FRESH START: AFTER dodging college for so long, I must admit that I am really loving the lifestyle now. I have to work so much harder in medicine than I ever had to for the Leaving Cert, but it's happily balanced by much more "play".
Last week, the Caribbean- African Society at RCSI organised a Chocolate Ball, which turned out to be quite the extravaganza. It was a schizophrenic affair of fashion and chocolate, both of which I happen to be rather passionate about, and so I thoroughly enjoyed the night. The models from our college strutted their respective stuffs on the catwalk, wearing an array of fashions from Dundrum Town Centre, while the audience nibbled on chocolate-dipped strawberries and fudge skewers.
My friend Niloo and I did our best Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes, sitting glammed up in our seats, admiring the catwalk style. We only lacked the oversize shades, but I felt that might have been a step too far. Overall, the models, dancers and singers on the night did a great job, and I felt so proud of my fellow "Surgeonians", especially since all of the proceeds from the event went to an Aids charity. One of my close friends, Robbie, even earned himself a modelling contract out of the night, and I've since put his statuesque height to good use in decorating the upper branches of my Christmas tree.
Speaking of Christmas, I feel a slight sense of disappointment about the festive season so far this year. You'd have to search far and wide to find anyone as ridiculously enthusiastic about Christmas as I am, but I perceive a definite dullness in the holiday atmosphere.
Perhaps it's the recession that has me feeling gloomy about this season, but I think the more likely culprit is my college. The college scheduling dictates that our important end-of-semester exams fall just after Christmas, condemning us all to a breakless Christmas in which study is a daily necessity. These exams promise to be utterly worthy of my elevated stress and depression levels over the festive season, with a fortnightly stretch of assessments of the written and practical varieties. Even my divine Christmas tree can't raise my spirits beyond the level of the condemned prisoner.
Needless to say, I am feeling an acute longing for a holiday right now.
My foreign friends are all jetting off home to far-flung destinations such as Canada and the Middle East, where the pleasant extremes of heat and snow, respectively, welcome them. It's no wonder an Irish person would feel gloomy by comparison, when we face yet another winter that's only slightly chillier than our brisk summers. The endless Irish mono-season is urging me towards every flight sale going, and although I'm seriously tempted, I haven't committed myself to anything just yet. I have, however, decided on my summer plans. I know it's only December, but in this case, my early bird activities have earned me a bargain J1 visa to work in the US this summer.
My RCSI buddies had preached the benefits of using every summer for resumé-boosting research and shadowing programmes, but with the knowledge that I will spend so many of my future summers studying for various licensing exams, and being involved in what I'm told are tedious research programmes, I plan to enjoy my first summer as a college student by doing what I've been looking forward to for years - cutting loose and flying west!
