Brief Respite

Today Patrick and I treated ourselves to a little break from our normal Sunday routine of oversleeping and frantically studying/working/catching up and instead went hiking with some friends. We drove to Berea, Ky which is about an hour away (I think south, but I really don’t know) to a spot where John the Outing Organizer knew.

The group consisted of three 2nd year medical students, four 1st year dental students, a resident physician, and two dogs. It was a very fun group and we had an absolute blast. The weather was perfect, the hike was challenging but short and included a rock climb at the end! It was only about a two mile hike roundtrip, but it was steep and twisty, so we all broke a sweat. Thus, we were entitled to pizza afterward.

Today was one of the first times that I’ve been able to truly escape from school. Usually, when not studying, I am thinking about studying or when I will be studying next or how I am a slacker and really should be studying now. But today I actually let go of that burden and let myself have a good time.

I wish I could capture this day and keep it with me, if only to remind myself how beautiful the world is, how many funny and fantastic people there are in it, and to calm down already and enjoy it.

Days like today make all the other days worth it.