Well, I just finished my first week of this school year. I feel a bit like an undergrad again, especially since the medical school academic year began over a month ago.  To be taking classes on Central Campus (not Medical Campus) and rushing between buildings (outside, not through interconnected hallways) is something that I haven't experienced for a few years.

And, when I realized that the freshmen who form the majority of the Chinese class I'm taking for fun were in elementary school when I graduated from high school, well, I felt old.

I'm not old, really. I'm used to being the youngest person in my class, not the oldest. People routinely guess my age as 12 (I'm not joking), and my four-years-younger brother is thought to be the older of us two.

I have definitely grown and matured since I was a freshman at UM. And never has this been so absolutely clear to me as when I'm sitting next to a group of them. They're awesome, and I look forward to getting to know them better. But it's still amusing to hear them complain about the exorbitant price of textbooks and their Great Books class. The best moment, though, was definitely when I said that I was not a freshman but a third-year MD/PhD student and one person's response was "Isn't that a lot of hard work?"

Yep. It definitely is. But so worth it.

I've settled into my lab, and my research is merrily chunking along. Between research, homework, rowing (my favorite new sport!), and certain medical-school extracurriculars (ahem, first Smoker meeting is next week), I feel like I'm being pulled in multiple directions simultaneously. But as long as I stay present in my current activity and plan out what needs to get done ahead of time, habits will form and everything will be accomplished.

But, in the meantime, I still have memories of my family's recent trip to Mackinac Island… and the FUDGE to prove it!