anna in med school

Blogging is a funny thing.  It’s a little like a journal left open on a picnic table…something that should be private and intimate but that I carelessly made available to anyone.  I’m terrible at journaling.  I’ve never kept one for longer than six weeks, tops.  It’s the public nature of the blog keeps me honest.  Even though I’ve been light on posting for stretches of time, I’m still here, after what will be two years in just a week.  That’s pretty successful for me.

Yet it still surprises me that people actually read this blog, and I’m always tickled pick when I get a new subscriber or receive a comment–for the record, I love your comments, thank you!  If I don’t respond in a timely fashion, I apologize.  And then there are statistics, which I try to ignore at all costs because I do not want blogging to be about that.  But at the end of the year, when analytics informs me that there is a solid population in Singapore, for example, that checks in here daily…come on…Singapore, that’s pretty rad!

So you can imagine how floored I was to have made this list, included among other med student/doctor bloggers that I admire for their clever writing, natural honesty, and fresh take on life and the profession.  My goal (maybe post-delivery) is to check out all of blogs listed on Plans side column (not to mention her recommended books).  Especially during “maternity leave,” I think I’m really going to love tapping into newly discovered med school experiences.

Remember this kid?  Well, this book just came out about him.

I have been horrible about reading for pleasure, but John and I both quickly devoured this book.  It reads like a novel, it’s hard to believe it’s nonfiction, and about one of my classmates no less.  If you’re seeking immediate inspiration with a happy ending, if you’re looking for confirmation that passion and dedication can defeat adversity, pick up this book immediately!

(On a side note, this book was also a bit of trip to read because most of it takes place in Charlottesville, where Matt & Emily (and John & I) went to college, and the surrounding areas.  With the exception of Joyce’s Ulysses (which critics say you could use as a permanent blueprint of Dublin should you ever need to rebuild it from nothing), I’ve never felt so transported into the setting of a book.)