New Haven, only a two hour skip of a drive away, fell next on my itinerary. There I would have a chance to see my friend Mike from Wesleyan, rest up, and strategically plan my trip to New York.
Mike and I had become friends in college when we both worked for residential life as RAs . He had catapulted himself straight from Wesleyan into medical school at Einstein in the Bronx and was now in a gap year completing his MPH at Yale. My short visit gave me time to catch up with him, and get a glimpse into the life of a jaded 4th year medical student. For the most part, he seemed almost depressingly frustrated with medicine, and the greater system of medicine within the United States. He warned that I too would eventually succumb to this view point as he and all of his fellow med students had. While it may be a show of my current naivete, I chose to hold on to the belief that during medical school and beyond, I would not lose my compassion for others nor my enthusiasm for the medical field. The truth will be revealed in four years, but I'm counting on myself as well as the support from you all to help me resist the temptation of the easy road to dispassion arrogance.
Luckily, my time with Mike was not limited solely to pessimistic conversation about medicine. He took me to the top of New Haven's mountain/hill where we caught the sun setting over the city. We also shared some drinks with his boyfriend Dave and a couple of their friends. Due to Mike's immutable penchant for overachieving, he had to stop his merrymaking after a single beer and slink off to complete a homework project for one of his MPH classes. I truly enjoyed my time with Mike even though it was cut short by the demands of a his busy and successful life.
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| The New Haven skyline |
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| Mike Striking a pose |
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| The New Haven sunset |
