Winter Break- Part III

The first day of the year my younger brother had a full day planned for us, it couldn't have been more perfect.

We visited the World Trade Center memorial, it was my first time seeing it in person. We then took a trip to the Guggenheim Museum. This is the most intricate museum I had ever visited, I was impressed with the various levels and the artwork was phenomenal.

He then surprised us with dinner at the Rockefeller Café! The food was delicious and I loved the fact that you could watch the various people ice skating outside.

I figured the day was coming to a close but he told us that he had gotten us tickets to a Broadway show. This was my first Broadway production and it was amazing, I hope to see another one in the near future.

We finished off the night by visiting Top of the Rock. It was freezing cold and windy when we stepped outside to view the entire city but the view was unforgettable. From the top of the Rockefeller building you can see the five boroughs and the top of the Empire State Building and World Trade Center, it was impressive.

My sister and I then headed back to Virginia and attended the first Sunday of the year together, the message was very motivating and thought-provoking.

Winter Break- Part II

Do you have a bucket list of things that you want to accomplish? This past year I told myself that I wanted to ring in the New Year in Time Square. That's exactly what happened!


My sister and I went to New York to visit family and my younger brother. After spending time with my grandmother and seeing family members we stopped our younger brothers Coast Guard base, I am super proud of him.

New Year's Eve we arrived in Manhattan around 2pm. At first I was super excited to be there, suddenly it dawned on my...we had 8 hours to wait before the clock struck 12am! However, once more people showed up and music filled the air the anticipation really began. It wasn't as cold as I expected and despite rumors we were able to leave the barricade and use the restroom. On the ferry ride back home we passed the Statue of Liberty! It was definitely an experience that I will never forget.

 

 

 

 

Winter Break- Part I

Happy New Year to you all! I am sorry for the extended break in posting. I've been enjoying time with family and friends. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be home. The days have flown by, I wish I could slow down time. I return back to school next Sunday to start my 4th semester. I've only made it this far by the grace of God, this medical school journey has been humbling. I decided to break my winter break adventures up into 2 different parts. This post is about spending time with
my older bro and Christmas with my parents. The second post will highlight my visit to New York to ring in the New Year's and the surprise my younger brother had in store for us. Enjoy!

It had been 7 months since seeing my older brother, I was missing him like crazy. I was able to spend a few days over at his place, it was a complete blast. My sister came over and we all had movie night together. One morning we went bicycling at Sandy Bottom Nature Park.

 

When I found out I had passed the semester my sister, brother and I went out to eat to celebrate.

My younger brother and I then went down to Atlanta to visit my parents and grandmother! The trip down was pretty smooth. This was my first time visiting them there, the house is beautiful and right around the corner from Atlanta Medical Center (possible clinical rotation option)! We did a little bit of shopping at Lenox Square mall, that mall is huge.

Christmas Day was lovely; we opened gifts, enjoyed breakfast together and watched Christmas movies with hot chocolate. We celebrated my Dad's birthday the next day with cake and ice cream. He is by far my biggest role model, I don't know where I would be without him. My brother had to fly back to New York for work but I stayed an additional day to meet attend church and meet the congregation. It was a wonderful service and the church members warmly greeted me and made me feel very welcome.

 

As my visit came to a close my mom and I picked out new charms for my Pandora Bracelet and I took a trip to Dairy Queen with my dad, it's become a tradition of ours. I miss them already.

America!

I am finally back home! I arrived in New Jersey around 7pm, my younger brother was there to greet me. I then took my last flight home to Hampton, I was so exhausted! I was so happy to see my older brother, I haven't seen him in 7 months. There was definitely a change in temperature! I am super excited for these next 3 weeks of rest, relaxation, and fun! #happyheart

 

 

A Day In the Life of a Med Student

Happy Saturday everyone!! Today I wanted to do a post that highlights what a typical day in med school looks like. It varies for everyone but this is what mine generally looks like. As a 2nd year student we have not started our clinical rotations yet and we still attend lecture daily. We also have several clinical skills sessions that we have to do as well. Yesterday was exciting because we had a fidelity simulation with a patient that had renal failure. The rooms is set up exactly how it would be in the hospital and we had to quickly tend to the patients needs! It was amazing and a nice reminder of why I wanted to be a doctor to begin with.

{5:30}  Wake up, drink a hot cup of coffee, have morning devotion, and check personal emails. Review old material that was tested by either re-mediasiting the lecture at 2x speed or doing questions.
{7:00}  Shower and get ready for the day. If I have enough time I'll make my favorite breakfast, oatmeal with raisins/bananas.
{8:00}  Attend class or set up at the library to mediasite the lectures. If I didn't have time to make breakfast I'll pick something up along the way.
{1:00} Take a lunch break. I always attempt to review old material during this time but it never seems to happen. I either end up talking to friends or I just glance over them quickly and nothing really sticks.
{2:00} Look over that days lecture and make study products. If it's something like histology I normally don't take notes and just re-mediasite the lecture every few days. After the study products are made (which sometimes takes forever) I run back through all the lectures again that will be tested for that block. Take periodic snack breaks.
{6:00}  Have dinner either at Subway or finish up whatever I didn't eat for lunch. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll pick up a Monster or espresso from Pic-n-Go and put in a few extra hours.
{10:30} Leave the library, walk home and enjoy the fresh air. Shower, relax for a little bit, watch Life in the ER, Pinterest, text family/friends back home, etc.
{11:00} Bedtime!

This is an ideal day, It varies every now and then based on group study sessions, clinical skill sessions, and extracurricular activities. Any tips on the best way to incorporate gym time would be so helpful!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!