Honk if you passed P-chem

Find your people by letting others know what matters to you

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that if you give the world a hint
about your affiliations, you may be able to connect with

(00:23):
other people who share those affiliations. That can be a
very cool thing. Indeed, so of all the bumper stickers
out there, I encountered a new one recently, Hank, if
you passed PIKM. In case you haven't taken or passed PIKEM,
and I definitely haven't, I can tell you that PIKM

(00:47):
stands for physical chemistry. This tends to be a particularly
demanding course and one that is less commonly taken and
passed than say, organic chemistry, which prospective physicians to take.
Hence the bumper sticker inviting you to honk if you've
passed PEAKM, that means you are part of a small

(01:10):
club of serious chemists. I love imagining a person who
just passed PIKM seeing that bumper sticker and honking proudly.
Maybe the person with the sticker on her car waves
back into solidarity. It feels great to find our people.
If there are affiliations or experiences that are important to you,

(01:34):
especially ones that are less common in your particular town.
Consider offering a hint of them so you can find
people who share them. Bumper stickers like the piakam one
are a way to do that. Lots of people have
stickers from their alma maters, whether high school, college, or
graduate or professional schools. Sports stickers are common too. They

(01:57):
can help you find the other Eagles fans, for instance,
which may be common near here in Philadelphia but perhaps
not so common in say Boise vacation destination. Stickers can
foster a sense of connection too. If you have an
ac K sticker on your car, other people who love
Nantucket may feel connected and say hello. Hanging a flag

(02:23):
outside your home is another way to share your identity.
Perhaps alongside an American flag, you could display a flag
from your family's country of origin or from your favorite university.
Maybe you are from ann Arbor but live in Nashville,
if you want to meet more Michigan fans, even if

(02:43):
you went to Vanderbilt yourself. I have a hunch that
hanging a University of Michigan flag by your front door
would help neighbors, dog walkers, joggers, and others who are
from Michigan, attended the University of Michigan, or just root
for the Wolverines will likely introduce themselves if they pass

(03:04):
by and spot you working in the yard. Nashville doesn't
feel so distant from ann Arbor, after all. If bumper
stickers and flags aren't for you, consider T shirts, sweatshirts, hats,
water bottles, coffee cups. We sport all sorts of logos
all the time. Why not make them mean something. When

(03:28):
you literally wear your affiliations on your sleeve, you are
more likely to find people who share them. My husband
is a Texas A and M alum, which is not
especially common here in Pennsylvania. Anytime he wears A and
M gear, it tends to turn up other Aggie fans.

(03:49):
Have you met anybody or made new friends by announcing
your identity, whether on a T shirt or a bumper
sticker or something like that. I'd love to hear about it.
You can read at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

(04:10):
here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for
listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas or feedback.
You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

(04:34):
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