'Everyone becomes a patient here'

I've always had this weird fascination with human beings and the human brain. The fact that we have such a wide array of emotions, the fact that we are capable of processsing such complex thoughts, think logically, that we are able to learn and absorb so much at young ages...but the most facinating thing to me has always been the fact that as much as we are able to express ourselves in numerous ways we somehow end up bottling up most of what we feel inside causing us to eventually burst out of our bubble and do the unthinkable. That's where I come in...

My name is Andie Devon and I've been a psychiatrist for the past nine years. From a young age I started noticing the fact that I was able to perceive a lot of things about the people that sorrounded me. Things that, somehow, the others weren't able to pick up on. I persued that career path and I can honestly say I couldn't have asked for a more eye-opening experience. Sure, college has provided me with the basic theoretical knowledge I would generally need but little did I know that nothing could prepare me for the, sometimes devastatingly painful, experiences my patients shared with me.

I never fled from challenges and having freshly graduated I accepted an intership at the psychiatrical department of our local hospital. I will never forget the first day I started because that day was what opened my eyes to a whole different perspective of life. I can recall every single detail as if it happened yesterday. The slightly sickening smell of lavander that spread through the air, the sterile white-blue hallways that were lit by iritating neon lights, pots full of plants all around the place to, as I've been told by my mentor, lighten up the mood and make poeple feel more at home. At the end of each hallway there was a huge living room equipped with everything one might possibly need to pass their time. From a big flat screen TV, table tennis,arts and crafts stations to a karaoke machine with every possible recording artist's song on it. Overall it did not seem as bad as one would immagine such a place to be. It even had a huge garden in the front. The home-like envoirment was ruined by barred windows and camera surveillance all around the interior and exterior of the building. But that, of course, was more than necessary considering the residents were people with more or less severe cases of mental conditions.

My mentor was an elderly woman named Sophia who had been working there for the majority of her life. Here hazel eyes were sorrounded by wrinkles, her nose was small covered with freckles but the most prominent feature was her never-fading smile. She was the type of person you would want to be around in a place such as this one. Her positivity and love for the job she had dedicated her life to were shining through every aspect of her persona. I was the last person she mentored before going into retirement. The sad and somehow ironic thing about her is that now, almost a decade later, she herself has become a permanent resident of the institution. I made it a point to myself to visit her at least once a week even though she spends her days looking out of the windows into nothing in particular, barely recollecting any memories of her old life. She does remember me sometimes, at least she thinks she does. I will always look up to her and since I met her, I've been trying to do my job with the same passion she used to do it. In my mind she will always be my beloved mentor.

Which brings me to the reason I started describing my first day of work...

As she was taking me on a tour around the facility, all while giving me brief descriptions of the mental states of the patients whose doors we would pass by, an elderly patient who had been listening intently to what she was saying approached me and whispered the words that would both perplex me and make me re-evaluate everything I had previously thought about my job. He looked me in the eyes with a worried look on his face as he told me: ''Don't work here. Turn back while you can. I've been here long enough to tell you that sooner or later we all become patients and with each passing year the difference between a you and me will become less noticable.''

Having said that he drifted away towards his room leaving me with a thought that I would unfortunately become more aware of as the time passed....

Reviews

[Emma]

This interesting. The first chapter really made me question what is coming next.
Your English is also very good. Keep up the great work!