I was inspired to write this blog post because I started running yesterday. I have a bad habit of wanting to get back into running, and then actually doing so for a few days to a week, only to drop it again when things gets busy and I feel compelled to do other "more important" things with my time. Which, as with many of us, happens often. This is shaping up to be another one of those times, but I'm only on day 2. Anyway, I went running down the bike path at UB's North Campus (a great running/biking area right next to where I now live) and as I came back, I saw this little ten-foot path that went into a tiny clearing with some well-placed rocks for sitting or whatever. And in the path, there was a rabbit. He hopped into the center of the path and just stood there, one little eye staring as the weary jogger walked by, trying to shrug off back pain (incidentally - don't try running with non-running shoes - using your everyday worn-out sneakers SUCKS). Then today, I went running again, along the same route (this time with my running shoes and it was amazingly better) and the rabbit was again in the center of that little ten-foot path into the clearing. And on my way back...it was still there. As I went by (jogging this time), I realized this phenomenon and doubled back to look again at the rabbit, thinking it may have tried to settle in right there.
And it was gone, off to find a new path. Go figure.
And I'm pretty sure that little tale has nothing to do with the rest of this post. But it was kinda crazy. So now, post-run, I sit here in Timmy Ho's drinking a large raspberry iced tea that is seriously hitting the spot, and reflecting on the week that has been. My first week of medical school. I have actually been dreaming about this for most of my life, with the usual questions - what will it be like? Will I be overwhelmed or find it easy? Will I know what to do? Will I have good friends during my time? Will I make it through alive? And how will it change me?
Well, it's already looking like it will be overwhelming. But a healthy dose of overwhelming. I didn't really know what to do at first, but we're all in the same boat that way, all of us med students. Between the professor in charge of the lab screaming at us to respect the cadavers (with good reason) and taking a total of 2 hours to talk to us about things that really could have been explained in 30 minutes...to the absolute and utter disarray that was the introduction to our new technology...to the injuries our classmates suffered during orientation (proving once and for all that the amoeba race is not a wise game to play)...to the White Coat Ceremony in front of our families and friends...to the general craziness that is a first week at a new school. From the highest joys and pride in our accomplishments, to the excited terror in front of a new cadaver, we are all entering a new and amazing time in our lives.
And yeah...there are a lot of cool people in my class.
There's the girl who I offered to help with her move-in. I decided to impress her with my heavy box-carrying skills and my knowledge of the streets of Buffalo...and then proceeded to make a wrong turn and take a twice-as-long route back to her apartment, and almost killed her in the process when I made a hasty turn that forced her to cut off a semi truck.
There's the four or five people who I've come to know extremely well over the last four years as my friends and classmates as we went through the craziness of the Biomedical Sciences major and pre-med classes at UB - one of whom is now a bandmate, and one of whom I am particularly close with as we fought many a hard battle in the trenches that were the Early Assurance Program for Medicine at UB - going so far as to take ALL of the same classes one semester, and going through interviews, nervous breakdowns, and joyous celebrations when we got in. All four or five are some of the smartest people I know, and many others in my class are soon to join that list, and I look forward to being challenged and encouraged by them.
There's the splendid organizer who almost single-handedly has been responsible for getting many of the new med students to get out and experience Buffalo, and more than just its bars.
There's the super-tall guy. He's great in a lot of ways, including personality, but when I first met him all I could think of his "Holy crap, he's tall!"
There's the gentleman whose laugh is becoming famous throughout the ears of all our classmates.
There's a great many Buffalonians who have been here for many years or are just coming back after undergrad elsewhere, and who share my love for this fine city and all its idiosyncrasies.
There are the people who didn't attend UB undergrad but also interviewed Early Assurance with me - one of whom I think only remembers me because, despite all my nervousness that day, she saw me start to nod off while Dr. Severin gave us the pre-interview talk. I still to this day hope and pray that he didn't see me and/or doesn't remember it.
There are the people who are slowly making me realize how little I've scratched the surface of the concept of long-term and healthy relationships.
There are the members of my lab group that may kill me at some point because I'm way too perky at 9 AM when we're dissecting a human body.
There's the girl who is as excited about jazz as I am. I'm really glad your apartment is okay after that fire.
And there's everyone who came out to see Mayday, the band I play in, rock the crap out of the Buckin' Buffalo Saloon. One of my favorite things in the whole world is playing music for my friends that they enjoy. And the bachelorettes were hilarious, too.
