Like this:

(from www.torontoist.com)

I sent the following email to my classmates today, and I’m sharing it on this blog so you all also know what’s going on in my life.

***

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give you the heads-up that I’m leaving med school.

I’ll be here the rest of the week to say goodbye to all of you and take care of some details, but next Monday, I’ll be home in Indiana.  

Don’t get worried. Nothing serious or bad has happened to me. In fact, quite the opposite. I’m super-stoked about what I’m about to tell you:

I’M GOING TO CLOWN SCHOOL!!!

Some of you may know this, but med school wasn’t my first career choice. I’m not one of those people who’s felt called to be a doctor ever since I could remember, or one of those people who had an intense surgical operation and decided to go into research to improve patient’s lives. 

No, I actually applied to clown school first. Didn’t get in anywhere. So I thought I’d give med school a shot. And while it’s been an honor and a privilege, let’s face it…is there anything better we can do than make people laugh?

I tried to suppress the image of me in the clown makeup, wacky hat, red rubber nose, striped shirts, giant shoes and baggy overalls, no matter how natural and obvious a fit it seemed. I tried say that was all in the past and that I’d chosen a better career.

But over winter break, I realized my true calling again when I was in Chicago and saw a clown in the street, bringing joy and happiness to everyone around him. All those secret longings to learn the ways of the random and wacky came rushing back stronger than ever.  So I tried again, and well, I made it!

The details: First, I’m going home to eat a lot of food and gain a lot of weight so I can look the part. Then I’m going to the New York Goofs Clown School, where I’ll participate in an intense two-week clowning class. From there, I’ll be heading to the University of Chicago, as part of a 3-year program through the 500 Clown Company to learn clown theater. This will enable me to work both on the stage, and off it at circuses or birthday parties. This should enable me to make a substantive (and lucrative!) living in Chicago for the rest of my life.  

Still, it’s not easy to say goodbye. Let’s enjoy the rest of the week we have together. Be sure you come and give me a goodbye hug.

And if you’re walking through downtown Chicago and you see someone in goofy clown makeup squirting people with water flowers and honking his red rubber nose, look carefully. It’ll probably be me.  

Josh aka “Jimbo Pantalone”

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