Milestone

Yesterday was the GI exam and our FINAL anatomy exam.  

Which means that anatomy is over.  Which means that first year of medical school is just about over, and also that I survived it.  Leaving the test yesterday actually did feel like I had just passed a pretty big milestone- anatomy in med school is one of those things that I feel like I'd heard about forever, spoken of in hushed and awed tones, (or fearful or maybe resentful ones), sort of like organic chemistry was in my pre-med classes.  I guess it sort of makes sense, but I'm not entirely sure that its reputation is totally deserved.  Yes, at times, it was sort of gross, it took up inordinate numbers of hours, it could be incredibly tedious... but it was also just really cool.  

I mean, getting to dissect apart an entire, real human body... it was humbling and awe-inspiring.  Do you have any idea just how crazy-intricate and amazing your body is??  There is a LOT of shit in there, seriously.

won't be looking at this again (for a while, at least)

returned our skull and bone box, so studying no longer looks like this

too much?

For anyone curious about or considering donating your body to science, I highly recommend the book Stiff, by Mary Roach.  Totally fascinating.  Regardless of how you feel about donation, it might change your mind (in either direction.)  In any case, you will learn a ton of really interesting things about what happens to bodies once they are dead, if that's the sort of thing you enjoy.  (Which I obviously do, and I don't think that's weird, either.)

Now I have a day off, and the pressure of trying to ENJOY THE DAY OFF almost makes it impossible to actually do.  Do I take advantage of the extra time to do real-life stuff that I really should do, like starting to pack and clean and answer all the emails that I have been putting off?  Or do I use the day off to pretend it's like a weekend I don't have to study and just try to do something fun and relaxing?  And the tension between these two goals feels almost as stressful as just having a regular day of needing to study more than is actually possible.  (Almost... but not quite.  I'm actually treating myself to a massage this afternoon. :) )