This week was the last week of M2 year. I took my last final of the preclinical years yesterday and am not tying up some loose ends before beginning to study for step 1. I was talking with a friend who is getting her PhD in Environmental Science this morning. She asked me how med school was going and I told her that it was not as bad as I thought it would be. She said that it seemed like I must be a natural fit for it, but I explained that Michigan made it very easy to feel at home even when I was struggling to memorize biochemical pathways or trying to make it through all the reading for M2 neurology. Medical school is hard no matter what, and it should be hard. But I've made amazing friends over my first two years of medical school and I've learned a surprising amount. I am nervous about the boards and the five weeks of studying that I have ahead of me. Nevertheless, I'm also so excited about the clinical years. All of my third and fourth year friends say that the clinical years are by far the most fun and interesting of medical school. As a non-traditional student, going back to lecture was difficult for me. I'm looking forward to using different skills when I'm on the wards. I'm also so proud of our class for pushing through the first half of medical school together.

The fourth year medical students matched on Friday. Two years form now, my classmates and I will know where we are going to do our residencies. We are all curious to see what the next two years will be like, and I am optimistic that we will all continue to work hard together to learn how to take care of people.