Orientation

Being on campus everyday has allowed me the experience of passing through/around/by hoards of incoming undergrad freshman during their orientations.

On one hand, I get nostalgic, observing these teenagers, remembering my own bright eyed, bushy-tailed self back then. I was so excited to be going to college, so hopeful of things to come. 25 was just a vague age, and sounded, frankly, old. Being undeclared, and not knowing where I would be beyond UVA had its youthful freedoms.

On the other hand, it's so corny! The school spirit, the enthusiasm underscoring the idea that college is the "best four years of your life" is cringeworthy. There is definitely life beyond graduation, little kids.

I'm a survivor

Done with pathology for the rest of my life! Not really. That fungal infection will probably pop up in my patients' mouths at some point or another. Not to mention the herps.

Praise God for getting me through this month. Officially a second year student. :) D2! Feels good to say after two years of being a first year.

Now, I just need to pass my boards in a couple weeks and it'll be summer vacation for moi..

Pleasantly surprised

It usually takes a while for me to warm up to people. Some longer than others, but given enough time and interaction, there's often a transition when someone stops being a stranger and it hits me that hey, I actually really like this person. He/she is pretty cool. Consequently, my internal shyness goes away. This has naturally happened in all of my friendships, mostly in a gradual process.

It's rarely a definitive moment, but I had one of those today.

Simple songs and coffee

Little pleasures of the day.

The Shins-Simple Song. I'm obsessed with this song today.

"I know things can really get rough, when you go it alone
Don't go thinking you gotta be tough, and play like a stone."

At first I was just in like (as opposed to in love) with the first verses melodically, but at this part, it turns into classic Shins at their best. I can't even handle it. Such a well crafted love song, but these two lines in particular resonate on a human level, no?

Homemade iced coffee! This is a useless picture, since you can't even see what I'm drinking, but trust me, it's a delicious concoction of coffee, milk, sugar, and ice ice baby. It makes me shake my head at myself for constantly paying $2 and change for this at Starbucks, though I like to think of the payment as an entrance fee for my hours upon hours of loitering.

w00t. Thank you God for music and cold beverages.

Swimming is not my forte

Every time it's offered, I've signed up for an exercise program through the gym. The incentive for completion is a free t-shirt, but more than the prize, the project helps me to be motivated to stay active. The requirements are not so difficult that I ever feel seriously tempted to give up, and knowing that there's someone that I'm reporting my numbers to at the beginning of each week keeps me focused.

It consists of:

112 miles of cycling

154 meters of swimming

26.2 miles of running

over 8 weeks (or 4 for the ambitious, and 12 for the not so ambitious).

There is a rowing replacement for non-swimmers, and I chose to do that last semester, but to be honest, it made the whole program a little too easy. I like a tiny challenge, so swimming it is.

Except it's easily the most difficult for me of the three. I'm starting to get into an exercise groove, and while it's like I never took a break from running or cycling, there's a steep learning curve for swimming. A few reasons: I haven't swum since last fall, while I've ran/biked more recently; there's no music when I swim so it's boring; I never properly learned how to swim efficiently, despite lessons as a child?

It's a mental battle to get through a mere 30 lengths a session. 

But I always get there. No matter how much I want to stop, I keep going until I reach my goal.

Perhaps this discipline will strengthen me, both physically and whenever I hit other life obstacles.