Holding On to Good

Today the first year class had their white coat ceremony. Which got me thinking about my white coat ceremony last year. My classmates and I joke that our school "hazes" their students by throwing them face first into anatomy, embryology, and histology courses for 12 weeks (not a lot of time), right at the start of school. So, by the time white coat rolled around last year, I was in the middle of the worst semester of my life (class wise) and all I wanted to do was cuddle up with my parents and listen to them tell me how special/smart/pretty I am. (Which happened. Thanks, mom and dad. :) )

As you might know, I am a huge fan of lists. (My very first post to this blog was a list.) They help me get my thoughts down, reflect on past experiences and take a look at how I'm feeling in general. So, here is a list of things I've learned/embraced since I donned my bright new white coat and stethoscope exactly one year ago.

• Family is most important.
• Good friends are very important. While I'm not sure if "hard to find" is how I'd put it, I do know that once you have them, investing in those friendships and having solid people by your side makes life so much better. 
• I will never know everything. And neither will anyone else in a white coat. 
• Medical school may force you to adjust expectations you have of yourself. And that's okay. 
• Few things are more valuable than good sleep. 
• A good cup of coffee is one of those things (see above).
• I like Taylor Swift. She makes me feel twenty-twooo--oo-ooo. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)
• Things seem much worse when the sun goes down and much better after sleep. 
• I HATE immunology. Cell warfare? Super cool! Until you have to learn. Every. Little. Detail. 
• I am a morning person. Surprise! (So weird to even type that out...)
• I am too old for all-nighters. Writing papers and staying up all night to study in college, totally doable. Staying up all night to study now? Yeah...not gonna happen. 
• Sometimes I stay home just to study with my cat. He's cuddly and I like it. Plus the coffee there is free. And endless. 
• I am living on the wrong coast. 
• If you don't sometimes question whether or not you made the right choice going into medicine, you're lying. 
• The human body is sometimes super cool, sometimes kinda gross, and usually a fun combination of both those things. 
• Be kind to people - regardless of how much sleep you've had, how stressed out you are, or how hungry you are. It's nice to be nice. 
• Going to Sheetz after 10pm for a food run will inevitably end in multiple trips to the bathroom. Not. Pleasant. 
• Pelvic examinations on a teaching mannequin and pelvic examinations on a real live female are the same, and also different. Which is neat. 
• Medical school has NOT ruined medical shows for me. I could still watch ER and Scrubs for days. 
• The only thing worse than over-caffeinating is under-caffeinating. And hey, those tremors and heart palpitations will diminish. Eventually. 
• Clinical faculty members can make or break your PBL sessions/practicals/life. For the love of all that is good and pure, get on their good side, and stay on it! 
• No, medicine is not fair and neither is medical school. Next. 
• Psalm 94:18-19 gives me peace before every big exam: When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
• Finally, to quote my (super smart) punk kid brother, "sometimes, you just have to embrace the suck."