When I'm climbing this killer stretch I want to give up every time. It feels impossible. Yet I know from my past climbs that I'll make it- and that the view is worth it.
This is what uni is like at the moment. I'm in that killer stretch. I want to give up. It feels impossible. Yet last year has taught me that I'll make it. All I have to do it put one foot forward and then the other and so on. I will make it.
My mind is filled with all sorts of fears and worries, but I'm taking comfort in a cartoon that currently graces my desk.
''When I confronted my fear it just exploded into a jug of very sunny flowers''
I'd also like to point out- if not just to remind myself- that I much prefer the harder track, even if it has a distinct lack of koalas. Over my summer break I climbed the easy track once, and the hard one at least 15 times. I must remember that prior to medicine I was so very bored, no matter how many challenges I tried to take on. Medicine is my match and captures my interest unlike anything else I've studied. I'm so thankful that I chose (and was chosen) to take the harder track.
Also in the photo above is Alfred, a puppet I was given by my workmates, when I left my job in a toy store after 3 years. Sometimes reading endless notes and books gets a little boring. When this occurs Alfred becomes my patient and 'we' discuss his symptoms, investigations, treatments and the underlying pathology of his condition. This is perhaps my most effective way of studying yet!
Today I started my GP placement. The patients were wonderfully varied and I got to see an abdomen being sewn up. The best bit though, was when the GP said he'd set aside 30 minutes to teach me. He took me to the tearoom where I made a coffee. At first I thought we were just going to discuss patients- but no... he ran off and grabbed two suturing kits. We sat side by side on chairs in front of the couch and through copying him I learnt to suture. By the end the couch's throw was full of sutures! I've taken the needle home to practise with.
Finally- I've included a photo of the jumper I've just finished knitting. What a wonderful stress relief knitting is!
ps. my best friend and her husband from back home just left after visiting for a week. Visits are always bittersweet. Such fun, so tiring, and a reminder of just how much I miss people from back home.
