So I know I've already sent this out to most of you in email form (should've checked the blog first) but I'm going to repost the body here.
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Greetings from St. Louis! I can't believe that I've already been here for three weeks (what a short summer...) and that I'm already (officially!) a medical student. It's completely surreal but it's been an amazing experience so far. I just wanted to write to those of you closest in my life as a means of updating you on how I'm doing and to ask for your support and continued friendship :)
I think it took all summer for the fact that I was about to enter medical school to sink in. It felt so surreal -- to think that I was no longer "pre-med" anymore, to know that I'm about to entire an environment with 120 other brilliant and supremely accomplished students... it was just overwhelming. And to be fair, I had high hopes for my experience here and I must say that those expectations have been far and away exceeded in the past weeks.
The first week I spent in St. Louis was a pre-orientation program geared towards urban health and learning about the communities in St. Louis which I will be serving in the hospitals over the next few years. We had to chance to learn the history of the city (did you know that St. Louis was the fourth wealthiest and one of the most impressive cities in the United States at the dawn of the 1900s?) as well as the things that went wrong that have lead to the decay of its urban core and the formation of numerous housing projects and segregated "slums," if you will. We learned about the diseases most prevalent in the city and the most pressing health issues facing it (STDs, poor nutrition, obesity, etc). One of the biggest themes from that week was a call to be responsible as we proceed down this career path -- we're caring not for a disease or a symptom, but for an individual, a population. It's a life choice that I'm making and I have to hold up to those obligations.
The next week was orientation followed by the first week of classes this past week. Classes so far have been pretty much par for the course (though video recorded lectures and handouts of allll of the lecture notes delivered to our mailboxes really spoil us... haha) but the biggest challenge has yet to begin... anatomy. Tomorrow morning will actually be the first day of anatomy lab and we will formally meet and begin cutting into our assigned cadaver for the year. I'm going into it feeling pretty good -- but who knows what will happen once scalpel hits skin and the reality of the moment hits me. I ask for strength and that I will treat this cadaver -- a former living being -- with the respect and gratitude he deserves.
But what's defined my experience thus far has been the people -- and they are amazing. It goes without saying that medical school is full of brilliant, self-motivated and accomplished people. I'm continually amazed by my classmates -- a lot of them have taken time off and accomplished so many cool things. And yet all of them are incredibly humble and there is a palpable sense of camaraderie and teamwork already present. Sure there are a couple of unique personalities (read: strong personalities... haha) but on the whole, the people are awesome. And I've been really quite surprised by the number of Christians I've met already -- I've met a number of people involved with Intervarsity in undergrad and have been checking out difference churches with them the past two weeks. Tomorrow is also the first meeting for the medical school Christian group (Christian Medical Association) for which I am really excited.
And while living in the dorms sounds like a drag, it's actually been a blast. Besides being at the center of the social activities, the gym is on the second floor (I'm working out at least every other day), a basketball court is in the basement, and the tennis courts are a 5 minute walk away. Classes are a three minute walk away, and the study carrels (every student is assigned a desk + locked cabinet space) also three minutes away. It's basically pretty awesome. The facilities are brand new and for classes like histology, two students are assigned to a single double-headed microscope. I feel so blessed to be here... and that's not even mentioning the pass/fail grading system for the first year. It's such an incredible breath of fresh air not to stress out over grades and to be able to do everything I want to do, whether its exercise, go out, watch a movie, read, whatever -- and not worry about assignments all the time.
Overall, it's still a bit surreal being in medical school and it brings a random smile to my face every once and a while. I'm still meeting everybody in my class but I already know I've made the right choice for me -- I'm really excited for the next four years and for learning about things that I really care about and want to learn. It will certainly be hard at times, but I've already got a great group of friends with which we can all persevere. I've truly been blessed to have the opportunity to be in a place such as this and I have promised myself to do my best to enjoy my time here, but also to be the best doctor I can be and to use that for God's kingdom both as a student and when I graduate.
I ask for prayer that I can stay rooted in God as my identity even as I go through this year (and there are plenty of distractions -- parties, relationships, etc). Also, I pray for health and that I can improve my terrible sleeping habits, lol (classes are every day at 8:30... skajdghsdjfg).
-Kenny
PS. http://ventureout.missouri.edu/images/facility.jpg
I climbed a similar alpine tower the other day... 4 times... once blindfolded. Awesome.
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