Introduction

The world has many problems.  In reflecting on these issues, you have two options: 1) You can play the blame game (unproductive); or 2) You can change yourself.  You might be right if you think that your actions won't directly correct the many injustices in the world.  So, why urge you to reform yourself?

First of all, the only thing you really do have control over is your own actions.  Second, your actions are - to some degree - unconsciously influenced by those of others. Lastly, little things can make a huge difference in the world.  Here are two examples to illustrate how small things can cause big changes:

Example A: Imagine yourself walking down a street with garbage being blown hither and thither.  If you pick up a piece of newspaper blasting past you, and a whole bus stop full of people sees it, it's likely going to stick in their heads, and they're going to be more inclined to do the same if they're ever in a similar situation.

Example B: If you shape yourself into a well-tuned, fit, well-read intellectual with a lot of friends, you might actually rub off on people that cross your path, and they could think "Hey, what a cool cat!  I want to be fit too!" (this scenario is unlikely, but I've seen crazier things happen)

The point here is to not accept your surroundings as they are but instead to try to change them.  And the change starts with you.  A little fellow named Gandhi once said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

I'll leave you with a personal anecdote of my own.  I traveled around the world via Semester at Sea when I was a student at the University of Pittsburgh.  By the time I returned, I had developed a new appreciation for the synergistic effects of other disciplines on health.  Being a pre-med student, this fascinated me, and my new global perspective led me to start a group called Student Leaders in International Medicine (SLIM) at my home institution.  The organization was meant to a serve as a forum for like-minded students to discuss the relationship between economics, politics, agriculture, health, and other topics as this type of environment was not available at the time on Pitt's campus.  That was in 2006.  Today, SLIM has grown from my original eight members sitting around chatting to a group of nearly forty students planning annual trips to Malawi, hosting an annual 5k/10k to raise funds for projects proposed by community-based organizations in Malawi, and organizing campus-wide lectures at Pitt that draw hundreds of people.

On my blog, you'll find information (primarily) on the following topics:

1) Triathlon
2) Crossfit
3) Fitness
4) Books
5) Nutrition/Diets
6) Healthcare reform/Politics
7) Technology
8) Culture
9) Medicine
10) General health

I don't consider myself an expert in anything, but I do my best to inform myself whenever I discover something that I don't know.  Plus, I'm open to learning anything in which you consider yourself an expert.  

My name is Nathan Riley.  I'm a medical student at Temple University.  I'm training for an Ironman triathlon.  And I have a particular interest in nutrition and health care reform.  I will eventually change the world. 

Reform yourself.