End of an Era

Well, maybe "end of an era" is a little dramatic. Yesterday, Hannah graduated from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. The last two years flew by - and here's hoping the next two will go the same way. Although I mentioned in a previous entry that I would be taking a year off and trying to get into this same public health program Hannah just finished... it's looking more and more like I will instead be taking a year off to do research.

Whatever the case, I had mixed feelings watching Hannah graduate yesterday afternoon. I was extremely proud and happy for her to be done with this phase in her life. And I was also jealous, recognizing the fact that I will be unable to do the same for another two years. That fact is particularly potent because of this moment I now find myself in - just five and a half weeks away from finishing third year. Fourth year is so close we can taste it, and we all know that fourth year is basically a drawn out yet pleasantly meandering preamble to Match Day and graduation.

Regardless, it's important to remind myself not to lose my head in dreaming about the end. I gave myself similar advice several weeks ago, in the context of thinking of residency as a new beginning, as opposed to the end-point of all training. This advice was helpful in wrapping my head around the idea of spending five or more years studying and working in a residency program. Right now, I need to focus on finishing this year well and making the most of next year. Graduation will come in time, and when it does, it will mean that I am one step closer to entering the real world. I should count myself lucky that I can push it off for another year.

My fiancée, on the other hand, is not so lucky. She will have the next few months off to recuperate in sunny California and help her sister prepare for marriage (another end of an era for the two of them). And then it will be back to New York. "New York, New York," which the speakers blared at the end of her graduation yesterday. We've developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with this city... and I'm grateful Hannah will stick it out here with me for at least another two years. She will be looking for a job starting August or so, and then it will be time to start planning for our own wedding and marriage. The real world awaits - and while I dread its approach, Hannah has always been far more courageous than I. She is the reason I'm not worried about the future.

Congratulations!