Conversations

With the ability to watch lectures at home and the lack of study space on campus, I have been spending the majority of my time studying at home.  I will occasionally leave to go the gym, my small group session and to the grocery store but the majority of time is spent with my books or computer. My classmates are all pretty much the same...studying at home and briefly come out for their errands and meetings. We all joke that we are dating our computers because we spend so much time on them (all our lectures notes, study products, practice questions are electronic). 

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to actually have a conversation with a fellow EMS member.  Sitting up all night and talking reminded me how much I missed EMS back home.  When you are stuck with someone for an extended period of time, especially if it is during the wee hours of the morning, you learn a lot about each other.  This is how the majority of my friendships in college where made--the long and sometimes very random conversations that take place at 3am. These are the friendships that are actually meaningful, the ones that are built on an initial conversation regarding shared interests, rather than a quick friending on Facebook and subsequent likings of statuses and profile pictures.  It was a refreshing break from the constant deluge of my electronic studying!  It also made me miss those Saturday nights back at Cornell spent talking with my fellow EMSers, waiting for the "drunkies" and sharing totally random stories. 

People often wonder why emergency responders are such a close-knit family.  I believe it is because we actually talk with each other.  We know each other and this knowledge builds the trust that is absolutely essential in an emergency situation. I think this is why I love emergency medicine so much, not just the adrenaline and unexpected nature of the field, but the people.  We are a unique subset who when the time comes, will support each unconditionally.  The adrenaline definitely doesn't hurt though!

***Sorry for the lack of humor in the post!  I will try to come up with a funny one after my next exam. Thanks to everyone who is reading my blog. I am almost at 2000 views!!***

I survived!!!

"I am not telling you it is going to be easy, I am telling you it will be worth it"

First semester of med school is done!!!  At times, I thought I would never make it.  Between the extremely sick multiple times, the electricity problems, the brown water, and the "hissing" guys, I was convinced I was not going to survive.  Yet here I am. I kept repeating that quote and kept working as hard as I could, so hopefully it paid off.  I had my comprehensive final this morning, a three and a half hour exam that covered an entire semester's worth of material in great detail. But now I am free!  I might have aged ten years in the past three months but all that matters is that I stuck with it.  Many thanks to all my mentors and friends who provided me with invaluable support throughout this ordeal.

Tomorrow (well tonight), I head to the airport at 4 am to start my epic journey home.  I go from Dominica  to Antigua, to San Juan  to Charlotte and finally to Buffalo.  I was going to bring people souvenirs but because of my extremely tight flight schedule, I decided to not check a bag.  I am only bringing a purse and backpack (finally learned how to pack light!)  The weather should be an interesting change.  Right now it has been "cold" here in Dominica, meaning around 85 degrees.  I actually get cold at 85!!! Basically I am going to freeze when I get back to Buffalo.  My parents said they were going to bring my wonderful poofy jacket and socks! (I am going to be that cool person rocking Birkenstocks with socks...I know everyone is jealous of my fashion sense) Yay for fantastic parents.

Heading back to the states is beyond exciting for numerous reason. Here are some of my main reasons why I am psyched to come home...

• I get to drive! And not only do I get to drive, I get to drive on our side on the road. Not this scary left-sided stuff.
• I get to have legit coffee without rationing it...aka when I hit the San Juan airport, I am finding the Starbucks.  Peppermint Mochas in red cups better watch out!
• I can have fresh vegetables and I don't have to worry about getting food poisoning from restaurant food.  I also don't have to worry if my ground beef is in fact ground goat. 
• Non-reggae Christmas music and hopefully a cold weather Christmas.

and finally.....I get to see all my fantastic family and friends and my dog!  Cannot wait.  I know this sounds cliche but I never really knew what I had until it was gone. I never thought I would be the homesick person but now that studying is done and I am waiting for the bus, I realize how much I miss Buffalo, Ithaca and all my amazing people.

Here is a pretty amazing mashup of all current popular songs that fits my mood right now. Enjoy! 

Why Blog?

Those who know me, know that writing is probably my least favorite thing to do.  I tend to write how I talk, fast with my own unique ways of saying things (I say my "As" funny).  I also don't bother proof-reading and I don't particularly remember all the rules from my 6th grade grammar class.  So why I am I deciding to write a blog?

Four years ago, I was dead set against coming to Cornell for college.  I wanted to venture out to California or Florida, far away from my Buffalo home. I wanted to be warm.  After 18 years of icy cold Western New York weather, I wanted to be in sunshine and to be in place that I could wear flip-flops in January.  However, after one fateful visit to my sister at Cornell, I was hooked.  I applied early decision and never looked back.  Now, as my time on the hill is rapidly coming to an end and when the majority of the Class of 2012 has already left, I realize how coming to Cornell was the best decision of my life.  I even got to wear flip-flops in January! (Granted I was walking through a foot of snow instead of warm sand, but still).

The past weekend, the Class of 2012 celebrated our graduation.  This was an absolute whirlwind of emotions--excitement, sadness, nervousness, happiness, love and so many more.  The hardest part of the weekend was saying goodbye to amazing friends.  I will miss each and everyone of them but I know that whenever we get together again we will be able to laugh and recount our days back on the hill.

Still why the blog??
I want to keep people connected! In order to keep people posted on how things are going, I have decided to chronicle my "Life After the Hill" via this hopefully funny, interesting and sometimes inspiring blog.  It will mainly consist of the sleep-deprived musings of a coffee-addicted medical student.