When I was in middle school I was constantly starting new diaries and forgetting about them. They all ended up hidden in bizarre places in my bedroom, and every time I’d actually clean (3 times in 7 years – I’m not proud) I’d discover one. I was always excited, like, “Yes! I don’t remember anything about 7th grade, let’s see what I wrote about!” but then I would read it and discover that the deep thoughts I had at the time were just excruciatingly stupid.
So I know one semester isn’t quite 7 years, but I’m going to go back through earlier posts to see if I think I’m dumb yet.
“Lessons Learned From Orientation”: Nobody’s opinion on med school is trustworthy.
Wow. I’m so guilty of doing exactly what I complained about here – the “agh, so much studying – I suffer for my science” / “Med school, schmed school – I spend 3 hours a day reading celebrity gossip on my computer!” about-face.
As it turns out, just because it sounds schizophrenic doesn’t make it untrue: the people who thought it was fun and games weren’t lying, and the people who thought it was incredibly difficult weren’t lying either*. Go figure.
“Week 1”: “I love med school. I haven’t exactly been dancing around the hallways shouting it at the top of my lungs, but I get out of bed quicker, smile more, and actually look forward to each day.”
I still agree with this. I love med school and can’t remember the last time I’ve been this happy in life.
“Things I Do Not Know”: “Where to find dress shoes appropriate for 9 hours of walking”
Awesome, I learned something! So, as it turns out, Crocs makes really awesome dress shoes with no holes in them whatsoever.
I wish they were pointier, but I guess if you’re going to wear a plastic shoe, you don’t get style points for pointy. (Actually, you’re probably disqualified from getting style points ever again.) Still. They are comfy and look better than wearing sneakers with slacks. I win.**
“Early Clinical Courses Make Me Grumpy”: “I mean, right now I couldn’t ignore the patient and treat the symptoms if I wanted to.”
Still so true. I should’ve written a post about the standardized patient interview exam we had last week – that was pretty awesome. (Sample dialogue: “So, do I have lymphoma or not?” “… uh, well… I don’t know. *awkward pause* Do you have any hobbies?”)
Action Potential 
For comfy shoes that aren’t incredibly ugly, you might take a look at Naot. Don’t know if they have any with pointy toes, but I really like the couple pair that I own.
Good luck with second semester.
Thanks! I’ll look them up.
Toms also has some comfy dress shoes (even their wedges are comfy). They’re just a little on the more expensive side…
Hmmm. But for 3rd year rotations, I bet it’d be worth the money.. thanks.
I am hugely biased towards Naot (being Jewish, I’m pretty much obliged to support anything from Israel, or else face the wraith of the Elders of Zion), but honestly, all dress shoes kind of suck with respect to being comfortable over 9 hours.
Congrats on being 1/8th done!