Getting Over the Winter Break Lull for Another Semester of Med School

Only three days into semester number two, and it's not easy to get right back into the swing of school. Winter break offered similar pleasures as it did in my high school or undergraduate years: the luxury of time to read casually, travel to Tahoe to ski, to Kauai to hike and be with family; and to binge-watch old episodes of Spongebob (which might be what I miss more than anything-it just doesn't get much better than season 1 with classic such as "April Fools", "Pickles" , "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy"). Above is a picture of one of the serene purple Hawaiian dusks right outside my family's backyard in Kauai.

Already it seems we're expected to climb a mountainous amount of info about different types of anemias (macrocytic, normocytic, microcytic), heme synthesis pathways, leukemias, lymphomas, and new methods of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) to treat hip dysfunctions. At this stage, when bouncing quite aggressively from a lifestyle of relaxation to one of hardcore, intensive study, it is important to meditate once again on why I'm here in the first place--not simply to learn and regurgitate information, but to maintain a curiosity and interest while learning, knowing that what's new and difficult to me now will begin to click the more I wrap my head around each subject. The more I focus now and get over whatever nostalgia I have for times of relaxation, the more prepared I'll be in future rotations, in future board exam, and ultimately as a future practitioner. It would do me well to keep these things in mind when I start to get shifty and restless with my academic hat on.

Hopefully this semester will offer me more moments compared to last to post here on Steemit. Have a great Thursday night/Friday morning out there!