Lessons and Successes for a New Year
 
Hello readers! A semester has gone by in about 5 days, I think, which means I'm following up quite promptly to my last blog post. When I last wrote, I was overjoyed to be exploring Madison and anticipating the beginning of a wonderful new life as a medical student. I had just begun to absorb the high frequency energy around me as my fellow students began their new lives too. Then, to be quite honest, the past 5 months devolved into some of the hardest of my life. My inherent anxiety, normally tempered by positive friends, welcoming relatives and warm, fuzzy animals, was whipped up to never-before-seen levels by hospital hallways, super-gunner med students, inescapable chatter about test scores and a sea of unsmiling white coats- a sea into which hurling oneself headfirst without a life vest seemed to be the ultimate, if only, goal of the other students around me.
 
The last few months of 2008, I felt as if my spirit, values and priorities were being flung daily into a hospital-green concrete wall to see what would stick. I won't delve into the details of my despair, however, I can say I have come out on the other end having learned a few things.
 
Lesson #1- Lectures online, in my pajamas, is still med school.
Lesson #2- Perfection truly is the enemy of the good.
Lesson #3- Life is not a miracle. But it is miraculous.
Lesson #4- Everything that matters is a matter of perspective.
Lesson #5- I'm even tougher and smarter than I thought.
 
Well, 2009 promises to be the year of all years. We have a new president I am abundantly thankful for, and I am planning a trip to Kenya this summer to volunteer in a rural hospital for one month. I have met amazing friends with whom I can explore the balance of personal health, political will and professional training. Now, I have hope again that I can navigate the stormy waters of medical school and residency, and arrive safely one day on the opposite shore. To help me stick with my looooong-term goal, I have begun to track my successes of The First 100 Days (and beyond), so that I can look back and see how one small accomplishment a day adds up to a pretty great life.
 
Six days in, I'm off to a pretty good start.
 
Day 1- Caught up on a lot of work, after a long weekend visiting friends in DC, and a luxurious day celebrating the Inauguration.
Day 2- ZUMBA class! I am reinstituting dance in my life.
Day 3- Felt peaceful and strong.
Day 4- Power breakfast with friends to talk about starting women's health free clinic.
Day 5- Wrote a damn good birthday card for my sister's 30th birthday.
Today- Started up yoga again. Lunged lower than ever.
Tomorrow- Can't wait to find out.
 
I am sad to say, this will be my final Virtual Teahouse post. Thanks to the handful of you who read my post at all, it was so wonderful having an audience out there in the ether. I may start up a blog again in the future (I hope I do), but for now I will be attending to life's adventures offline.
 
Peace in the new year,
Holly