Time.

Among the piles of papers on my desk, my tea that is slowly getting luke-warm, the dishes in the sink, I can't help but to drop everything that I am doing right now and write a blog post. 

As you click the link to my blog, or have signed up for instantaneous emails (which I encourage all of you to do ;))  you will notice that I changed the template a bit, I felt a change was needed :)

As I sip my tea, and hear the two rambunctious kids upstairs in our semi-basement apartment, I can't help but feel a sense of happiness. Life has been busy, and I know it has been busy for a lot of people. I am feeling lately that the more I think about doing something, calling someone, or writing a blog post, I take more time thinking about it and trying to fit it in my schedule than actually sitting down and doing it. So here I am...with at least four hours of studying to do tonight and it is already after 7:00pm, I still need to wash the dishes, tidy our cute little abode, answer emails, and pre-read for tomorrow's lectures, but all I could think about was writing. 

I feel as though everyone wishes they had more of something, and if you ask every medical student, they will respond with: time. Or any student for that matter. Or mothers. Or fathers. Or the elderly. We all want more out of each day, even though some days we want it to end rather quickly. It is an odd concept. As every day passes, and long hours of studying swiftly escape me, I can't help but sit back and really enjoy this ride that I am on. I could not imagine studying any other material this intensely, and I am happy my parents told me: "you can do this, just put your mind to it and we know you can do it". Without their support, I know I would have taken the easy way out, and not have been challenged mentally every single day in this program. I really am thankful every time I leave the classroom.

I want people who are reading this to know that you have to make the time for stuff that matters. Whether it is staying up late to skype with your bff, writing a snail mail letter because physical mail is so much better than a facebook message, or making sure you do something for yourself each week, or heck, every day! Why not? We have so much going on in our lives and it is easy to get caught up in the chaotic lifestyle, and forget about the little things. How such perfect timing for Valentine's am I right?

Ok, my tea is not officially cold, and for anyone who knows me, they know I like it absolutely burning, I know, I know...I'm weird. Off to look over Picornaviridae and Orthomyxoviridae lecture slides, and talking about vaccines, and how they are essential to one's health. No debate about that after seeing some of these pictures! Yikes!

Have an amazing Wednesday night everyone :)

Bye for now,

-E xo

Who would I be without pictures?

Pretending to be a model. Hayyyyy

Love Tracy Olan's work. 

I miss this view.

And this one...

Cutie.

Our hotel.

On our way to Hobbiton!

Three generations. 

Castle Hill. 

Nelson for NYE!

3 Months To Go

Hey everyone! I know it has been awhile since I have written, but I think it will be like that throughout my time at school, it has been so hectic this past week. I am now feeling the stress of the material, and I now understand the commitment, sacrifice, and determination to do well...to be honest I am quite tired already...yikes!

So the last time that I have written was at the beginning of January, and even though it doesn't seem like that long ago, a lot has happened in that time span. The random 2-week break that we had gotten for Christmas was very helpful, as it let me really study the material that we had learned thus far. After the break, we had another 2 weeks of material to learn before our first exam of MERP. It was tough, but with all my studying that I had done, I am happy with my grade. I got a 92% in anatomy, yea! Really happy to use my memorization skills and put them to the test. I need to work on microbiology and physiology a bit, but they were still a good percentage above the average so I am happy. The average overall for the first Mini Exam (don't let the name fool you, it is not "mini"), was a 62% overall, that means that over half the class is failing this program so far...that is not good (you need at least a 65% to pass). I think people underestimated the time it would take to study, and the amount of studying that needs to be done. Thankfully, from my undergrad I know the feeling of pressure studying, not by choice, but understanding that I need to get as much studying done as I can before next week gets harder. If we had a tournament coming up, I would make sure I would get everything done beforehand, or if we had that awful trip to Maine coming up, I would study hard...write my exam early, and study for my classes for the following week. Med school is tough, it is a lot of work, but you have to be ready to put the time in. Period. I think people got a huge wake-up call, which is great to have now, before the island in May.

Speaking of May, starting today, Stephen and I officially have 3 months left in North York. Where did the time go? I felt as though it was November last week, and not even close to February. My program ends April 2nd, and then we leave exactly on May 1st as my orientation starts May 4th, and classes officially start May 11th. It is all happening so quickly, but I am definitely ready for it. I have tried to balance my workouts, eating healthy, and cutting the snacking, but it is hard. I have realized I need to set more time aside for "me" and really hone in on how I'm feeling. It is easy to look at all the papers in front of you and get lost in all the work you need to get done that night, but it is hard to take a step back and think: "ok, did I eat yet?" "Am I hungry?" "what time is it?" "what do I need to do RIGHT now?" "Where is Steve?"lol When you are studying, the night honestly goes way too fast, as you look up and it is already 11:00pm, Ah! weird..I just looked over and my clock and it was 11pm! Must be a sign :)

At the end of the day, the material is amazing. I do not think I would have done well on the first exam if I did not enjoy it...except Immunology, man that stuff is hard! You have to find your passion, I found mine quite later in life, but really 26 is not that late in finding what you really want to do. I enjoy people, interacting, making them better, and explaining complex material in a way where people understand what they need to do to make a healthier life change. I can NOT wait to own my own gym with Steve, have my practice set up with his office right beside mine, and using functional movements and dietary health to help overcome many illnesses that are prevalent today.

Thank you all for following my progress and checking in to see how I am doing, you all are the best. I have a quiz in the morning at 8am and the roads are supposed to be quite bad, so I better head to bed before the morning comes way too quickly!

As always, some pictures:

Mount Cook :)

Steve looking adorable. I miss that cooker!

Milford Sound 

Big fruit!

Castle hill love.

Big monuments everywhere!

Such good ice cream!

Steve's 98 year old grandma

Big apple! NZ style!