So.  The semester is nearing it's end, less than 3 weeks now.  I can only hope that the turn-around I managed before can continue.  I'd really like to go home with some good news.  "I passed everything" will definitely make me happy but, "I beat the crap out of everything" would be so much nicer. 

Fighting my way to the top is harder than I thought...

I really want to have better grades, but I've definitely learned while here that bad grades do not equal a bad student.  I work hard and I feel like I have aptitude, but that isn't all that goes into grades here.  Comprehensive understanding of test taking strategies, ability to control information flow, time management, less need for sleep, comprehension of what the professor wants, and the ability to deal with life down here are all things integral to succeeding in exams.  It is what I've been working on lately.  If I continued on my original path (i.e. annoyed that my aptitude and intelligence weren't enough) I would fall further down my path to failure.  It bothered me that being good at the subject isn't necessarily the most important characteristic of a student down here.  But you know what?  Learning that and being okay with it, sooner rather than later, helps much more than lamenting the fact itself.  There are many capable students here, and we will be wonderful doctors even if we leave here without a single A.

Yep, so I forgot I have this, just like every journal I've ever had. But you know, intrinsically I am more inclined to write in such venues when sad. Lately, my life has been overall okay. Boosted my grades, managing my time, finally seeing some friends. So maybe not writing is a good sign? Let's go with that, and not "I'm a lazy bum."

I feel so pretty

I had professional photos taken of me today. Why, you ask? I am going to be one of those "random blurbs about why this school is super and you should come here" in the corner of our school catalog. And I agreed to it... I feel sick. Not that I will lie, there are nice things to say, but I want to be able to give the whole story and that's not happening.
Also to note, our school is over 80% female and I'm sure close to that percentage is white. So who was at the shoot? A darkish skinned Mediterranean woman (me), a black guy, and a Hispanic woman. Woohoo for skewed percentages.