white coats and stethoscopes

the above tools which now mean very little to me other than I own them and so do doctors.... but I get to pretend sometimes... walking down the halls at school wearing my white coat on-- a symbol that we all understand must be some indication of knowledge and prestige... two things of which I feel I have very few of either compared to what I might have, someday. After taking and passing four medical school exams, I feel a bit more confident and sure that I'm where I belong...and working with patients was the reminder I needed to remeber how much I love it--all of it, although 100 pages of biochemistry notes will be calling my name and consuming my time this weekend. Anatomy has also been kicked into high gear... the upper limb is much more complicated than the back was, you just try learning the roots, trunks, divisions, chords and branches of the brachial plexus nerves after taking a histology exam this morning and let me know how you feel....alas, I lie... and I digress, because I LOVE it.... ALL of it.... even the WORST of it. I am sure of it-- this is what I was MEANT to do.

today I got to use my stethoscope to listen to the heart and lungs of 5th graders during school physicals at a local elementary.... it made me think of something I've seldom realized before... I like working with kids. Of course I want to be a mom someday, and I love spending time w/ my nieces and nephews and the children of friends, I was just pleasantly surprised to enjoy the company, in a medical sense, of 5th graders. Did I mention I love this job? oh wait, I don't have this job yet.... maybe peds? eh, still too early to tell.

this past week has been somewhat of a rollercoaster, personally speaking... I had a bit too much to drink last friday and ended up falling while taking a shortcut through the cemetery (yes, I know, creepy) next to campus with some friends... my legs got terribly scratched, and they're still painful.... it was none other than my own fault, and maybe the partial fault of the platform wedge shoes I was wearing. sigh. I take the situation as symbolic... the fight, struggle and partial failure of finding some kind of balance between studying and taking time to spend with friends and having fun... med school must come first, but I refuse to give up the things and the people that I care about... let me just say that and maybe it will become the reality of my life that I have been struggling with (but still succeeding) in holding up so far.

k

p.s.
I have not forgotten the things I love in life, and have recently found more to add to the list... lo and behold, a link that could only be appreciated by those females who know and understand the fascination and love of custom designed purses, even when you already own a closetful-- lisa lill, you can order on the website, her only stores are located in the Midwest.

p.p.s.
Things I LOVE about Kirksville:
1. we have fall leaves!
2. milk in glass bottles from a local dairy
3. the farmer's market every week on saturday morning
4. being able to walk pretty much anywhere I'd want to go in town
5. snow! I'll get back to you on that one once we get some! :)