« 22nd Birthday
Heart Dissection »

Today was the first day of block 2. Waking up at 5:30 AM, I was eager to get started on dominating the next four weeks worth of lectures and labs – how quickly this feeling was stifled!

I jumped in my car at 6:37 AM and began my usual commute. Just over five minutes into it, I hit traffic on the Grand Parkway. Now this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill stop and go congestion because of rubber necking or a messed up traffic light. I’m convinced this was a plot to get me. I sat in the same exact spot next to the prison by New Territory for 12 minutes. It took me 41 minutes to cover 1.8 miles. I went on to hit practically every red light on highway 90, and finally made it to school – 2 hours and 3 minutes after I left my garage (my usual commute is 45-50 minutes). The fact that I measured these values down to the exact minute is a testament to how bored I was. Because of this unexpected delay, I missed the first lecture (fortunately it was just an overview of the block).

The stressful morning was quickly improved by the thoughtfulness of my PRN group leaders. They baked a cake to celebrate my and a fellow groupmate’s birthdays. After playing some foosball and pool, I attended the remainder of the lectures dealing with the heart. It’s a positively elegant organ, indeed.

Also, we got our exam grades back from block 1. I’m content but still hungry to improve. We’re dissecting the heart tomorrow, so I better get some studying done.

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As a third year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine, my posts are intended to educate others and share my experiences from this incredible journey without violating patient privacy at all costs. These blurbs are not to serve as a replacement for recommendations provided by licensed physicians under any circumstance.