Adjusting to med school 101

3 weeks in! Our first block of exams is coming up Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

My high stress levels have refused to allow me to sleep, so i guess i'll just write down my thots on adjusting to med school so far. It's nothing like i expected. I don't think u can even anticipate how hard it's going to be. How do you quantify HARD to someone who has not gone through the process?

Anyhoo, here's Adjusting to Med School according to STING

1. Your house becomes just a place to sleep in and take showers - You would sleep in school if it was allowed. The gym has showers. Hmmm......
2. You mentally get dibs on a quiet study room that has the right temp (suprisingly, the rooms don't all have the same temperature) - Sleeping in on weekends (forget Weekdays) is never an option because you have to gun for that room.
3. You turn the room into a mini parlor, complete with couch, bootleg coffee table, blanket or wrapper and a teddy bear for comfort (One of the study rooms has a couch, and everyone wants that room. My friend guns for that room like crazy. It used to be "my room" but i stopped gunning for it cos the temp is not exactly right-i like it hot)
4. Eating healthy and exercising becomes a very distant/hazy memory - You are perpetually at risk for food poisoning, because amongst other things you keep taking that same yogurt to school, forgetting to eat it, and taking it back the next day only to repeat the same process - You find that you might forget to eat or not have time to eat with all the bullshit you have to do.
   
5. Your ears totally perk up at the sound of free food - Great motivation for attending those organization meetings (Did i tell u my school is awesome? M1's had free lunches for the first 2 weeks of class)
6. You push shame to the side and grab 2 boxes of Panera bread and a whole box of pizza (you snooze, you lose). That's lunch for a week right there.
   
7. You feel stupid for refusing to braid your hair in Atlanta. 10 mins for hair styling every morning is an eternity. Washing it every week? Puhlease!
   
8. Getting up to pee while studying becomes an undesirable chore. Precious seconds are being wasted while peeing. Chop, chop, there's pages to be read.
   
9. You find you have to pee A LOT. Uh hum! Caffeine does that to ya!
10. Your ill conceived idea of going at it "naturally" is thrown out the window before the first week is over. You pick your poison - FAST! Coffee, Tea, Mountain dew, Coke, Pepsi, Red bull, Monster. It doesn't matter, pick one or a combination.
    
11. You perfect the act of the 10 min nap - You have to be very careful though as that can turn into a 15, 20 or 30 min nap instead - Sleepiness becomes your arch nemesis
    
12. You find your "happy place" pretty quickly and you just might have to conjure it from time to time - Ummmm.....like everyday.
    
13. Even though you resisted all these years, you find yourself addicted to Facebook. Gasp! It's your only quick escape. It takes a second to click, click... the next thing you know you've been there for 15 minutes. DEACTIVATE... click! Sharp, sharp!!!!
    
14. You pepper inappropriate cadaver jokes in everyday conversation - You wonder if judging people in terms of their cadaver potential is weird. (eg. Today, i saw a picture of a Nigerian artiste(who shall remain unnamed) who is ripped to the core. Before, i would have drooled over him instead the first thing i said was "He will make a good cadaver". Go figure. I just might be traumatized by the experience)
15. You start to think 24 hours a day is too short. These people must be crazy for expecting you to learn ALL these stuff in such a small amount of time.
    
16. Sleep becomes a luxury you are afraid of indulging in - You can no longer remember what peaceful sleep feels like- You wake up at least 3 times a night for no apparent reason (to check the time)
17. TV. Television. (Real Housewives of Atlanta) What is that?!!!!!!
    
18. You no longer have need for your alarm - You are up and dressed before it rings.
    
19. You wholly embrace the school of thought that crying relieves stress. It does. Ask me.
    
20. You thank God for giving you a friend who is just as crazy as you. Laughter relives stress also. Craziness!
21. You miss your dog something fierce - It is almost a physical pain. It really is. I misssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss you, Lenie! Dog of my life.
    

*** These are MY thoughts. Not everyone is going through the same thing the same way (like i said, i have classmates having parties, going to bars, playing softball and what not). I am still adjusting. I am looking to find a balance. I need good food, sleep, exercise and play. On that note, we are going drinking the night after exams are over. I'll be an alcoholic by the time 4 yrs is over.

Toodles.