Reflections on 2009

It's crazy that at this time last year, I was looking up anatomy classes at HCC and trying to figure out how to fit them into my work schedule. First off, it was super evil of them to wait til Christmas Eve to release the actual letter grades when the GPA was already posted. Second, way for me to almost fail a class in my last semester of college! When I say almost failed, I really mean it...like I got the second worst grade in the class on our first test and had a midterm deficiency. Based on my GPA calculations, I had figured out my final grade to be a D+ and was seriously freaking out. Every time someone congratulated me on finishing college, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, thinking not only had I let myself down, I had let them down too. Somehow my GPA was miscalculated and when I finally checked my grades on Christmas Eve, I was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief!

Although my last semester of college was a bit dramatic and the ending to that chapter of my life was pretty anti-climatic (I guess that's what I get for finishing in Dec), I was excited for 2009, as it brought on new beginnings. It was my first year not being confined to classrooms, textbooks, papers, and tests and I loved every minute of it! Although I was sad to miss out on the second half of senior year, visiting my friends at college and seeing them stress over papers, tests, and the dreaded SMP made me so glad to be done. Plus, I still got to partake in senior week and graduation!

With school being out of the way, 2009 opened up the time and opportunity for me to try new things and I took full advantage of that with running. I had always wanted to run a marathon, but school took up way too much of my time for me to commit to anything else. I always imagined that finishing one marathon was enough of an achievement to satisfy my running aspirations, but I was so very wrong. I am excited to see what 2010 will bring for me in this department, hopefully qualifying for Boston is in my near future.

In 2009, I also worked my first real full-time job (although I am still not technically hired as a full-time employee!). Working 8-hour days with a 45-minute commute each way made me realize how short the day is and how much free time you really have in college, although most of that time is usually spent studying. Over the course of the year, I managed to get personalized labcoats, my own laptop and pager, business cards, a paper published, and the position of research coordinator. I also got to take my first business trip! Although I'm not sure whether I plan to stay in research forever, it is very exciting to know that what you're doing/studying plays a direct role in the evolution/progression of medicine.

Overall, 2009 was a good year. We all have bucket lists and I am glad I was/will be able to check two things off my list this year: complete a marathon and spend New Year's Eve in NYC.