Our winter break is almost over and I got back to Ann Arbor Friday night after driving 600 miles back from Philadelphia. Interstate 76 was closed; therefore the trip took even longer than it normally does and I'm pretty exhausted at this point. But I was very excited to have a weekend in Ann Arbor during which I'm not thinking about school (I'm a perpetual Sunday quizzer.) Saturday morning my boyfriend and I went to the Farmer's Market, which did have a surprising amount of produce even in January. We got blue potatoes, acorn squash, kale and eggs. I'm excited to eat a lot of veggies after eating holiday food during the whole break.

When I left Ann Arbor, there had just been a small sprinkling of snow. I went to school in Minnesota, so I am surprised at how little snow we got here during December. In Minnesota, we'd frequently get our first big snow fall in November. Now that I'm back, there are a good couple of inches on the ground and the sky is mostly blue with a few clouds. Unfortunately, it is too icy to go running outside, but I am debating going ice-skating tonight.

I do not know if this occurs to other students over break, but I frequently think of my donor in the anatomy lab. We work with our donors at least once a week, and often more frequently than that. I enjoy anatomy, although I have to study it assiduously in order to absorb the information. During the weekend and the evenings before exams, I go into the anatomy lab to review structures with my friends. These past two weeks are the most time that I have spent without seeing my donor or going into the anatomy lab. I know that my donor is deceased, but I can't help but feel that we have abandoned her. I worry that the body is not being cared for—that there will be molding or decay when I get back.

Tomorrow we're starting lectures again and on Tuesday we go back to anatomy lab. I will miss being with my family on the East Coast and I'm sure that I will be whining about school in less than a week. Nevertheless, I am excited to begin learning again. I spent a lot of time changing the course of my life in order to go to medical school. I'm ready to get back to work.