Things I Learned During my First Week of Medical School

Here are the tidbits that surprised me:

1.        I need an iPad. It's impossible to carry around paper copies of all the syllabi. I’m the biggest highlighter & note-taker on the planet, but it doesn’t matter. I'm not used to the class format, the syllabi, the professors, the pace, or anything else anyway. It's necessary & worth it.

2.        Cadaver lab is not like I imagined it. I was super excited about dissecting, but I find that I leave feeling slightly depressed and extremely tired every time.

3.        Medical school makes me hungrier than undergrad did. This is partly due to increased brain activity and mostly due to increased cortisol levels.

4.        I resent my basic human needs. If I could stop using the bathroom, showering, and eating I would have so much more time to study.

5.        It is so much harder than I thought it would be. Imagine taking the MCAT every day for a week and knowing that you will have to do that for 2 more years. That is how tired I am.

6.        Everyone else feels just like I do, so it’s okay.