Alright, so yesterday I needed a little pep talk, a little reprieve, a moment to recapture the big picture — for I was slipping, slipping fast, slipping down a spiral staircase to which there is no end! Overwhelmed with the volume of work being hurled my way, I began to ask a series of questions steeped in self-doubt: What have I done? What have I gotten myself into? Me . . . in med school? Who am I trying to kid?

(Fruitless endeavor, I know!)

Then, while talking to my study partner (another 30-something guy with lots of kids), I was reminded of all the factors that had brought me here . . . to med school, that is! The journey, if you will, the quest, my own personal narrative of pursuing medicine after spending the last 15 plus years working as a freelance sign language interpreter. I never have been able to sit restlessly and plaintively wonder “what if”. If I never give medicine an honest try, then how could I ever expect to challenge my own kids to dare the impossible . . . to scale the heights of uncertainty, to let go and experience the sheer thrill of a water slide on a hot summer day?

Yes, I believe the big picture has been recaptured! Stress, pressure, sleep deprivation, unfair exam questions, and the irritability that comes with each . . . all of which are factors that must be reckoned with daily, kept in check and balanced! The implications of White Coat Ceremony are beginning to ripen. The attitudes, the mindset, the very habits cultivated (and magnified) in the midst of so many stressors will, to a large extent, determine how I handle the stress of non-compliant patients, an unstable economy and healthcare system, the ravages of war and terrorism . . . .

No doubt, a precedent is being set — as little eyes take interest in the scene that unfolds before them! Yes, these next four years need to be enjoyed! If not for my sake, then for theirs!