As my birthday approaches, I look around at the friends I’ve known the longest and think, “Has that much time really gone by?” It’s also fun for me to think about how much we have all accomplished in these past years — even if it is still hard for me to look at some of my friends in a professional light. I laugh when I think that the biggest prankster I knew is now a corporate lawyer. Another one of my friends is one of the key people behind some of the biggest advertising slogans we all repeat on a daily basis. This weekend, while visiting Philadelphia, reality quickly set in when I saw one of my oldest and closest friends take action as I’ve never seen before. Allison is a doctor. I’ve seen her work hard and study hard over the years, but to me she is still Allison, not Dr. Allison. As we were walking home from a night out in the City of Brotherly Love, we saw some activity outside a bar and a group of people huddled around one girl lying motionless on the brick street. Before I could say a word, Allison was in full sprint. As she arrived at the scene, she dropped her purse and told the crowd to stand back so she could examine the girl. From where I stood (far back), the girl was not moving whatsoever. In my opinion, it seemed like the paramedics took forever to arrive. When they finally did arrive, Allison explained the situation as she helped hoist the young and far-too-drunk girl onto a gurney and into the ambulance. Allison, without a hair out of place, said the girl had regained consciousness, but was disoriented and most likely had a concussion. We don’t know what caused the girl to go crashing down, but she and her friends were all drunk and distraught. I can’t say the people walking by seemed to care all that much. Perhaps it is a common occurrence outside that particular bar. Nonetheless, I was so proud of my friend for stepping up and taking charge. It goes to show that hard work and passion do pay off. It also goes to show that it never hurts to hang out with doctors! — Alex Young, publisher and CEO