To A Great 2012!

As I click the answer to my final question for the USMLE Step 1, 2012 is officially over for me. 6 months of preparation on top of regular clinical work is toiling and I'm more than happy it's over (even though I did a lot of mistakes in the exam). Toward the end I had a lot of doubts about the sacrifice I'm making but for now I'll just let things settle for a while before charting the future again.

Looking back, I'm grateful for an awesome 2012. This year had been very rewarding for me while I made several life-changing decisions. Most of them are hard decisions that, God permitting, would uproot me once again to a distant land learning something completely new. It has also made me realize what I wanted to do with my life whilst having some very profound conversations with lots of interesting people.

Goodbye Step 1, and 2012!

2012 had also been very busy for me - a clinical-pathological conference in April followed by Boston in June, and endless preparation for the USMLE after that. Add internal medicine call nights every 4 nights from September to November. I only made it through with lots of support from my parents, seniors, and classmates who were always generous with words of encouragement and pats on the back. I can never thank them one-on-one but if you're reading this, just know that I owe you one for listening to my ramblings, laughing at my jokes, and tolerating my constant freak outs. Toward the end preparing for the exam, I realized that it had became more than an individual battle - the exam had morphed into others' inspirations and something to look up to.

Anyway, no matter how things turn out to be, I'm thankful for a great 2012. Still a lot of things to do next year round, but all that can wait until next year. See you 2013!