First day of medical school!

The day I was secretly hoping would never come finally came today. Yes, you guessed it - I had my first day of medical school. Interestingly, I realized something as I was being barraged by an inundation of new material. It was a great thing being accepted to medical school before actually having to start classes. You had all the prestige of "going to medical school" without any of the work or stress. Now that classes have begun, I am finally paying for my borrowed status in the currency of pain and misery. No, actually, it isn't that bad ... yet.

Now, imagine yourself walking into a big warehouse-like room, and imagine that the room is filled with 30 guerneys. Now, picture each guerney carrying a cadaver wrapped in plastic, and you will get an idea of what my afternoon was like today. I've only ever seen one dead person in my life, and that was my grandma at her funeral. She looked fantastic then - beautifully made up, years take off her face with the final relaxation of death, and a general air of peace about her. These cadavers looked strange, very unlike anything they must have looked like when they were alive. Their skin was a strange grey-green color from the preservative chemicals, and being wrapped in plastic made them look like victims of horrible crimes. A friend and I walked past one cadaver that had pink nail polish on - it was really hard to take. Luckily we won't start on the dissection until friday, so I have a little more time to get used to things before we get going.

Wish me luck!