The non-medical life is all that it’s cracked up to be.

(Okay, the year-of-researching-and-TAing is all it’s cracked up to be.) Yes, I’m still alive and kicking, even though the blog may not be. (But it’s Adwords is–thanks Google!)

What of this new found optimism and gayity, you ask? A number of things. I’m very, very happy to report that I have ceased to be a horrible person (or maybe I never was to begin with) with only a couple months of medicine-free life under my belt.

A number of changes, my courteous one reader left (Hi, mom!):

1. Moving to a city. I forgot how much I love cities, and how much the burbs just don’t do it for me. The forced interaction between strangers, all the random little stores, the restaurants everywhere, the ability to people watch, the ability to walk lots of places. Public transportation!
2. A new appreciation for my patients’ lives outside of medicine. When you’re in the hospital all day long and reading about diseases and drugs and problems all night long, you forget that humans are these totally fascinating creatures, with quirks and hobbies and families and errands and stupid silly cell phone conversations. I guess you can’t really focus on that stuff when they’re in the hospital, but you kind of forget that your patients are the same people you see on the street picking up their dry cleaning or helping you pick out plants at Home Depot.
3. The time to actually do fun, non-medical things. I think in my over-achiever ways, I spent too much of the past year trying to be Mr. Perfect Medical Student, which feels kind of fun in a sick way, but is actually kind of sick. Sacrificing hobbies and pleasures and daily life for overboarding on medical knowledge. I’m not saying I should have slacked and not read up on my patients or tried to drink from the fire hose that is medical school knowledge, just that I should have played Slip’n’Slide with it more often. (I sadly must also blame my blog for sucking me away from life, too.)
   For example–I went hiking last Saturday. Hiking! And I hung out with friends the entire day Sunday. What med student gets to do that? I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity today. What a privelege! I’d never even have a full Saturday to give up during med school. As a close friend reacted, “Wow, that’s awesome, you have time to volunteer !”
4. I’m going to the gym again. Part of this definitely has to do with the fact that I’m not in a relationship anymore, so I can no longer afford to just be a fat ass and have the person love me for who I am, and all that long-lost-love crap. Feels good to exercise, something that also partially left because of lack of time.
5. Re-discovering some spirituality. In college, I was all about the world religions, and those interests escaped somewhere during medical school. I’m back to dabbling in Buddhist philosophy, and it just feels good to remind myself of some of the things that I guess I still believe but forgot what I believed. If that makes any sense.
6. I’m sleeping well and eating well. I have the time to sleep, and I have the time to cook. I’m surprising even myself, as I’m not polishing off a box of cereal in 2 or 3 days, as I used to, having it for breakfast and dinner.

I’m sure I’ll miss medicine, but I’m honestly not right now. I am fearing returning for my last year of clinics and having forgotten everything, but I’ll deal with that later. As they say, procrastinators are the leaders of tomorrow. (I guess that’s another one–I have time to procrastinate. And it feels wonderful!)

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