Set your goals today

I realize when I set a goal, even though I don't get there right away, I'm bound to get there someday. What helps is when I set smaller goals for that big goal. Accomplishing the smaller goals not only makes me feel I accomplished something, but it also makes me feel even better inside when I know that it will lead me to the ultimate goal. So folks out there, if you're not already doing so, please set goals (and smaller goals) to help you reach your potential. Write them down, as doing this would carve the message into your subconsciousness and you'd just end up finishing the day to find that you had indeed accomplished something meaningful to you, and had not wasted the weekend watching re-runs.

Cheers,

Kay

Satisfaction

Sorry for the hiatus from my little blog here. I would usually say it's because I'm busy but to be honest, it's because I didn't feel there was anything I wanted to write on here for the past few months. And here I am again. Reading some notes which I got from a very dear friend as a present last year has inspired me to write this post here tonight. I cannot guarantee that I will continue posting here on a regular basis but I just suddenly had an urge to post something, so here goes.

I was wondering why is it that a lot of us like to focus on what we do NOT have, what we did NOT achieve, instead of what we DO have or what we DID achieve. It's quite a shame that some of us are never satisfied with what we have or what we have achieved. I find myself getting stressed out at the end of the day because I feel like I haven't completed everything that I have to do. But then again, was it reasonable to have expected myself to complete all those things in one day? Maybe, or maybe not. By having that expectation to never having a blank to do list is not reasonable. There will always be things to do and goals to work towards. Once I'm done with what I have to do today there will be more tasks I have to add to my to do list tomorrow. It's only normal. We shouldn't stress. Set reasonable goals and then at the end of the day, take note of what we've accomplished and not what we have YET to accomplish.

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

The stress definitely starts to build as I realize that anatomy class is just as confusing as the french class I had last night. With no background in anatomy, this in some way resembles a different language to me.

Quoi?

Had my first french class today. My prof spoke in French for 85% of the time. In a way it was overwhelming but on the other hand, I kinda enjoyed the intense, bootcamp nature of the class. It kinda made me feel like I would be forced to learn a lot and to really learn the language. We'll see how things go after she reads my paragraph to determine whether I've been misplaced in this class :D haha

Let the studying begin!

So foundations lectures are finally starting and surely enough, we had a whole day of it today - intense. Suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed about my new home, new friends, new program/area of study, new methods of learning, and of course new life. Wondering if I can get through this but of course it is too soon to tell. Can I survive the case-based learning? the strong smell of aldehyde in the anatomy lab? the lack of specific textbooks I can refer to? the interviewing of patients each week? standing in an OR for 6 hours straight? Only time will tell.

P.S. French class begins tomorrow!

Life as a student

Almost completed 1.5 weeks of school. Learnt lots about professionalism, ethics, leadership, physician wellness, and other relatively "softer" skills. Had a memorable birthday in Ottawa, for the first time in my life. Is still amused about taking out the garbage and bumping into classmates who are also doing the same thing. Was excited about an interprofessional case competition but then my team ended up with 7 med students and 1 health sci student - very interprofessional indeed. Still enjoying the art of cooking yet wished that I can do it in less time. Tip: don't cook when you're hungry, by the time you get hungry, you'll be rushing to get your meal done that it is highly likely your meal will turn into a disaster. You need to foresee hungry and prepare well in advance.

Loved the fact that we had a long lunch today where we managed to go out for lunch, go to the pharmacy, starbucks and loblaws. Fun times.

Watched very touching video clips in class which made me question my EI and wonder if I'm too sensitive. Think I have the imposter syndrome and have been doing a lot of reflecting, hence the lack of posts in the past week. I read an article last week about surviving first year. There were some very valid points there, mostly importantly the need to stop comparing myself to others and stop caring so much about what others think about me.

Back to school

Woke up early to in the morning to head to school to pick up my new computer! Smaller than expected but still nice. Carried my computer avec all it's accessories home and really trained my upper arm strength. Didn't know the walk home was so long until today. XD Finally "registered" and officially a student :) Met EVERYONE in the class via introductions from each student - crazy, I know. Found out I was the only commerce student and 1 of 4 BC'ers in my class. Went to some friends' house for lunch then back again for some more lectures. Need to get use to instruction in both official languages. I'm enjoying the benefits of living close to school since we got to go hang out at home after school and before the evening events. Was on time for the club presentations but was deprived of pizza since it ran out before we got there! Listened to a total of 44 club presentations then signed up for at least 10+ clubs. Went out for some authetic chinese food. Yum.