I'm not sure when it happened, but sometime during the 2nd year of medical school, I began to map out my trek on 3 very large, picture calendars. You know the kind...photos of national parks, huge vistas that you ad to your bucket list as you flip the pages. Awesome to look at as I moved onward.
As I progressed, I marked key dates, deadlines and points of interest in this process called medical school. I remember looking at December 2012 back then and marveling that it would be the last holiday break before graduation if everything went on time and schedule. And while there have been some blips, it came.
It was a great holiday with many wonderful memories created with family, friends and places. But it did feel different. It was the first one I wasn't studying for something in earnest. And it's that pensive time before Match is announced. It was a time of reflection too...have I done everything I need to do? Is there anything I need to do? Are my last rotations all set? It's been a very busy 2011.
And so this part of the process will end very, very soon. It's the last of the clerkships and laid back learning. I wish I could figure out how to do 4-8 week rotations for the rest of my life, but alas it doesn't pay well :) It's a great time to hone skills, be truly present with patients and get better at communication and decision making. It's a great time to reflect on the experiences thus far and try to envision the future to come. It's an exciting time.
And while I may have been out of my mind to jump off into this abyss, it's been a great experience and I'm looking forward to the next stage. And that will be here before I know it. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and graduation is on the horizon.
And the congregation said "yea".
Now, if I could only get my preceptor assignment for Monday.
Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness. 
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