Afterwards, I felt very disoriented.  Literally.  So I spent a coupla hours getting lost and un-lost on foot.  Just when I thought I was learning my way around alright…

Wound up at the LL Market so I went grocery shopping – FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!  (At camp we had a Book of Firsts, where kids could write things they’d done for the first time that day.  Can you believe some kids have never swam, seen a horse, EATEN WATERMELON?!)  Today’s groce haul: orange mango peach juice, 1% milk, yogurt, tea, broccoli cheddar soup, cheese, margarine, and my dinner: apple cinnamon bread with raw honey (honeycombs, pollen, bee guts and all).  It was very yummy.

Then I went to the Drayson Center with my friend and “worked out” – for the very first time!  Then we grabbed some FroYo (it’s pretty big around here.  Also, did you know they call bubble tea “boba”?  weird!)

Pretty eventful first day with a coupla firsts in there.  bed now – gotta be at the VA again at 6 tomorrow!

The Rod of Asclepius is the symbol of medicine:

The caduceus is the staff of Hermes, patron god of thievery, gambling, and trickery (among other things).  It is not the symbol of medicine.

I know, the latter looks cooler. But as much as I love art, I think it’s better to be correct than aesthetic when it comes to professionalism.

I want to be a great physician.

My biggest challenge up till now has been staying focused on the right things.  During high school and undergrad, I couldn’t find any connection between the things that were being taught to me and what I would be doing for the rest of my life.  As a result, I had no interest in school, learned very little, and lived for the future rather than enjoying the present. My goal of “good grades” was erroneous, as they held no value in themselves – letters on a piece of paper – and it slowly degenerated into “getting by”.

That all changes now. As one doctor said, academic results are a byproduct of the process, not an end in themselves. Of course, I still believe in living one moment at a time, but always while keeping the bigger picture in focus.

You know when you think, “Everything in my life has led up to this moment!”?  I’ve been getting that feeling a lot lately – so frequently that I’m in an almost-constant state of elated resolution.  Ask me again once classes start and it’ll be tainted by dread, but till then, happy times all around!

Thank you all for your prayers, guidance, and support.  Everything I am is because of each and every one of you.  So every time I screw up, it’s actually your collective faults.  And when it’s time to bail me out of jail, you all need to pitch in.  Hopefully that won’t happen too often – you’ll be proud to know that I made it through four years of college without even once being sent to the principal’s office!  We’ll see how the next four years go, but I’m pretty optimistic.  My freedom fighter days are over.

People ask me if I’m ready, and usually I take the opportunity to practice my smiling and head-bobbing.  I’ve gotten quite good at doing both simultaneously when the truth is, I don’t know.  I mean, I still tie my shoes with the bunny ears.  That’s kinda embarrassing, so I get my mom to tie them for me, and she does it the grown-up way.  That’s where I imagine I’ll be in four years – grown-up, independent, responsible, hardworking – because anyone who knows me now knows I’m anything but. So I don’t know exactly who’s coming out the other end of the tunnel, but whoever his is, make sure you say hi and shake his hand (because he’ll be too manly and grown up for hugs).  I won’t have forgotten you and how you were there for me.

So here’s to change and whatever it brings.  Through the years, may we all be together.  And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

Cheers!