When the whole med school thing popped into my head, I’m a little embarrassed to say, I did the age math. Ugh! I’m going to be in my thirties when/if I graduate, and my mid- to late-thirties when I finish residency. And then my life is practically over. Okay, an exaggeration for sure, but my attitude was ludicrous nonetheless: a) although I sometimes wish it were otherwise, I’m definitely not an anomaly, as taking years off before school is pretty standard, if not the norm; 2) I think, just maybe, there is life past 35 (haven’t we learned anything from Sex and the City?).
Sometimes it’s a little difficult to watch the friends from college go on and become doctors while I’m only starting school. But much much more often, it’s nice to have people I love and admire kind of show me how it’s done, become the type of physician I hope to be.
Lisa is a pediatrician. I think she was always supposed to be a pediatrician. She has a gentle warmth and kind temperament about her that attracts people, especially children. I got to know her in the Dominican Republic, watching her play baseball with the children of Esperanza. I was trying to describe her to my neighbor yesterday…she’s one of those exceptional people who is able to handle stress and keep all her ducks in a row, like a real adult or something. She always had a life outside of med school, making time to have lunch with me on the corner while studying for the boards, volunteering at a camp for children with special needs while serving as president of UVA Med. And, when she stayed with John and me for her Boston interviews, I discovered that she wears a purple suit. Love that girl.
Yesterday I came home to find a package with my name on it in curly print. Inside were some treats in tupperware and a note: “Nothing like some hot chocolate and cookies after a hard day of school/studying. Good luck with this semester! xoxo, Lisa” Did I mention that she’s in her intern year? She probably made the cookies post-call. I think I’m a few months older, but I still want to be her when I grow up.
anna in med school 
A. I love that girl too
B. You are a few months older. You know how I know? We have the same birthday 🙂
yeah! good people are born in april!
Hardly anyone does anything really noteworthy before they hit their thirties. Mozart excepted, of course (and I’ve never really been that crazy about him anyway). IMHO He would have matured and done some really neat stuff, had he not passed away prematurely.
haha, like maybe completed that pesky requiem? in all seriousness, thanks Jim!