the things you learn as an M1

There's an article out in there in the depths of the interwebs about the 100 things you learn as an M1. Pardon some of the strong language on it...I didn't write it.

Well anyway, not all of them apply to me, so I thought I'd make a list of the ones that do! Here we go...

1. You'll develop strange study habits--like talking out loud to yourself, or repeating stupid mnemonics every time you have to recall a certain piece of information. Honestly, most of my mnemonics are inappropriate for this setting, but it does help you to remember them!
2. You will more than once find yourself at a table with a laptop, an iPad, two textbooks and several pages of notes all open in front of you and you will question your existence. I can't even tell you how many days of my life this is true. 
3. Don't study the night after an exam. Only gunners start studying the night after the exam.
4. Study a little bit every weekend. Not just exam weekends. 
5. Stop trying to get through the end of the week--just get through tomorrow. I struggle with this one. I'm too much of a planner, but you'll kill yourself if you plan to the end of the week! 
6. Learn to ignore the internet for a couple of hours at a time. Yeah...I'm terrible at this one...
7. Don't be a gunner, don't ask other people about their grades, don't volunteer information about yours either.
8. Don't ask questions in class just to look smart.
9. Never wear your anatomy scrubs outside of the lab. Disgusting. No thanks. 
10. You will learn how to deal with being in the anatomy lab alone late at night or early in the morning. It will no longer be creepy to you to be the only living person in a room with 30 bodies. 
11. You will lose the ability to remember to get your oil changed on time, remember your mother's birthday, or even remember what day of the week it is, but you can name all the interleukens or all the anti-arrhythmic drugs--this is more important. I once couldn't remember what a hubcap was called. I called it the "pretty shiny part of the tire" when I was getting a flat taken care of. The tire shop guy thought I was a complete idiot. 
12. "Because I don't have space in my brain" will become a valid excuse for everything from reasons you didn't call a guy back to reasons you forgot to buy bread at the store. 
13. You'll finally understand what it meant when other people said "people outside of medical school just won't get it."
14. Medical shows on TV will be aggravating because you know just enough to know that they're doing it wrong. Nahh, I'm not super aggravated about it. But Grey's Anatomy characters often put their stethoscopes in upside down! 
15. You will more than once end up with nothing left in your fridge except bread, peanut butter, and condiments. Usually I don't even have bread. 
16. You become terrified of ever having children because you know the size of a baby's skull in comparison to a female pelvis, and the long long long list of possible birth defects. And not to mention all of the diseases pregnancy is a risk factor for. 
17. TAKE THE SUMMER OFF before you start medical school. Enjoy the last bits of freedom. And the summer between M1 and M2 years!
18. Sometimes you will laugh because there's nothing else to do. Sometimes you will cry because there's nothing else to do. I do a lot of both. 
19. You will, at least once, have a break down where you're not sure why you're in medical school. You will get past it. I also have lots of those. 
20. You will have good days and bad days. The good moments (I'm not even sure if you can qualify them as days sometimes) make the bad days worth it! 
21. You will start the year going to every social event, but by the end of first year you would rather spend a Friday night alone in bed with trashy television than out with friends at a bar. I didn't really even start the year off very social. But now I'm definitely all about being in bed early watching Netflix. 
22. You will realize that whenever a small group of people are in a high stress situation it's just like high school all over again--if you're smart you will stay out of the drama. 
23. You will, more than once, have awkward conversations with the non-med school friends you have, or your family members in which you mention that you held a (insert random organ here) today. I talk about body fluids more than the normal person should. 
24. You will be asked by someone not in medical school if your life is like Grey's Anatomy/House/ER/any other popular medical show. No. It's not. There's a reason that they aren't making shows about medical school. Internship/residency and being an attending are far more exciting for television purposes. If you videoed my life, there would be lots of sleeping, eating and studying. 
25. Make time for your family, significant other, or the friends you want to hang on to. They will keep you sane!
26. You'll learn to be okay with saying "I don't know" when attendings ask you questions.
27. You will get pimped. Luckily most attendings know you're still an MS1 and that you're stupid. 
28. Learn to let go of your fear of imperfection--you will make mistakes.
29. You'll finally realize that you can't learn EVERYTHING--this isn't undergrad anymore. There's so much left to learn! 
30. You'll learn to compete with yourself and yourself only.
31. Laugh at yourself. Laugh because it's better than crying.
32. Life happens. Sometimes someone needs you, or you fall in love, or you get sick and fall apart. Push through those times and take the time you need. 
33. You're not alone. Everyone struggles. Most importantly, there are tons of people around to support you whenever you're struggling.

There's still more to learn! But I think I'll learn it from this 3-year-old. This video series is absolutely hilarious. And this particular one doesn't let down at all!