This thread reminds me of a friend of mine. I'm not entirely sure that it is relevant, but I felt the need to share.
I knew this doctor who grew up in Israel and came to the United States after graduating from college. He went to medical school here, and completed a general surgery residency followed by a vascular surgery fellowship. He worked in private practice for a couple of decades. His wife was also a physician. She was called into the ED one evening, and was struck by a drunk driver. My friend was on call that evening, and ended up working on his wife, who ultimately died. Needless to say, he was devestated.
He quit his practice and moved back to Israel with his kids. He lived there for a few years, not practicing medicine; however, he started to feel as though he wanted to move back to America to rejoin his old practice (he had owned the practice and left it to another partner, who kept a standing offer on the table for him to rejoin as a partner). He was torn between practicing again and staying away from medicine, as he thought that returning to the field would be disrespectful to his wife's memory.
He went to the Kotel (the Western Wall in Jerusalem, which is nearly all that is left of the Holy Temple) for his morning prayers one day; when he was finished, he asked G-d for some sort of answer. Two days later, a suicide bomber blew up a bus two blocks from a store in which my friend happened to be shopping. Without thinking, he ran down the street to provide whatever help he could and probably saved a few lives that day. A month later, he was on his way back to America to rejoin his old practice.
I wanted to share this because when terrible things happen, it is easy to lose perspective and feel some trepidation about worrying for seemingly trivial things or being happy for our own accomplishments. While worrying about a grade certainly does not compare to worrying about a cancer diagnosis, you have to know that your mother does not want you to feel bad about yourself for thinking of your future. She wants the best for you, no matter what.
You and your family will be in my prayers.
