Journal 8 Josh Barnhart

Today in class we discussed a handful of stories from David Isay’s book Callings. All of these stories proved meaningful by demonstrating numerous powerful themes. One story in particular that showed this best was from the profile of Dr. Dorothy Warburton. In this the theme of defying expectations is very apparent. In the beginning of this story DorothyWarburton grows up with the desire of being a scientist just like her dad. Although her father believed that she was not capable of achieving such goal. Warburton stated that “My father did’t really have much expectation that, as a girl it would ever lead to anything. He truly did’t understand-and never made me understand-that I could have a future in science” (Isay 43). Although despite her fathers beliefs Warburton continued to pursue her vision of being a scientist. She worked hard, went to college and eventually got the job as a scientist which clearly defied her fathers expectations.

Ultimately this story displayed an effective theme to me. Although it wasn’t the only aspect I took away. After reading I found numerous key terms and was able to come up with a few research questions as well. One key term I found was obstetricians. I looked this up and found out that this is the title given to a physician or surgeon who specializes in female reproductive health. One research question I asked was how long does it take to become an Obstetrician. I looked this up and found out that it takes a staggering 12 years to get this job.

One connection I can make to the profile of Dorothy Warburton is back when I played lacrosse for my high school. At that time I was a defender for my team but I always wanted to play offense. When I asked my coach to play that position he would always laugh and tell me I wouldn’t succeed( he was a jerk). Although I proved him wrong during the third game of the season. Here my team was getting beat by three goals and one of the midfielders got hurt. My coach was desperately looking to put
someone on the field and that’s when he had no choice but to put me out there. I know in his head he was probably thinking I wouldn’t do anything to help the team out but I did everything but that. I ended up scoring two goals and getting an interception. I really shined during that game and in return I got the position I wanted as midfielder for the rest of the season. Ultimately just like Dorothy Warburton I defied someone else’s expectations.


(Picture of an Obstetrician bellow)