New Beginning

Hi Readers! Again it has been almost 5-6 months since my last post. I guess not that much has been going on in the big picture of life.

As many of you know, last week, I started medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. Although I am still not fully adjusted to being out of the great state, I am finding this to be exactly the place for me.

If you had told me a year ago what my life would look like right now, I would never have believed you. I am so blessed to be where I am with who I am with. I have grown to love Memphis and (almost) all of it's quirks. It's an interesting place to live because there is a lot of work to be done. There is a lot of reconciliation from past generations and scars that are more apparent here than anywhere else that I have lived (which isn't saying too much).

Medical school (at least at this point, 1.5 weeks in) is so much more than I could have hoped for or imagined. There is a lot to do and learn and study but I am actually feeling really good about this decision (ask me in another 1.5 weeks right after my first test). I don't think that I could have chosen anything better for myself. If you have known me for a while, you know that medicine was never my plan to begin with, but a journey that God led me to, kicking and screaming at points. I believe that God knows my heart and soul in such an intimate way that because I asked, He led me to where I am supposed to be.

The first day of gross anatomy might have been the best single day of my life. Now obviously there is fierce competition for that spot (i.e. time with family, Samoa, Uruguay, Chile, Guatemala, time with friends, etc.) but in terms of the coolest thing by far I have ever seen was opening one of the most generous gifts that a person can give. It strikes me every single time I walk into the lab that these people made conscious decisions to give their bodies for my education without even knowing me or what kind of doctor I would become. It is a true gift of the person and the family. I am so grateful-- there is no other way to learn human anatomy.

I love the blend in medicine of people and science. I am a curious person and love to explore, question, understand and tinker with things. However, I am also very dependent on social interaction for fulfillment. I love how medicine is now a "team sport" as it was called in our orientation week. I love that in the first weeks here we are taught explicitly about being professional, personal, and caring for our patients. I really thought that medicine would mold me into something that I am not, and that may still be true. But not right now. I can say with confidence that medicine (right now) is molding me in to something that I already am.

I have no illusions that this is not going to be an easy path. It is one of the most difficult ambitions to pursue. That is why I am glad though, that it was never my plan to begin with. It's all about becoming the person that God created me to be. I know (at least right now) that the healing and restorative work in my life will be through medicine. I hope I never lose sight of my passion and motivation for this life, the redemptive work of the Creator for His creations.