Anyone starting to get butterflies about starting med school?

[exmike]

I was lying in bed and it suddenly hit me that I'd have to uproot myself and move to a completely foreign city and start the rest of my life anew. That unsettled me quite a bit (which is why I'm up late posting). I was getting really excited for a while, totally imagining myself in my new med school, in my new city. Now thinking about moving all by myself to attend a new school where I will know noone and have no idea what the area is like is eliciting negative emotions including fear and anxiety. I mean, its only the rest of my life we're talking about here! I havent strayed far from an area with social support since I started college almost eight years ago. Now part of me is worried about facing that all over again. Am I just being looney?

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[Stroganoff]

Are you leaning toward either school now?

 

[CalBeE]

Hey Mike, that feeling is very common.

I mean, I've been away from my family from 7 years now. (Parents in Hong Kong, Sister's in Pittsburgh) I remember when I moved from my high schol in a small town near Santa Cruz, to UCLA...I was extremely terrified...I was actually thinking about transferring during the first week of school...but I survived.

I think the first few weeks will be the hardest, then you WILL meet some nice people, and they will make you feel better. I think MS1 tend to go to bars and clubs a lot in the beginning, before the workload piles up...so that's something to look forward to...

 

[Alexander99]

I might be a mutant but I'm not worried one bit. I say bring it on. Maybe it's because it seems like I've been waiting so long to finally get there.

 

[Brickhouse]

I haven't started having anxiety attacks yet but I'm sure I will soon. It's a huge step. It's the biggest change I've ever had in my life. I just keep in mind that it will take time to adjust, and I seem to make friends wherever I go, so I just have to trust that and know I will be ok. I am excited to meet these new people that I know will become some of my closest friends. Just be prepared that it will be hard, but it will be worth it, and in the end you'll be fine.
I don't mean to be superstitious or fatalistic, but I feel like this is my calling and it was meant to be, so how can it not be ok? We'll still have eachother on SDN, kid.

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by Brickhouse
We'll still have eachother on SDN, kid.

oh yeah, I'll have SDN! Albeit i'll be forced into the less active allo board. i think i can sleep now

 

[CalBeE]

Oh and once you survive this change from California to Ohio, you'll get better. You already did from California to Baltimore years ago.

For me, if I were to move to a different city now, I wouldn't be too scared anymore...I have survived by myself for 7 years, and I think that helps me cope with living far away from home.

 

[deaftoan]

i'm starting to have wierd dreams about the first days of medical school. the other night i dreamed it was the first day of anatomy lab, but instead of working on humans, we were working on dogs. and the TA gave us our dog, and it was that huge freakin dog from sesame street (barkly?). he was dead and his huge tongue was just sticking out. and i didnt have the heart to cut up barkly and i think i started demanding a human or a new dog or something.

 

[jlee9531]

ive moved around so much as a child, that the entire process of moving and the "newness" of it all has almost been lost. in the beginning, i was always sad that i would lose friends and worry about not making new ones that were just as good etc...

but now whenever i do move it just seems natural and i never get homesick. i dont think that will change when i start med school...the only thing that is making me think a bit is just the practice of going back to school again. ill see how i feel about that when i actually start.

but for now...just too busy to even think about the future sadly...thanks mike...i needed the time to think about this. a nice break from the present to reflect on both the past and the future.

 

[docmemi]

im worried about how much of undergrad bio i have to remember. i took upper div bio classes until last semester, many of which ill have to retake in med school. but its been a while since gen bio and the mcat.

thoughts?

im also worried about not being able to hang out with my non med school friends as much anymore.

 

[MErc44]

Originally posted by exmike
oh yeah, I'll have SDN! Albeit i'll be forced into the less active allo board. i think i can sleep now

I hope I'm still not wasting my time with this website next year, there are so many better things to do, like drinking

 

[DMO]

I'm sure some of use are experiencing not just butterflies but MUTANT BUTTERFLIES OF DOOM!. A CLOSE COUSIN TO THE AGRESSIVE AFRICAN HONEY BEE, THIS BUTTERFLY HAS TOTAL CONTROL OF YOUR FLIGHT OR FIGHT RESPONSE AND CAN CAUSE EXTREME SWEATINESS OF THE PALMS AND STUTTERING. BEWARE!

 

[FinallyOnMyWay]

Ok... I know this is extremely corny, but I just had to share...

A quote that was told to me once (and I apologize to the original author, whose name I can't remember) was this:

"The trick is not to rid your stomach of butterflies but to make them fly in formation."

