You're listening to a special archive presentation of TED Talks Daily.

This talk features Dr. and author Julia Enders, recorded live at TEDx Danubia, 2017.

A few years ago, I always had this thing happening to me, especially at family gatherings, like teas with aunts and uncles or something like this.

When people come up to you and they ask you, so what are you doing?

And I would have this magical one word to reply, which would make everybody happy.

Medicine. I'm going to be a doctor.

Very easy.

That's it.

Everybody's happy and please.

And it could be so easy,

but this effect really only lasts for 30 seconds with me.

Because that's then the time when one of them would ask,

so in what area of medicine,

what specialty do you want to go into?

And then I would have to strip down in all honesty and just say, okay, so I'm fascinated

with the colon, it all started with the anus, and now it's basically the whole intestinal tract.

And this would be the moment when the enthusiasm trickles,

and it would maybe also get, like, awkwardly silent in the room.

And I would think this was terribly sad,

because I do believe our boughs are quite charming.

And while we're in a time where many people are thinking about what new superfood

smoothie to make or if gluten is maybe bad for them, actually hardly anyone seems to care

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