal and I'm a Trekkie.

Okay... an undercover trekkie till now. Can you say nerd alert?! I blame my father. (Sorry Dad!) But seriously, I am so stoked! Sylar plays Spock!!!! And the new Kirk... well he's not all that bad looking. (Don't get jealous Ty, he's does not get the privilege of being on my "Five" list.)

Boldly going where no man has gone before in May of 2009!

How do you relieve stress?

I hate prepping for/answering this question in interviews because it's pretty much my signal to amp up the bullshit. Relieve stress? Have you met me?

When pondering all the various insightful and therefore intellectual topics I could of chosen to blog about (Tom Daschle and health care, the economic crisis and those Roberto Cavalli shoes I've been dying for) I decided F that. Narcistic Shetal rears her ugly head. I apologize in advance for this whiny "awww poor Shetal" post that's about to ensue.

I don't relieve, I don't deal, I accumulate and wallow like a pig in my own mess. I don't workout, I don't talk, I don't do anything except drown myself in a sea of food.

"So tell me Shetal, How do you deal with stress?" "Well when I get overwhelmed I turn to double chocolate fudge brownies, New York style cheesecake and truffles. Yup, I like to eat my weight in desserts." I'm a med school adcoms' dream (that's sarcasm in case you didn't catch it).

Although incredibly delicious it's an incredibly unhealthy use of my time and incredibly annoying for anyone (sorry Ty) who ends up having to "deal" with Shetal waist deep in a serious funk.

So what's getting my goat this time? Well in addition to the usual suspects, I'm going home.

I haven't been home for about three months and although I was incredibly excited to see my family for what I think/thought would be a relaxing few days, I am currently flipping out with stress. Cause of said stress? 1) My mom. 2) My mom. Yup, she counts twice. That's how stressful she can be. Her biggest and DAILY complaint? I'm too far away therefore she can't see me as often as she likes, therefore I'm not close (both in terms of locale and relationship) to the family, therefore I don't care about the family ergo I don't love her. WHAT?! It's so twisted it makes me want to rip my hair out in chunks.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I needed that.

I hate being sent on a one-way guilt trip to hell... and I feel guilty for everything. I don't like conflicts, fights or confrontations so I tend to avoid. I'm a classic avoider. Oh well... I better learn to deal unless I want to go totally loopy.

Thanks for listening. It was cathartic.

I am... Rocky "The Italian Stallion" Balboa

Applying to med school is a little like getting in the ring with Ivan Drago. "I will break you." And after taking one too many blows to the head you can hear the crowd chanting "Rocky, Rocky... Shetal, Shetal..." (I really hope there are some Rocky IV fans reading this because otherwise I've lost all two of you who read my blog.) And after fourteen brutal rounds (okay two for me) you come at it swinging harder than ever and you annihilate the beast. And I feel just the way Rocky did when he knocked that huge Soviet right out of the ring. "It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight...!"

This is my "If I can change... and you can change... everybody can change!" victory speech. (Am I done with the Rocky analogy now?) What a great story about a nobody who became a somebody. Okay...okay... I know, this is turning into a cheese-fest.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I was accepted to medical school! After years of feeling that I just wasn't good enough and that I would never be able to even convince a med school to consider my application, I'm in. That's right.... you're looking at the future Dr. Shetal Patel M.D.. Pretty sexy right?

I worked hard. I busted my ass. I wanted it so bad that I could taste it. I'm more confident in myself than ever before and now that I have it, I can't wait to be elbow deep in it. Literally.

I proved that a little confidence, determination and passion can really take you places. I was far from being the whiz-kid in college... I lacked goals and ambition. It just goes to show that people can change. We just have to make the best of those second chances life so gratuitously offers us. Thanks Life! And THANKS CREIGHTON!

But I didn't get here alone. I'm not sure how things would have worked out if I didn't have the endless support of my friends and family... If I didn't have Ty to kick my ass and catch me too. He's been my rock. I've also been incredibly lucky to have parents who've been there for me every step of the way, confident that I'd make it.

Okay...I'm going to end this post before I get too teary and short-circuit the keyboard. (I know, I'm lame.) But needless to say, I'm incredibly happy and incredibly excited to embark on this new chapter in my life. I can't wait to find out what lies ahead.

ADRIAN!!! Errr... TYLER! (teehee)

October Rush

This is it. Fall is definitely here. You can feel it in the crisp air and see it in the warm maple colors. And all I do during this blissful time of year is continuously crave anything and everything that is pumpkin, particularly pie. I think I must have driven my boyfriend, Tyler, crazy this weekend in search for a warm, creamy, heavenly slice (Sorry, Ty!). And of course as fate would have it, I returned empty handed. Man, what I'd do for a slice. But that's beside the point.... Mmmm... pie.... What was I saying?

Oh yea. I always get excited by October because that's when I get that second burst... you know the one that started off real strong at New Years and then instead of losing 5 pounds you gained 8? Ugh. I guess it's the realization that we're in the home stretch of the year, the realization that all those goals you had so meticulously thought out never really manifested. Well now's the time. In less than three months we'll be drowning in champagne, singing 'Auld Lang Syne' and making loads of new promises we don't really intend to keep. So why not make things different? We've still got three months left to make up for the 9 sloth-y ones that ironically flew by.

It's post-season and the BoSox have their game face on and so do I. We can see the championship title well within our grasp. So here's my 7th inning stretch game plan: Rock it DP style. For those of you not familiar with my beloved Red Sox that would be Dustin "Pedroia-the-Destroya" style.

1) Maybe it is time to drop the 5 pounds. And although it gives Tyler a convenient place to rest his tired arm, no one thinks love handles are attractive. Saddle bags = grossness. I had been really good about running a month ago, clocking in 12-15 miles a week. But of course that was short-lived. Time to get back up on that horse. (Did I just make a horse reference twice? Yuck.)

2) Reconnect with old friends and family. Communication is so easy these days and it's not like I don't have the time. I hate that I'm so anti-social.

3) Spend my free time more productively. Now I know that sounds oxymoronic... it's free time right? I shouldn't have to dictate how I spend it. Eh... but to a certain degree I think I should. I shouldn't come home from work, turn on the TV or surf the internet and drown out the world... everyday. I definitely don't think that relaxing is bad or that watching TV is bad, but there are ways that I can relax and still be productive (like reading, working out, blogging =D). Zoning out repeatedly to the boob tube does nothing but make you a boob, unless it's something that provides a good laugh or solid entertainment. Then I'm down.

4) Get out more. I tend to stay couped up in the house for no reason other than I'm too lazy (or it's too cold). Uber-lame. Even if it's just walking downtown and reading at a coffee shop, I think it'd be a huge boost to my morale and productivity.

5) Cook more. And I'm not talking about nuking Easy-Mac and drowning it in loads of sniffle-causing sriracha. Yum. What?! Don't judge! It's muy delicioso. Whatever, I hate you anyway. But I'd really like to cook one nice/exotic/laborious meal a week. Wielding a large knife and frantically chopping vegetables (or anything) to death is oddly calming.

And there you have it folks! My goals for the remainder of the year.

Now where can I get some pumpkin pie?