(Even if they're the gigantic mutant variety!)

 

[Celestron2000]

I know I should be scared... it'll probably kick in later. Right now I'm just so excited. Plus I figure Philly's gona be tons more exciting than Lexington, KY. At this point in my life all my good friends are alre already scattered all over the globe anyways. I'm hyped about about all the cool new people I'll meet, I mean if SDN is any grounds to judge on...

The dreams will probably kick in soon. I remember have those anxiety dreams about starting highschool, then college. Gotta love that Barkly dream medstudent0812, that was hillarious!

I suspect SDN will be invaluble in medschool, if we can find the time to use it. I think people are much more honest about their true feelings and anxieties when anonimity is involved. So, if everyone in our class is into posturing, on SDN we'll get to see that infact everyone else is just as freaked out as we are.

 

[MedJoe]

My advice is to grow a pair!

 

[kito]

Originally posted by Brickhouse
We'll still have eachother on SDN, kid.

I am anxiously excited, but yes, we will all have SDN.

 

[allmightylong]

Originally posted by exmike
................ That unsettled me quite a bit (which is why I'm up late posting)....

I see your post at 10:52pm...that's late to you??

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by allmightylong
I see your post at 10:52pm...that's late to you??

we gotta add 3 hours to that since hes on the east coast.


and docmemi...why you worried about undergrad bio man. you are gonna learn everything you need to learn anyway so why fret?


and ill still be on this site as an MS1 in progress grinning at those poor souls who have to go through this enduring process. (helping of course... )

 

[bongsen]

i just had a dream that I drank alcohol really for the first time

so weird - i was so proud that i finally drank, until i woke up. sigh. i'm such a loser!

 

[Taleof50]

i'm more worried about leaving all of my friends. i'm going to make a geographic change and move from the northeast to the southeast, so all of my friends will be up north. i'm just afraid it'll be difficult to keep in touch, because it definitely was after high school!

 

[Brickhouse]

When I took the MCAT I had a dream before it that a friend went to the test with me and sat next to me and kept talking to me the whole time so that I didn't finish the test!! Isn't the mind wonderful?

 

[Celestron2000]

I had a dream before the MCAT where I just kind of forgot that I was supposed to be taking a test... until the last 5 minutes. What a relief when I woke up. I have alot of dreams like that...

 

[Eraserhead]

I'm not nervous at all, am I insane? I'm just SO bored with working 40 hours a week and I can't think of anything else I need to get out of my system before I go, I feel like I've done it all.

 

[donnyfire]

I'm personally not nervous about starting school. For me it's more of anxiety about leaving a good job and steady income to live on savings and loans for a few years. That and I really will miss my job, especially the people I work with. They are family to me, and I hate the idea of leaving them behind.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by donnyfire
I'm personally not nervous about starting school. For me it's more of anxiety about leaving a good job and steady income to live on savings and loans for a few years. That and I really will miss my job, especially the people I work with. They are family to me, and I hate the idea of leaving them behind.

I hear that... my job is a blanket of security and a bubble from the real world.

 

[quideam]

You know, it's funny - the last two nights I had a dream that I got into Cornell, and they seemed SO realistic that waking up each time was just terrible. I guess that's more getting-accepted-to-a-top-choice jitters than starting med school jitters, though . I think the latter will come once I actually settle on a school and start planning the move, etc.

 

[finnpipette]

Doesn't that suck? I often have this dream of when I went to go study abroad. Each time, I have that feeling of amazement of being some place new, and the excitement of picking my room in the Oxford house. When I open my eyes to find myself lying in my bed in the dark, I can't help but feel incredibly disappointed and lonely...but I go pee, shake it off, then go back to bed...

 

[CalBeE]

I actually had a dream of myself being waitlisted at Columbia, and then I requested for a second interview.

Days later, I actually did get the waitlist letter, and I sent in a letter last week requesting for a second interview

 

[exmike]

cool, we all have these different viewpoints of the life we're leaving behind and the life we're about to start. I'm certain part of my nervousness comes from now knowing where exactly i'll be yet. Damn those waitlists!!!

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by exmike
cool, we all have these different viewpoints of the life we're leaving behind and the life we're about to start. I'm certain part of my nervousness comes from now knowing where exactly i'll be yet. Damn those waitlists!!!

True dat.

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by exmike
I'm certain part of my nervousness comes from now knowing where exactly i'll be yet. Damn those waitlists!!!

