After seemingly endless days of studying, we all need to go out there and do something crazy every once in a while. Some people plan personal day trips to Indiana (hi Mike!), others go to Toronto for the weekend (hi Jefferson!), and some people just take a day off to shop on Michigan Avenue (hi Amy!).
Me? Well, let's just remember that I am a nerd through and through.
I went to go see the lunar eclipse last month. When I found out that the Adler Planetarium was planning a huge extravaganza for the event, complete with FREE TELESCOPE VIEWING, I needed no coaxing. I was so there.
And so, there I was, even in that freezing, below-zero weather.
It was pretty cool. As weird as it might sound, standing there on the brink of Lake Michigan, in weather so terrible and so cold that any exposed skin felt like it was being freezer-burned off your face, it was still pretty cool. (And no, I'm not just talking about the temperature.)
It was amazing watching the moon turn bright orange. Even playing in the museum exhibits that ended up not being free and consequently getting kicked back out into the cold. I mean, call me a nerd, but I'm also a cheap nerd who can't afford such luxuries as $13 museum exhibit tickets.
And yes, I made sure to look through each and every telescope the museum had set up specifically for the public. Looked through and saw the huge craters on the moon and the now-famous-thanks-to-Apollo13 Mount Marilyn, and in that moment, realized just why Tom Hanks is so obsessed with space that he is determined to make HBO miniseries and movies ad nauseum on the subject. Because the moon? It is more than just a big ball of cheese in the night sky. It's more than just something a little girl nonsensically asks her father to drive towards and catch for her. It is awe-inspiring and amazing and infinitely cool.
And I looked through another telescope and saw the outline of Saturn's rings and refused to believe that it was real. Swearing to anyone who could hear me, I was convinced that the Adler astrologists had merely stuck a Saturn-shaped sticker on my viewfinder.
But the best thing of the night? That night marked the very first time I actually wished on a shooting star. Oh, there were plenty of satellites around, but that night, I saw my very first shooting star, and so, I wished. I wished hard.
There are a million things I could wish for. Better grades. More love. Less war. More sushi dates. A pink pony. Friendships to last a lifetime. Never-ending hugs. A puppy.
But instead, I wished for time. More time with friends. More time with family. More time with the ones I love. More time dreaming. More time playing. More time, period.
I'm sorry for spending time - precious time - fighting. Worrying. Being envious and insecure.
Because time well spent is time spent lovingly. Smiling. Happily. Confidently. And in really fabulous company.
Because, in the end, when you look back on things, you don't think of the arguments and the petty fights. Life is made up of little moments - yes, I just referenced a Brad Paisley song. Surprise! I listened to quite a bit of country back in my undergrad years. But I digress. The point is this. I don't want to look back on med school and think of studying. And worrying. And despairing over things that can't be changed. I want to look back and think of Chinatown dim sum runs, birthday surprises and scrapbooks, play dates with childhood friends at Millenium Park, impromptu trips to musicals, and s'mores at Cosi.
Sorry for the mini-rant/massive digression. I just want to state for the record that I am infinitely grateful for the people who care about me. Thank you for giving me something to remember about med school other than the three walls of my designated cubicle in the East Reading Room of the library.
Anyways, back to the point of this blog. I saw the lunar eclipse last month. And I wished on a shooting star. It was pretty cool.
3 years ago
