I Survived My First Year of Medical School (and Then Went to Canada)!!!!!

My first year of medical school is officially over and I can finally breathe again! I would have posted as soon as I finished last week, but an extremely last-minute trip to Canada had me packing my bags and on a plane the day after classes ended. I didn’t care about waiting for final grades or anything school-related because I needed a break!

No words can truly express how good it feels to have completed this first year. There were times when I absolutely didn’t think I would make it past the first term, and the final term brought along its moments of doubt as well. I have literally stretched myself beyond my normal limits, and when I didn’t think I could handle any more, I learned that I was capable of way more than I ever thought possible. From having to learn an insane amount of material to finding a balance between parenting, school, and time for myself, I learned so much about myself during the past school year. I look forward to posting a list of all the things I learned as a first-year medical student (both in and out of the class), so be on the lookout for that soon.

Anyway, everyone keeps stressing how important it is to enjoy the last “free” summer of the rest of my life, and I truly intend to as much as possible. I honestly have no idea where this summer will take me, but Canada was a good start. It was definitely different from my previous travels, but it seemed like a good place to relax after an extremely hectic term. I ended up traveling all around Alberta, which had some amazing scenery. I even ended up seeing an actual grizzly bear on the side of the road! The weather was also a surprise. Outside of when I was in the mountains, the temperature stayed above 85F, there was no rain, and the sun was always shining. I was so happy!

Pictures say a thousand words, and I have a ton of stuff to take care of, so the rest of this post will be some of my favorite pictures from the trip. I look forward to writing more posts this summer, and I hope all of you reading this have an amazing weekend!

Downtown Calgary

This picture was taken at 11:30 at night...it was still bright outside!

A grizzly bear!