I'm Nikki and I'm (now) a third year medical student. I've always enjoyed blogging and web design, but since college I've barely been able to keep up on my school work, let alone on my hobbies. Therefore, when I was at the lowest point of my life about two months ago after my Step 1 exam, I decided to take charge and really focus on my hobbies and decided to live life to the fullest. Now, those memories of how horrible that test period want still haunts me, and will haunt me until I match into a residency program 1 1/2 years from now. But in the meantime, I'm all about enjoying life to the fullest and not wasting a single moment regretting anything. It's easier said that done, but putting in effort to be optimistic is better than sitting around sulking, right?
Now I don't really get to blog too often once I get into the crazy rut of studying and crazy intense classes and rotations. But once or twice a week, I like to escape the craziness and stress of school to focus on my hobbies. One of my hobbies is makeup. I absolutely love looking up makeup tutorials, watching beauty-related YouTube videos, trying out new products, playing around with different makeup styles, etc etc etc. I also love all sorts of crafts like sewing, scrapbooking, jewelry making, DIY stuff, etc. as well as home decor. Nothing relaxes me more than re-organizing and re-decorating my apartment as the seasons change. I've also started to cook and bake a lot more than before. My love started a few years ago when I worked at a local bakery and got to ice cookies, cupcakes, etc. Ever since then I've been obsessed with cake decorating, and have expanded that love into trying out new recipes I find on Pinterest. I am a bit of a foodie, which doesn't sit well with my waistline, so coming up with healthy but yummy, savory recipes is one thing I'm trying to get better at!
Combining my love of blogging with my love for all things girly like fashion, makeup, crafting, baking, I started my first blog towards the end of December 2013 so that I could get my hobbies and life back on track and just have an escape for when things aren't going well or if I'm mega stressed out. I had been wishy washy about posting until April 2014 when things really took a turn for the worse and I had a total, mental breakdown. I skimped on a trip I had planned for Vegas the day right after Step 1 because I was a total wreck after that exam. Long story short, it was by far the worst period of my life, to the point where I was contemplating giving up on medical school completely. But, a month later, I got my score report back and I was happy to learn that I had passed. Below average, but still could have been tremendously worse since I walked out of the exam thinking I had definitely failed, and since my practice exams a few weeks before the exam showed failing scores.
Since that period, I decided to be more proactive about life and to enjoy my medical school journey rather than loathe every second of it. Yes, I hadn't done nearly as well as I wanted (my aim score was 240+. My real score...ummm much less than the average score of 227), but it's not so bad that I won't be accepted anywhere. I still have a decent shot at some good schools. Not NYC schools, but maybe a good chance at UPMC and Washington DC schools if I do well in my rotations. And that is what I've been focusing on the most for the time being...my clinical performance in rotations. If anything can save me now, it's doing well in my clerkships. So I'm hoping for mainly all High Passes, maybe even with a few Honors to really make me shine during my residency applications, despite my weak Step 1 score. I know it's going to take a lot of work, but I'm ready for the challenge.
SO AFTER THAT LONG INTRO...point is that I've rediscovered my passion for blogging as well as enjoying life as much as I can. Which brings me to the start of this blog, where I'm hoping to document all my travels throughout medical school! A little late, but better than never! I'm hoping to write about my experiences in new, different cities as well as sharing some photos. This is a blog mainly for me to just keep track of all the different places I've gone, because I've never really kept a photo album or anything about all the places I've visited. And, it's nice to always document your thoughts and experiences. Well now that I've rambled forever in this post, I'll be posting soon about my upcoming trip next week: New York City!
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