Time flies when you're having fun! Well, or when you are studying a lot and also having some fun in between libraries. It's amazing how busy and settled I feel after just one term. During the Cardiovascular/Respiratory sequence, I made the gradual transition to "becoming a full-time streamer," meaning that now I watch most of the lectures after they have been recorded on video. This gives me more flexibility in terms of when I study; plus, I find that I actually focus better when watching the lecture on my own. Coming from a small college, I'd always thought of myself as a "going-to-class-unless-on-the-verge-of-death" type of person, but that was partly because most of my classes were small and discussion-based. Here in medical school, I still very much enjoy the small groups, where we talk through problem sets or longitudinal cases, but I've found that I learn the material presented in the larger lectures just as well when outside of class. I am on the medical campus most days, for various groups, labs, meetings, and required events, but I spend a lot of time studying at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea and at the Law library.

Despite the huge volume of information that must be learned each week, we manage to have time for a few other things in our lives. Each medical student finds a different balance, of course, but some of the things I most enjoyed this fall were tutoring at a high school, continuing research with my group in Switzerland, taking long runs through the Arb, and dancing in the winter Biorhythms show. "Biorhythms" is an incredible event put on entirely by medical students, from the choreography to the lighting to the performing. We had a blast!

At the beginning of December, ready for some cheerful reminders during finals, I decorated my house for Christmas, including evergreen garlands around the bannister, poinsettias, ornaments, and more. It was just starting to snow when I left Ann Arbor for the holidays, but hadn't yet gotten bitterly cold. Home in California, I enjoyed a few beautiful sunny days . . . and then I was positively delighted by the thick frosting of snow when I got back to Michigan! Below is a picture of a friend waving out the second story window of the medical school fraternity and a second picture taken from outside my front door. Happy New Year!