This particular blog posting has been in the drafts stage for over a month now...every few days, I sit/lay down to write out my thoughts-but instead, I end upnot transcribing my thoughts and another day passes. So, just for the sake of completion, I figured I would add a conclusion to the "first term of medical school" blog thoughts...
It's hard to write a "conclusion" when I am no where near completion. I am still stitching my thoughts together. I write- and wrote- mainly for my own processing and only shared the tippy top of the ice berg in terms of my thoughts (my personal journal from January includes 35,000 words of what really happened in Grenada). You'd like to know huh?!
Here is a QUICK summation of the past month...
Studying: Last 3-4 weeks of the term were GREAT-tough- but good.
My study group and I really pushed each other. They became my little family-the people I spent all my time with-and with the exception of sleeping-we were basically together all the time. Come August, we will definitely hit the ground running from the start.
Living situation: I remember the first day I walked into my dorm room-I had been living in a private and large loft before school-and when I first opened my dorm door-to the small space that would be my home-I was shocked. It was almost funny at how small of a space I was greeted by. Well, 5 months later, that hole in the wall measuring 8x12 of my own feet became a place that I loved coming back to to recharge after long days. It's amazing what downsizing and simplifying can do-It was my space and that was enough. I am in 'my room' now but I miss my island room-I miss my island routine. I had my notebooks, bed, clothes, running shoes, a swim suite and my computer and slept soundly each night. My secret? I prayed-I pray. I have 1 Thessalonians 5:17 on constant repeat in my mind. I pray for school, people, family, money, my future, my present; everything.
Post midterm information included head and neck, lower limb and pelvis. Each area was somewhat interesting to me -however, my favorite topics were pre-midterm systems.
The final exam-very difficult. I waited 5 days for my results-and you can only imagine the stress of trying to enjoy being "done" all while not knowing how I did. Things ended better than expected! Of note-students at SGU must maintain a weight mean GPA of 75%+ to continue through school-when compared to students who must maintain approximately 69% to pass at schools in the USA. Interesting...
Going 'home': I flew standby home-which was a 2 week process...leaving Grenada was initially the issue-then getting stuck in Miami and LA...but I am home and believe it or not-I miss the island more than I expected I would. I mainly miss the beach. I can't quite articulate it yet-but the ocean is one of the few places I never get tired of looking out into-I am missing that the most while being home.
Upon returning home I have talked with family, friends and mentors about Grenada and school and even though I complain and talk about how things should be different down there (lack of infrastructure on the island, financial and health care and accessibility issues, politics, safety and education, public health, ignorance vs arrogance, organization and lack of, the ridiculous cost of receiving an education-specifically two letters that hold much responsibility , the way Americans act in comparison to other cultures and the differences in our standards and values, why school is organized the way it is, why some students partake in unhealthy habits to get through school, how a 3 year old Grenadian girl can independently get herself around the city without issue while I observed helicopter mothers/wives of my classmates children) -despite all of the craziness -there is really no where else I can see myself living or receiving this type of education.
I recently learned of some friends being accepted to OHSU and while that was always where I saw myself-my perspective has since changed in regards to the school I thought I would attend. I am not just content-but am now confident in where I am at. Yes, I face some issues and will face challenges attending a school outside the USA-but after having spent 150 days with students representing 98 countries, there are systems of education, health care, government and infrastructure that are good and are not American and I fully embrace that. BUT- it's all relative to the person, situation and moment in time. "A change in place plus a change in pace = a change in perspective" is the phrase that continually sweeps across the forefront of my mind and I know that the past 6 months are a direct result of being in Grenada and attending SGU. At this point, my interest is still mainly emergency medicine. I like thrills. I get bored fast. I like not knowing what will happen and responding in a moment.
I am excited for August 2015 to come. I just know that something good is coming and something good is in the making.
-M.H-
