How To: Summer Break

Congratulations!  You have successfully passed your first year of medical school!  This would be the time to celebrate, if you weren’t so exhausted.

But don’t worry!  Now your summer break has OFFICIALLY started.  You can go home, see your family, and do absolutely nothing!  There is no greater joy than waking up at 6:30, realizing that it is summer and that you don’t have to study, and then going back to sleep.

The best–and only–way to utilize your lamentably short summer vacation is to refuse to do anything.  This may confuse people because up until this point you have filled your summers with jobs, internships, and research opportunities.  However, you already got into medical school, so you don’t have to do that stuff anymore.  Read all the books you want!  Catch up on all the TV you missed (why did you end, Parks and Rec?  WHY?!?!)

 Caution:  all your unmarried medical school friends WILL get married during your summer break.  I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you have entered that time in your life, where all of your friends are getting married.  You will be invited to many weddings, some of them on the same day.  Conversely, you might be one of the people getting married.  In that case, mazel tov!  Soak up as much time as you can with your significant other–once school starts, you might never see them again.

Its what brings us together today…

Speaking of your friends getting married, you might have to see your friends.  If you are an introvert like me, this may be difficult for you (i.e. you want to see your friends, but you also want to be alone forever).  Suck it up–you love your friends.  There is no one else who gets your weird jokes and you will regret it if you forget to make plans just because you are lazy.  You can thank me later.

Last, but certainly not least, do not (I repeat:  DO NOT) study during your precious time off.  I know you have been trained by medical school to have a near pavlovian response to books.  Every time I pass a library, I have to physically suppress the urge to take notes or study something.  Do not give in!  There will be plenty of time for studying when school starts again.  So just kick back and enjoy yourself! You deserve it.