Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Back To School!

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday marked the first day of my return to school! Registering for classes, meeting my fellow comrades, orientation. It's all very odd, and yet exciting.


The last time I was in a structured learning environment was when I was at medical school, and I graduated from there ten years ago so this whole back-to-school vibe is not as familiar as it once was. Before you start doing any mental math to try to compute my age, let me assure you that I am not as old as the preceding sentence posits. Having graduated from an international medical school meant that I went there right out of high school (as is the case in most countries around the world), thus bypassing the whole undergraduate experience, and earning the distrust of all my early patients thanks to my youthful appearance! In fact, when I was working in the internal medicine ward at a hospital in Queens, one of my first jobs out of medical school, patients often looked at me at with dismay when I introduced myself, saying, "How can you be my doctor? You look like you are 17!"

But back to the topic at hand. For those of you that do not know, I have gone back to grad school to do my Masters in Public Health (MPH), focusing on health care management. Health care and its (mis)management are a hot topic these days and I felt that this was the perfect time for me to do my MPH. I have spent the past few days poring over the courses, my excitement gaining momentum after reading the description of each course I will be taking. Yes, I am a nerd.

This is an exciting new chapter in my life but I will admit, though, that I am slightly scared at balancing it all. The course work promises to be intense. Plus I now have a 45-minute commute. Both are things that will cut into time spent with my baby boy and the hubby, making plans with friends, writing my blog and ofcourse taking exercise classes  (old favorites and new). I am a great multi-tasker so hopefully I will get into the groove soon! I also have some fun new classes I will be previewing next month, along with a great giveaway so stay tuned - I have no plans to disappear on you!

Question: What are you most looking forward to this Fall?