Abe says I'm supposed to post...

I demand a lot of myself. I work weekends, I have class five days a week, I volunteer, I do research, I serve on student council, I have a husband and a kid. I recently "amped up" the studying too, devoting at least twice as much time to it as I had been. It actually improved my understanding of the material, and certainly made me feel better about organic chemistry.

Anyways. I started working out three days a week too, hoping it would give me more energy. It really did, I am far less tired when I get home (whenever that is) and my physically demanding job actually seems a bit less demanding. Combine that with the fact that my average work day finds me walking 8 miles and pushing 4,000 pounds (yes, I added it up.)

I've been acting like all the kids I'm competing with, yet I am still 34. I had this theory that as long as I ate right, exercised, worked out, got my rest, took my vitamin, that I wouldn't feel the effects, wouldn't actually feel any of those years...

Wrong.

I started having back spasms this past week, walking out of class with my gazillion-pound backpack on my back. (Dude, I even wear the sternal strap and look like a total dork because I'm trying to distribute the weight appropriately.) I saw two chiropractors and my PCP, took a week's worth of steroids for inflammation, got some awesome muscle relaxers (did I mention I love being a grown-up because they FINALLY give you good drugs?), and ... you know... totally didn't take it easy at all. What? You saw that coming.

Anyways. I don't know what my point is. Maybe my point is that the road to med school is hard and made even harder by the fact that the mind is so much more willing than the body. I've decided this latest turn of events means physical therapy and at least once-monthly massages. I've been taking care of my body chemically, getting my cardio, and feeding my brain...but I haven't actually been taking care of all the other stuff that moves me from place to place.

The years come with wisdom and self confidence, but that comes at a price. You can't go all those miles without a little wear and tear and unfortunately, some of mine is starting to show.

*This post was written on a combination of some really sweet drugs. (That were prescribed for the author.)