South America

In less than 12 hours, I'm leaving for a South America adventure. This may very well be the last opportunity I'll have for quite a long time to do a backpacking vacation. How is it that I, a medical student, have the time to take 6 weeks off? That's just what fourth year medical students do this time of year. With interview season finished, and the National Residency Match Program open for business (I submitted my rank list today!!!), there's not much to do but wait for Match Day and graduation.

I could have taken an elective, yes, but every single resident who has weighed in on the subject has emphatically insisted that this time be used to do the kinds of things that I simply won't have time to do once I'm a resident. Like travel. Consistently, those residents have also said that everyone ends up on an even playing field by the third month of residency.

So I'm going on an adventure to forget about life for awhile and focus on living.

Reality check

It's now 2013, my graduation year. I will be a doctor (technically) in 144 days. Crazy.