M2 year

Orientation was this week for the M1s! A year ago on this day, I arrived in Iowa after four days on the road with my parents. My back was sore, my heart was sore, and I was positively terrified of all the sudden life changes.

It's weird to transition to M2 year. On the one hand, I know almost everyone in my 140-person class, but on the other hand, we're all still striving to find our niches. It's a constant pull between wanting to build up friendships, but wanting to keep to myself to avoid unnecessary drama and energy expenditure.

My friend S and I painted our community window! Our med school is divided into four communities (like the Harry Potter Houses!) and we are in Bean (the Dr. William H. Bean community). Hence, the beanstalk! S was the visionary and designer and I did the shading and painting...straight from the airport to school. Our window is the nicest and most epic of all the communities, by a long shot.

Today I felt on the brink of exhaustion from finishing up my data collection (which is actually much more tedious and complicated than it sounds--learning to use new machinery, computer programs, and diagnostic procedures is difficult! I'm not trained in radiology or immunohistochemistry!) and having to be in pediatric genetic clinic for the afternoon. I rushed around lab/the hospital for 11 hours today and only had time to use the bathroom once. Then I got home, took a shower, and quietly sobbed to myself. Because no matter how demanding my summer research schedule is, med school is 1,000x more grueling. And it is coming up.

Tomorrow we're going to the Iowa State Fair as a last hurrah. We start school on Tuesday. Technically I'll be working in lab until who-knows-when (paper published? I dunno)...which will be difficult this semester. But I'll make it work somehow. With lots of help and the grace of God, I'm sure.