And so many more that I would love to mention but if I tried to go through all of them, I would go on and on for pages and pages. And this entry is probably long enough.
I'm excited to get to know more and more of my classmates, and work hard alongside them as we strive to make it through the next four or five years together. It's going to be intense, but amazing, too. Will we make it out alive? Probably. Will these new friends I have (and I) be the same people? Absolutely not. Somewhere in the next four years we will surely find our calling, and it will definitely change us. So at this point we are like that rabbit, disappearing off into the unknown to start the rest of our lives.
See what I did there?
And it was gone, off to find a new path. Go figure.
And I'm pretty sure that little tale has nothing to do with the rest of this post. But it was kinda crazy. So now, post-run, I sit here in Timmy Ho's drinking a large raspberry iced tea that is seriously hitting the spot, and reflecting on the week that has been. My first week of medical school. I have actually been dreaming about this for most of my life, with the usual questions - what will it be like? Will I be overwhelmed or find it easy? Will I know what to do? Will I have good friends during my time? Will I make it through alive? And how will it change me?
Well, it's already looking like it will be overwhelming. But a healthy dose of overwhelming. I didn't really know what to do at first, but we're all in the same boat that way, all of us med students. Between the professor in charge of the lab screaming at us to respect the cadavers (with good reason) and taking a total of 2 hours to talk to us about things that really could have been explained in 30 minutes...to the absolute and utter disarray that was the introduction to our new technology...to the injuries our classmates suffered during orientation (proving once and for all that the amoeba race is not a wise game to play)...to the White Coat Ceremony in front of our families and friends...to the general craziness that is a first week at a new school. From the highest joys and pride in our accomplishments, to the excited terror in front of a new cadaver, we are all entering a new and amazing time in our lives.
And yeah...there are a lot of cool people in my class.
There's the girl who I offered to help with her move-in. I decided to impress her with my heavy box-carrying skills and my knowledge of the streets of Buffalo...and then proceeded to make a wrong turn and take a twice-as-long route back to her apartment, and almost killed her in the process when I made a hasty turn that forced her to cut off a semi truck.
There's the four or five people who I've come to know extremely well over the last four years as my friends and classmates as we went through the craziness of the Biomedical Sciences major and pre-med classes at UB - one of whom is now a bandmate, and one of whom I am particularly close with as we fought many a hard battle in the trenches that were the Early Assurance Program for Medicine at UB - going so far as to take ALL of the same classes one semester, and going through interviews, nervous breakdowns, and joyous celebrations when we got in. All four or five are some of the smartest people I know, and many others in my class are soon to join that list, and I look forward to being challenged and encouraged by them.
There's the splendid organizer who almost single-handedly has been responsible for getting many of the new med students to get out and experience Buffalo, and more than just its bars.
There's the super-tall guy. He's great in a lot of ways, including personality, but when I first met him all I could think of his "Holy crap, he's tall!"
There's the gentleman whose laugh is becoming famous throughout the ears of all our classmates.
There's a great many Buffalonians who have been here for many years or are just coming back after undergrad elsewhere, and who share my love for this fine city and all its idiosyncrasies.
There are the people who didn't attend UB undergrad but also interviewed Early Assurance with me - one of whom I think only remembers me because, despite all my nervousness that day, she saw me start to nod off while Dr. Severin gave us the pre-interview talk. I still to this day hope and pray that he didn't see me and/or doesn't remember it.
There are the people who are slowly making me realize how little I've scratched the surface of the concept of long-term and healthy relationships.
There are the members of my lab group that may kill me at some point because I'm way too perky at 9 AM when we're dissecting a human body.
There's the girl who is as excited about jazz as I am. I'm really glad your apartment is okay after that fire.
And there's everyone who came out to see Mayday, the band I play in, rock the crap out of the Buckin' Buffalo Saloon. One of my favorite things in the whole world is playing music for my friends that they enjoy. And the bachelorettes were hilarious, too.
And so many more that I would love to mention but if I tried to go through all of them, I would go on and on for pages and pages. And this entry is probably long enough.
I'm excited to get to know more and more of my classmates, and work hard alongside them as we strive to make it through the next four or five years together. It's going to be intense, but amazing, too. Will we make it out alive? Probably. Will these new friends I have (and I) be the same people? Absolutely not. Somewhere in the next four years we will surely find our calling, and it will definitely change us. So at this point we are like that rabbit, disappearing off into the unknown to start the rest of our lives.
See what I did there?
