This one's for you Dad

As my Dad so gently suggested, Ashley it's time for another blog! So here it is. It's been a while since you have heard from me and since then I have finished my first month of second semester. This semester makes the last one look like nothing. We have already covered neuro, cell, pulmonary, and reproductive in physiology and flown through 13 chapters of biochemistry which means we've been covering a little over 4 chapters per week. INSANITY. As our dean described to us "in medical school you attempt to catch a waterfall in a thimble." The sheer volume of information is enormous. Many med students will tell you that we could study every hour of every day, not sleep or eat, and still not feel like we know everything.

Our first set of block exams is a week from today...enough said

I often feel like I live the exact day over and over again. Wake up at 7, have five straight hours of lecture from 8 until one in the afternoon (try to grab a quick lunch somewhere in there) and go home at one. Once I get home I either take a quick 2o min nap or go for a run (lately naps have been more frequent than work outs) Then I literally study from 2 in the afternoon until i go to bed somewhere between 11 and midnight. Wake up and do it all over again. And there you have it, the exciting life of a medical student!

The best part of this semester is my much improved living situation! Moved into a new complex where Brittany and I share a two bedroom place. Huge living room and kitchen and half bath on the first floor, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and laundry on the second floor. Cannot tell you how much better this has made being here. I finally have an actual "home" to go to and study. Spending less time in the library and more at the kitchen table in the comfort of my own place. I feel so fortunate to be living where I do!

Looking forward to visits in late April from Alyssa, Shannon, and Lindsay and from my parents the first week in May. Can finally show them the place I currently call home!

Lots of studying to do but sometime after these exams I will take pictures of my new place and post them!

love and miss everyone :)

Back to School

Hard to believe that I am about to begin my second semester of medical school. It seems like I just finished writing my last blog entry as I was about to enter final exams. As you can see, I survived all the exams and did pretty darn well if you can imagine that!

I'm sitting on my flight back to the island and cannot believe what a whirlwind my 3 weeks at home were. I flew into Chicago on December 15 after finishing my last exam. I landed at 11 pm and immediately met up with Tom and his mom. I then got onto another flight and flew with them (and most of Tom's apartment) to Atlanta. Tom had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin and is moving back to Atlanta to begin his new job. So proud of him and excited for the next chapter he is about to begin!! We landed in Atlanta at some point between 3 and 4 am, which with the time difference means I had been up for 24 hours. Needless to say I was exhausted, especially since the entire week prior I was only getting 4 hours of sleep a night and studying like a mad woman. I spent four fantastic days in Atlanta with Tom and his family. Christmas party, Thrasher hockey game and I was on my way back to Wausau to see my family for the first time in four months!

I flew into Wausau and was ecstatic to see my parents and brother. I can't describe the feeling of being at home surrounded by everything familiar and comfortable. It put me at such ease and I caught up on A LOT of sleep. Mom and Dad were both able to take some time off work so the whole family was together. Another Christmas party, sledding, hockey games, trip to Milwaukee with friends, shopping, packer games, movies, getting the car stuck in the snow, Grandma's 80th birthday, seeing extended family, and MORE sleep. Oh and did I mention that all I did was eat? For those of you who are my Skype buddies you have heard me talk about how I am hungry all the time when in St Kitts. I was sure to eat enough for two people while I was home. Congratulations to my best friend Mal on her engagement to her boyfriend Jared; I am so honored to have been a part of such a special day. What a shock to the system, we really are growing up! Guess its easy to ignore this fact being a perpetual student. Tom was able to come to Wausau and spend the last 2 weeks of my stay in fabulous central Wisconsin. We all had so much fun together, it is the most special Christmas Break I can remember.

All good things must come to an end and before I knew it I was back on a plane heading south. I thought good byes were supposed to get easier…false. Still so hard to say good bye to family and friends.

This break was a major time of reflection for me. In my "study bubble" I am able to ignore the real world and just be a medical student. I now have friends who have real jobs that come with real bills and real responsibilities. I have friends who are engaged and some in graduate school. Almost none of us are in Wausau, many no longer even live in Wisconsin. I'm smiling when I'm writing this because I'm thinking of all the stupid teenage things we used to do and we always lived in the moment. I'm so proud of what we have all become, one way or another we all found our way. Its pretty cool to see the adults we are (terrifying to be using the word "adult" to describe us).

More than anything else, this break made me realize that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing in exactly the time and place I am supposed to be doing it. How lucky am I to be able to say that?? So here I am, up in the air somewhere over the state of Tennessee and on my way back to the island of St Kitts. Embarking on second semester which will consist of Physiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Embryology. Yikes!

So thank you again for taking the time to read my blog. I'm honored that anybody out there, besides my parents, care about me enough to take the time to catch up on my life. So thank you again and more blog to come!

Happy 2011, Let's make this year great!