Diploma day reflections

Picked up my diploma today.

Diploma day reflections

Five years of prerequisites, study groups, anatomy exams that made me question my sanity, and clinical rotations that taught me more about myself than I expected. The piece of paper feels both heavier and lighter than I thought it would.

Sitting here looking at all the textbooks I’m finally allowed to sell back

The journey in books and papers

, trying to process that this chapter is actually closed. I remember that first day in Anatomy & Physiology when I thought I’d never memorize all those muscle origins and insertions. Carmen used to quiz me during our runs - nothing like reciting the cranial nerves while trying to maintain an 8-minute pace.

Jake’s at work but he left a congratulations note on the coffee maker this morning. Something about how proud he is that I stuck with it even when the heating broke during finals week last year and I was studying wrapped in three blankets. The man remembers everything.

I start at the hospital Monday. Actual patients, actual responsibility. Five years of preparation distilled down to ‘don’t kill anyone.’ No pressure at all.