I'm in a similar situation too...I was waitlisted at schools I really wanna go to, but being on "unranked" waitlist made it hard to judge the chance of getting in...I'm not sure if remaining on the waitlists give me realistic chance or simply false hope.

 

[Blade28]

Originally posted by exmike
I was lying in bed and it suddenly hit me that I'd have to uproot myself and move to a completely foreign city and start the rest of my life anew. That unsettled me quite a bit (which is why I'm up late posting). I was getting really excited for a while, totally imagining myself in my new med school, in my new city.

That didn't happen for college?

 

[emily69]

I can't wait to get out of Shallow Alto (that's "Palo Alto" for those of you not familiar with the Bay Area) and move back to LA.
Palo Alto BITES in comparison to LA!(The weather for starters... and the weird artsy fartsy vegan hippie **** at Stanford to say the least). Thank goodness USC is in LA...

As for jobs, no job that I have done has ever been challenging, especially the one I'm at right now. Whatever job I've been doing that's not being a doc is an absolute waste of time for me.

If medschool were to start tomorrow, I'd give away my furniture tonight and drive back to LA without a moment of hesitation!

 

[Eraserhead]

yes palo alto does bite in comparison to la. in fact, it sucks.

 

[finnpipette]

Palo Alto isn't that bad...hey, I live there Anyhow, I disagree that the weather in LA is better than Stanford. The air is immeasurably cleaner up here...I think that's about it. LA is a lot more fun, more lively, less Money is God mentality...yea, this place bites. I'm with you Emily.

 

[buglady]

Take my advice....don't waste your energy worrying now....being excited, YES! But leave the anxiety for when you really have to start busting your ass in the coming years. I'm more than halfway done with my 1st year of med school and it's been a total wild and crazy ride. And there is so much more to come...I have been witnessing 2nd and 3rd years pee their pants over the boards, so I won't *REALLY* crap my pants until then....

My advice....drink lots of beer, be lazy, savor your free time, read a non-science book and hang out with your friends and family as you see fit!!

 

[KarateGirl]

Originally posted by buglady
My advice....drink lots of beer, be lazy, savor your free time, read a non-science book and hang out with your friends and family as you see fit!!

That's exactly what I've been doing the past few months, and I'm getting a little too used to it.

I'm anxious because I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my current lifestyle just yet. I'm at a point in my life where I'm comfortable and happy, I'm doing a lot of great things and I have an awesome group of friends. I don't want to mess with that! Oh well, I guess I'll have to get over it and hope I can make the most of my last 6 low-stress months.

 

[quideam]

bump!

 

[Eraserhead]

I am nervous but I have to admit the hardest part is carrying on with day to day stuff like my full-time job when it feels like there are "more important things" to think about like buying cars, finding apartments, and getting loans. Its like standing on the edge of a cliff and knowing you have to jump pretty soon but you can't jump yet you have to wait through the summer to find out where you are going to land. And, you don't know when the jump is going to occur, could be June, could be August, could be September.

 

[lisa13579]

Originally posted by DoctorKevin
I am nervous but I have to admit the hardest part is carrying on with day to day stuff like my full-time job when it feels like there are "more important things" to think about like buying cars, finding apartments, and getting loans. Its like standing on the edge of a cliff and knowing you have to jump pretty soon but you can't jump yet you have to wait through the summer to find out where you are going to land. And, you don't know when the jump is going to occur, could be June, could be August, could be September.

so true!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Paws]

Well, I am feeling nervous because it's such a huge, lifechanging event to go to medical school. I mean, it's been one thing to work hard and dream about it, but now I am getting ready to actually do it. Today I send back another $100 deposit and security background check and whatnot and my stomach is all a twitter. I mean, it's really sobering for me to think about the changes in who I am and how I think of myself - plus there's the whole issue of people's lives will be in my hands.

So yes I am nervous, can I do it? will I get lonely in a new place? will I fit in and make some great new friends? will I stress myself out? I tend to work really hard and it can be isolating and I know I will have to work hard to keep myself out and making new buds.

I agree about the butterfly thing, yup we all get 'em but learning how to make them fly in order is the trick.

 

[nykka3]

Originally posted by medstudent0812
i'm starting to have wierd dreams about the first days of medical school. the other night i dreamed it was the first day of anatomy lab, but instead of working on humans, we were working on dogs. and the TA gave us our dog, and it was that huge freakin dog from sesame street (barkly?). he was dead and his huge tongue was just sticking out. and i didnt have the heart to cut up barkly and i think i started demanding a human or a new dog or something.

that's cute