“Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming. When nothing is certain, anything is possible.”
Mandy Hale
Hey everyone! I apologize, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written here. In the last couple of months, I finished med school and moved out of Norfolk. I got to spend some much-needed time with family and am so grateful I got to celebrate my graduation with them. I also got to catch up with friends from home and finally meet my friend Jill’s baby Owen, who is absolutely precious. With my family’s help, I am now moved into my new place in New York and at last have been able to come up for breath. We marveled at the beauty of Niagara Falls and ate way too much delicious food as we checked out local favorite restaurants. I’m grateful to have these last few days before orientation to continue exploring my city, start to meet my future coworkers and rest. Though, admittedly, I’ve had a little more time on my hands than I’d like recently. Yes, I’m completely aware I will be cured of that notion quickly once orientation begins.
As I’ve been relaxing, I’ve watched some of the sermons I missed recently. I love the series my church just did on the story of Jonah. Aren’t we all a little like Jonah from time to time, running as far as we can in the opposite direction of where we’re called to go? I know I certainly am guilty of trying to do things my way and maintain control. I’m always making plans, with grand ideas of what my path should look like. Every time, God looks at those plans like, “Oh that’s cute, now we’re going to do my plan which is way better. Watch this.” So many pivotal points in my life have been moments like those that I really should know better by now than to stand in the way of His plan. That doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable. I’ve now lived in four different states and will probably always find moving to an entirely new place where I know few if any people beyond daunting. Being away from family, I’ve missed birthdays and holidays and feel a wave of guilt every time I can’t be physically there for my family when life throws us a curve ball. At the same time, I’ve become much more independent because I had to learn to figure things out on my own. I met friends who have become family, mentors I’ll forever be grateful for and grown so much along the way.
Now, finally, I get to take care of people in need as a real-life physician. I seems surreal that I actually get to live the calling I’ve been chasing since I was that little girl who wanted to be just like her doctors when she grew up. While I’m feeling the normal uncertainty surrounding starting this new chapter in my life, I know that it’s temporary. Soon, hearing myself being called Dr. Tich won’t sound as foreign. I’ll have built a new support system, learned my way around my new town and settled into intern life. In the meantime, I’m going to lean into the discomfort and see what amazing things come from it.
The Music of Medicine 