1. I have contact with people who are susceptible to serious complications from the H1N1 flu (pregnant women, healthy young people up to age 24, people with other medical conditions), and I am a healthy young person under 24, so I guess I fit into that category myself.

2. From everything I can find from reliable sources (those that back up their arguments with actual studies, reports, or scientific data), the process for certifying the safety of the H1N1 vaccine has been identical to the process followed for previous flu vaccines except that the CDC and FDA have created extra oversight committees to check for unforseen adverse effects and monitor for the possibility of guillan-barre syndrome, since a 1976 swine flu vaccine might have caused GBS in 1 patient per 1,000,000. Also, the vaccine companies ran a few extra safety trials for adults, children, and pregnant women above what was required by the FDA for annual influenza vaccinations.
The way the testing works (from everything I could find) is that the vaccine companies have to prove efficacy and safety for an initial formulation. After that, they only need minimal studies for the new strains (as it only changes a very small amount of the vaccine, as hard as that is to believe)

3. A lot of people are worried about the side effects of the vaccine, and talking about how the CDC has even come out and said there might be a risk of Guillain Barre syndrome from this one, and they even pay for medical costs in some cases after vaccines. However, they estimate the risk is at most 1/1,000,000, and:
"Influenza viruses are infrequent triggering agents of GBS but may play a significant role during major influenza outbreaks"
Sivadon-Tardy, Valerie et al. "Guillain‐Barré Syndrome and Influenza Virus Infection." Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2009;48:48–56
Meaning that in major flu outbreaks (like this one), you probably have a much higher risk of GBS from getting the flu than from getting the vaccine.
The same goes for convulsions and some of the other concerning side effects.

So, get the vaccine. And spread the word. If someone tells you the vaccine isn't safe, ask them for their sources.

Sometimes, life seems like a series of completely perfect moments. If you've ever seen the movie Elizabethtown, it's those moments that would make Kirsten Duntz's character stop and take a picture with her hands. As I tucked my husband into bed and listened to him snore after he had fallen asleep on his homework, I was overwhelmed by joy and happiness in the sheer perfection of that instant. What is it about admiration, beauty, friendship, and hormones that somehow combine to form this thing we call romantic love, and how does it do such powerful things to me? Maybe it was actually a glimpse of heaven deep in my soul. Whatever it was, it's something to tuck away safely and bring out in those in-between times when these moments seem like nothing more than my imagination.

I'm about to start a month working in a psychiatric hospital, and as I'm studying in preparation, I'm regaining my sense for why I was always so interested in this field, even though it comes with a lot of special challenges - psychiatry is about helping broken people gain the skills and confidence to keep trying in their lives instead of focusing more on people's bodies. Sure, a primary care physician or PA will get opportunities to help people sort through their life's issues, but you have to really be on the lookout for those chances instead of having them built in. This should be an interesting month.

As a side note, I went through a 2 hour self-defense course provided by the hospital this morning in training for my rotation. That's always a pleasant way to start an experience. :) But it was useful - lots of non-painful or barely painful methods of avoiding getting hurt while giving yourself time to get out of a situation. I was paying special attention to how to break someone's hold on your hair, since I've been letting mine grow out. I'm a little nervous about that, and actually considering a haircut.