Last Week on the Hill.. Reflection

Wheeewwww am I tired. Packing is not for the faint of heart. At midnight I finally stopped to realize I need to pack. I have to go. G O. I have sooooo much junk. How do you become a hoarder? Am I  one.. ?

Anyway.. where am I going with this.  Apart of getting ready for a move is going through old things, reflecting and moving towards the future. I came across a card that a patient sent me in the mail. My greatest fear in medicine is loosing my compassion. I'm realizing though.. that I have no reason to fear. It's not going anywhere. I'm going to keep this card with me always.. it reminds me of what I'm here to do and my inner strength. I'm taking this message of encouragement with me to philly :)





"The Oak Tree"  A message of encouragement

A mighty wind blew last night and day. 
It stole the oak tree's leaves away, 
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark
But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around. 


The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"How can you still be standing, Oak?"
The oak tree said, "I know that you 
Can break each branch of mine in two,
Carry every leaf away, 
Shake my limbs and make me sway.
But I have roots stretched in the earth, 
Growing stronger since my birth.
You'll never touch them, for you see, 
They are the deepest part of me. 
Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure. 
But now I've found, with thanks to you,
I'm stronger than I ever knew. 

Especially now, try to remember that you're stronger than any problem you encounter or any disappointment life will bring. 


courtesy of Hallmark :)

I will likely never see this sweet woman again.. but I know her prayers are with me and her message of strength will last forever in my life.

I think I might be renaming the blog....

The Year of the MD??....  that's what my year will be about anyway... Kanye shrug :)

the adventures of methyl and ethyl

My number #1 blog follower and contributor Amanda aka methyl and I have been at it again. Living life to the fullest and enjoying some BFF quality time.

If you did not know.. Amanda has been my friend since the end of our freshman year of college. We go waaayy back.

What have we been up to? Trying to be baby picasso and enjoying the fine arts of course.

Here are a few pics from our recent adventures: Wine and Design and the play Wicked. I highly encourage both. Wine and design was very relaxing and Wicked was hilarious. Very cute play.
Although some how I missed that wine and design was bring your own wine and snacks.... so for us it was design.. and no wine.

That man in the corner!! i should've cropped him out..

Amanda and her mom (nope not her sister!)

naturalista (me) and Long hair don't care (Amanda) :)

Wicked :) good thing Amanda told me the show started at 730.. real start was 8.

In my mind I'm going to Carolina...

Yes, I'm going to Carolina in my mind..

My time in Chapel Hill is coming to an end. This is definitely bitter sweet. I have lived in Chapel Hill, NC for 8 yrs. A significant chunk of my life. Surprisingly there are SOO many things I have yet to explore. Like any person who has been engulfed by school.. I am wishing I had taken a few more moments to enjoy more restaurants, smell a few more flowers, and explore more of the hidden treasures of good ol Chapel Hill.

It is never too late as they say... Today I took a run on the quiet Battle Creek Trail. Last year a friend told me that trail running is very peaceful and offers a level of solitude that is priceless. I would also add challenging. I was ready.. I put on my bug spray and was off. It was great. I do have the habit of dragging my feet when I get tired which became a little troublesome with the tree trunks. I almost hit the deck a few times. The scenery was refreshing. There were bridges, creeks, birds, small hills and plenty of greenery. I thoroughly enjoyed the trail and only hope I can find some peaceful trails in Philadelphia somewhere...  Idk. Oh well. Until then.. I will savor it.

Coker Arboretum at UNC CH

After my run on the trail today I decided to walk around the UNC campus. Just giving myself a little closure. Taking a few moments to take it ALL in. It REALLY is a beautiful campus and I'm so glad I was able to enjoy it for almost a decade.  Here are a few pics from the lovely campus that I LOVE!! AND will miss dearly.

the old well

south building

me at coker arboretum

running the trail.. :)

Highlights of Paris France

One of the highlights of my recent trip was visiting the Palace of Versailles. 

Where should I start... 

I arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning and by Friday I had worn myself out. Doing what I do best... doing too much! Thursday night I decided Friday I was going to lay low and take the day off from sight seeing. At the last minute I decided that Friday the weather was optimal and to just go. So I got myself together around 11ish and was on my way.. with the hopes of being at the palace by 12:30pm. With the knowledge that most people spend an ENTIRE day there and most travel books recommend arriving around 9am.  

A little back story.... Unfortunately I purchased a camera literally on the way to the airport and then once in the airport the battery and charger decided not to work. By Friday I was tired of snapping pics with the heavy and bulky ipad. 

