From D1 to DR: January 2016

As I sit here on my back balcony, overlooking the palm trees, the green grass, and the delightfully coloured apartments, it is hard to believe that two days ago I was in cold, snowy Canada. Time goes so fast when you are studying, and now having a full two weeks off, it has occurred to me that time passes quickly all the time. It made me realize that it does not matter how long it takes you to accomplish your purpose in this world, as the time will quickly pass by anyway.

That is the basis for this post as the time at home with my family has made me realize that time still passes when you are away. Catching up with friends in your hometown (well...for me our meet up place is an hour away from the farm, I live a tad far out in the country), and realizing that everyone is doing okay and that nothing really changes. Life for everyone just continues on, and for some reason I thought different. Being away, you feel like you are always missing something, that you are always anxious to get home, and that being away from family and friends is awful (which it is), but it really is not that bad. I don't want my family and friends reading this and being like: "what?!" *sad face*. What I am trying to say is that being away from home for medical school is not that bad at all, and as you will soon realize, future students, current students, and past students can agree, everyone on this island is in the same boat as you. We are all in this unique situation together and we will all survive and pass together. Family and friends are my rock, and anyone reading my posts for the past year can see that, it is just nice to know that things at home aren't changing drastically, so do not feel guilty being away, and the truest friends will understand and are so excited to see you, even it is for a day :) I am very thankful for the friends that I have at home, and they all know who they are!

I start what is termed "the deadly semester" on Monday morning at 8am, and since printing my lectures for the week (ahem..only 5 days) we have twenty-two lectures for the week...22!! It may not seem that terrible, but when printing them, they are the thickest lectures that I have ever had to date. I used up all of my printing credit just to get through Mon-Thurs, and still needed to print Friday's lectures. This has never happened to me before, so I let that settle in for a second and then realized we are starting the semester off with a sprint...and let me tell you..being 6'4"...I am no sprinter.

I do not know if I am inherently competitive or it was a learned behaviour with my collegiate career, or growing up with three other sisters who were just as dominant as me. Nevertheless, I love a challenge. I love someone saying: "oh my gosh, it was so hard, good luck", To me, that is game time. I am ready to take on anything this semester has in store and just kill it. You know that feeling when you get nervous before a race or before giving a presentation to a bunch of people, well that feeling never really goes away in medical school. It comes over me before each exam and I've noticed recently that it is before doing something a bit frightening. But I have also realized to embrace this feeling, as it is telling me that not only is it frightening, but this feeling never lasts forever. It has a beginning and it has an ending, and the quicker you start, the quicker you will finish. And to be honest folks, if you can harness that sentiment, you will have no troubles navigating your way throughout life. It has truly changed mine.

Off to enjoy the last of my Saturday night at a restaurant called "Tomatoes" on the island, with some great food and some great company.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Bye for now,

--E xo

As always, some pictures: