A New Year, a New Semester

Today was our third day of classes.  One noticeable difference this semester is that I didn't show up exhausted for the first day of class (following a really long week of orientation).  No matter, it is only Wednesday and I am already really tired; it feels like we started 3 weeks ago...    My class schedule consists of: Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Clinical Skills, Clinical Epidemiology and OMM II.  They offered a few electives this semester, and I am really interested in a couple of them...but they must be crazy...    Neuro has a reputation for being ridiculously hard - 33 people failed last year (1/3 of the class).  I really like the way the lab is set up; they put us in groups, give us brains and brain stems and have professors and second year med students move from group to group helping us identify structures and answering questions.  I think they are trying to build our confidence, so we fall that much harder when exam time rolls around...  Unfortunately, I'm not kidding - everyone, even other professors, has warned us about it.    Back to the real world...  I visited my second grade buddy today at lunch.  He started out pretty shy, but has become really talkative.  For just a moment, I could imagine him as a young adult with every opportunity available to him...I hope he really is that fortunate.    Jen