So on my way to versailles I had to come out of the train station to switch trains.. Once I was on the street I said hmmm maybe I should walk to the shop this Frenchman recommended for me to find a "battery."  An hour and a half later I was hot, still had no battery and running out of time to see the palace. 

Well its 2pm.. just arriving to the palace. Oh and did I mention my feet were done at this point in the trip. cheap Steve madden boots almost spoiled my entire trip. Never again will I buy cheap shoes.

The lady at the counter says.. You are running out of town to see everything you want to see. me: "I got this."(in my head of course) By the time I get a ticket.. stand in line to use a restroom its 240pm. I left my house at close to 11am.. SMH. 

I'm hot, my feet hurt, and the castle has the nerve to be filled with THOUSANDS of tourists. I can barely pay attention to anything in the palace and need an escape route fast. Then I get hungry.... So not only did i spend 18 euro on a castle I know longer care about.. my feet hurt and now I'm hungry and pay 6 euro for a sandwich..  MY. DAY. IS GOING. DOWNHILL. FAST... 

At this point I remember a simple message I read on a blog about traveling alone.. Always stay optimistic. 

So i decide to ditch the palace and head to the gardens. Air, sunshine and a place to sit. I find a nice spot next to another elderly, weary traveler and just rest. I sit there for at least 30 minutes. And this everyone is the beauty of traveling alone. 

I'm sure at this point I would've permanently injured a friendship or angered a family member with my mood, attitude and poor time management decisions. 

The gardens were everything and more that day. It did hurt my ego and pocket that they were free and what I enjoyed most. 

Traveling alone is not always glorious and epic but the moments of peace and solitude were refreshing. I picked so many different spots in the gardens and enjoyed stillness. 

Here are a few pics from the gardens of the palace of Versailles. I highly recommend visiting the gardens if you visit Paris. I loved it. 

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage

President Obama at UNC :)

President Obama at UNC :) 

Today I had the pleasure of hearing President Obama speak on education affordability. Time and time again through the last 4 years I have missed numerous opportunities to hear President Obama speak due to unnecessary dedication to my studies. Fortunately with my new 4th year swag.. I decided to "do now and think later." I am definitely happy with this decision. It was an honor to hear the President speak. A moment I will share with my grandparents and my future kids :) 

I appreciate President Obama seeing the extreme value of education in America. Unless you are the next Jay z or Beyonce... education is the major gateway to a better financial future in our country. With that being said..... education in the US is so darn expensive. We dig ourselves in a hole financially with the optimistic hopes to lift ourselves back out of the hole. Which in many ways does not make any sense. The average medical school student in the US graduates with $150,000 in debt and often more if you include undergraduate studies. This is a serious amount of debt. From personal experience this amount of debt feels as though the world is on your shoulders before you even enter the world. After interest accrues the average clinician pays over $300,000 for the total cost of their medical education at the end of the loan terms. 

Although President Obama did not specifically speak on medical school debt I can only hope that the administration is aware of this problem. It did not show up overnight. It leaves little incentive for folks like me with tons of debt to practice in primary care. I go on... but I say all this to say. #dontdoublemyrate As President Obama said today. I hope we continue to keep interest rates low on all these loans folks like me have to take out. 

President Obama thank you for coming to UNC!!! It made my day, week, year. everything! I'm so glad I was there.

Here are a few pics from this EPIC day. 

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11019208/

And of course.. it never gets old that my President is Black :) 

The Bold and the Solo

The year of the 25 is finally coming to a close. My year at 25 started with a fun loving trip with my best girlfriends in the ultimate city of NYC and ended with an equally fabulous solo trip to Paris and London. If traveling is not enough I will officially get the MD status just days before turning 26.

I must say 25 was all I expected and much more. I am amazed at how much I learned about myself traveling alone and highly recommend it. I plan to share more about my trip to Paris and London in the upcoming days. I will say a few quick things. Traveling to another country alone has left me feeling fearless :) I feel new energy for whats ahead. I have a zest for life that I hope to share with someone one day but until then I will live life and explore the world solo :)

I think this picture sums it up... "Catch me if you dare :)"

Life is moving SOO fast

Hey Friends!

My blogging has been very up and down recently. I will definitely do a better job of blogging once I return from.... PARIS and LONDON! I'm leaving for my graduation trip TOMORROW! ughhhh

Until then... I will leave you all with a few pics from my recent adventures in the year of the 25 :)

I recently enjoyed the Cooper Bridge Run in Charleston with my girls!!! I ran 6 miles in 1hr and 4 min :) and I barely trained... SMH.

Friends since undergrad! 

We absolutely love LaKeisha!

Carolina girls in the building! We were actually on a roof. Roof top bar ;)

Life Motto. "Catch me if you dare."