Last week, I gave a talk to our new undergraduate employees about applying to vet school. One of the things we got to talking about on a tangent was those behavior-style questions applicants are often asked to answer for undergraduate applications: what color crayon would you be? What part of a sandwich would you be?

One of the girls, in response to the latter question, responded immediately: "The meat!" But as I drove home from work today, I got to thinking (no, I cannot re-create my train of thought on that one) and realized that I have no idea what part of the sandwich I'd be. I think my first draft to that question would be to ramble on about how much I love sandwiches (and man, I do love sandwiches.) I'm just not super introspective. Which ties into my thoughts earlier today at work while I was perusing other blogs (both veterinary and non-veterinary based) that a lot of people write, like, meaningful stuff. They reflect on their lives and the issues pertinent to their lives and it just all sounds so eloquent and thoughtful and grown-up.

And here I am in my corner of the internet, babbling on about what I did over the weekend and how, omg u guyz, i loooooove lab animal!!1! And yeah, it's my blog and I'll write whatever I damn well please, but I feel like I should make more of an effort to be an introspective blogger. I should write about issues and profound thoughts. I'll probably still end up writing "what I did the past few days" posts, but that's okay too.

So today: what part of a sandwich would I be?

First, let us (lettuce! ha!) break down the parts to a common sandwich.

There is, of course, the bread. I'd argue that the bread is what makes a sandwich a Sandwich and not just a pile of stuff thrown together. But claiming to be the bread seems pretty lofty to me. You're pretty much saying how awesome and crucial to everything you are. But I can identify with the bread - you aren't always flashy but if chosen correctly, you can really compliment everything else going on.

There is usually some sort of bulky substance in the middle. If you're an omnivore, this is the meat. If you're a vegetarian, this is likely something with a little more authority than just lettuce and tomato - maybe eggplant or a hunk of tofu. It might even be cheese (which I see as either the "meat" or as an addition. But we'll get there. ) This main attraction is a really important part to the sandwich's identity. You may be a common place workhouse, like turkey or ham. You may be showy and unique or even downright weird, like spam. But whatever you are, you know you're the main event, no matter how plain you are. That's a lot of responsibility to be carrying on your shoulders, but you're totally cool with the spotlight. I don't really identify with the meat of the sandwich.

Last, the garnishes. These range from the standard (lettuce, tomato, onion) to the strange (mango chutney, banana peppers). I see garnishes as the most flexible part of the sandwich - you can order a burger without tomato, but you can't order a burger without a burger. What I identify with in garnishes is their ability to be really amazing if you just give them a shot. They're usually selected very carefully to compliment the meat and bread - not too much but enough to give a little unexpected pow of flavor. And I'm the sort of person that warms up to others after spending some time together - I consider my "true" personality to be pretty different than I might first outwardly appear. So like spicy hummus, you might not be expecting what you get, but it's likely to be a pleasant surprise (or at least I hope so!)

There - my first introspective post. I don't know if you learned anything about me and I'm not sure if this was really profound but it's a start. Since a lot of readers come from pre-vet backgrounds, it would probably be well-received to write about the veterinary field, too. But I guess you'll just have to tune in for next time!