"What A Difference A Year Makes" by MSIH second-year blogger Dvora Feinblum


Arriving at Ben Gurion Airport last year


As I write this, I’m 30,000 feet in the air, heading back to Israel to begin my second year of medical school. A little over a year ago, I was making this same trip, on the way to kick off my first year.
What a difference a year makes! I remember last year how anxious I was saying goodbye to my parents, and leaving the comfort and familiarity of home. There were so many unknowns! Where would I live? What would my classmates be like? Would I be able to handle the notoriously difficult transition into med school from college? As you can imagine, these are not small concerns. Luckily I had been to Israel in the past, and had even spent a year living there, so that, at least, was not a real worry. Landing in Israel was a strange combination of a homecoming and an all-out panic. “WHAT HAVE I DONE?” I kept thinking to myself. My aunt picked me up (again, lucky to have this degree of familiarity of having amazingly supportive family in Israel), and we drove to her home in the seaside town of Netanya.

Although I had been to Israel many times before, I had never spent any real amount of time in Be’er Sheva. When we drove down the next day to scope out the area, I again was concerned. How would I survive living in this desert town for the next few years? Again, I worried. But nothing compared to the discomfort I felt the night before school started. I was about to spend the next four years with a group of strangers in a different country. I was about to start medical school. I was about to dedicate my life to becoming a doctor. It all hit me at once. I sobbed on the phone to my mom, saying that I had made a huge mistake, and complaining about how I always try to take the road less travelled. The future seemed bleak to me.

Now looking back, a year later, I can safely say that my panic, while understandable, was unnecessary. I ended up making great friends, loving the material we were working on, and being truly content with my decision to become a doctor. Yes, medical school is difficult, yes, sometimes being with the same 25 people gets to be intense, yes, living in Israel can be frustrating. But, overall, I wouldn’t have chosen any other path.
Making friends in med school

I think the biggest fear underlying all of my concerns about starting medical school was a fear of the unknown. I didn’t know how I would cope with the workload, I didn’t know whether I’d find people with whom I’d get along, I didn’t even know where I would live or what my day-to-day would be like. Looking back from the other side, with the questions all answered, I feel calm and collected about beginning my second year of medical school. I know my classmates, I have a friend group, I know how best to prepare for exams, and I know my way around Be’er Sheva. When I walk around
Taking some time off to enjoy a wine festival
the medical campus, I know I will see familiar faces, and return to comfortable old study haunts. Almost nothing is unknown. In fact, I am really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at school. For me, the lesson to take from this is that no matter how overwhelming a situation seems, usually things work themselves out. Stressing over the unknown is counterproductive, and will only cause you more discomfort than necessary. (And if you have to stress, may I recommend this wonderful TED talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU)

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