My Cheeks Hurt

I just returned home from volunteering at the senior village for two hours. We played BINGO for the first hour, and chatted the rest of the time. One lady was a retired RN and had many stories to tell about her job. She absolutely loved being a nurse and misses it a lot. She had some great advice for me about entering the medical field. I definitely enjoyed the conversation with the ladies and the activities director. My favorite part about the visit, however, was that it was one of the resident's birthday, and she had a few visitors. Among the visitors was a dog. I have not seen as much joy radiate from a person as I did when this lady saw her dog. Even the activities director said it was the happiest he has seen her in a very long time. It is hard to become unmotivated to work with the older generation when moments like that happen. Why do my cheeks hurt? I smiled BIG for the entire two hours.

I apologize for not posting for a month, but I have been on winter break. I had a wonderful Christmas with family, and an uneventful New Year's. I have been reading a lot lately because I rarely have time to read for pleasure at school. I have also been using the time to restrengthen my relationship with God because I was a little distracted last semester with how busy I was. I was a little down, but once I realized what was missing I was able to pick myself back up, and I am now ready to tackle the extremely busy semester that awaits me.

Speaking of a busy semester, I'll let you in on what it will look like. I officially registered for the MCAT on April 28, so I will need to buckle down and study for that. Also, I will be taking Physical Chemistry II, Anatomy, Ethics, and Intercultural Communication, all classes I am confident will help me become a better doctor. I will also be working with one of my professors on writing and publishing a case report on a rare type of gall bladder cancer. I am hoping to get credit for a research seminar class through this project, and hope to continue with the research project I briefly started last semester. I will be continuing my work in the financial aid office, as well as being a part of the dance team, an intramural basketball team, and a captain on the track team. I haven't been able to work out as much as I'd like to due to a back injury, but I'm hoping a trip to the trainer next week will help me get back into it. I am not allowing any setbacks get in the way of my dreams.

With that said, if you are one of my friends reading this, I will go ahead and apologize now for any time I am too busy to hang out. Please don't take it personally. You probably won't see me as often, so don't worry if that happens.

Wish me luck for the coming semester! Hopefully I will be able to keep you all updated.

PS For those of you who are wondering if I have heard from WashU about the summer research program, I have not. Trust me when I say that you will know as soon as I do. Pray for good news!

"You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be."
-Max Lucado