Oh boy, May has definitely thrown me for a loop because it picked up speed like no other. The month started out strong, but as the beginning of SPP got closer, the month flew by. I spent most of the month enjoying my last moments of infinite free time and preparing to take on my classes. So, let's get into what I've been up to!
Week One
The first week of May was pretty relaxed for me. The only major thing that I happened to do was taking a Thursday hiking trip down to Matthiessen State Park. If you are familiar with the Starved Rock area, these trails are just down the street from Starved Rock. I have been to both, and I think Matthiessen might be my favorite. The main feature of the park is the "trail" in the park's central canyon. It's not fully a trail because most of getting through the canyon involves hopping over rocks and trying not to fall into the creek. The adrenaline of trying to figure out how to make it from one rock to another without getting wet was invigorating and just being able to "get lost in the woods" was such a great change from my everyday routine. If you haven't been able to tell, I really love being in nature, and I was so happy that I could spend the day taking all the natural beauty in. The rest of the weekend I just spent at home. I knew the next couple of weekends would be busy ones for me, so I wanted to spend some time enjoying being at home before heading off to the city. I went out to dinner with my family to celebrate an early mother's day. We had sushi at one of our favorite places, checked out this new dessert place that I've been dying to try, and also a new brewery. My parents are on the younger side, so it's actually not that weird to go out with them for drinks. Craft beer is kind of our thing and we are always testing new places in the Chicagoland area.
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| The park map |
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| The stairs down to the trail. These were a pain on the hike back |
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| One of my favorite pics of the trip. These were the stairs to get into the canyon trail. |
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| I had to hop over many rocks to get this pic. It was definitely worth it. |
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| Adding our mark to the rock pile in the canyon. |
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| The path on the upper portion of the trails. They were also breathtaking. |
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| Dessert at Snow Dragon Shavery! I had milk tea shaved ice. |
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| Celebrating Mother's Day with my gorgeous Mama. |
Week Two
Week two was my last week of work before starting my summer program, and it was very bittersweet. Of course, I was thrilled to be moving on to the next chapter in my life, but I was sad that I had to leave the wonderful group of people that have made work feel like home for the past year. We spent the weekend celebrating together. Friday, they threw me a "good-bye" dinner. It was so sweet and I was so happy to have so much support in pursuing my medical school dreams from this amazing group of people. They kept telling me how proud they were of me, and you better believe it was hard not to get teary-eyed. The next morning, I joined Crystal and our other friend/co-worker Shay for a hike at one of our favorite spots. Then later in the day, I went over to Crystal's for a party because she was celebrating her birthday. We all had a blast dancing and just being silly. Aside from work, I took an impromptu trip to Indianapolis at the beginning of the week with my Cousin. He's moving there and I went along to help him look for an apartment. I had never been to Indy, so it was nice to see what it was like.
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| Saw this and had to take a picture. "Do it for the blog" has become my motto. |
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| We gave a shout out to the B-day girl at dinner. |
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| With Shay and Crystal! |
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| My home squad<3 |
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| We were dying. Our manager, Nora, is the one in front and she's a riot. |
Week Three
Week three was prep week. I spent most of the week relaxing at home and getting myself ready to move into my dorm on Saturday. I also spent my last couple days at home packing and spending time with my family. I had a sleepover on Thursday with Elida, so that we could watch the Grey's season finale (Who's excited about next season?!?) and also spend some quality time. Once I moved in Saturday, I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with my roommate so that we could get to know one another. Saturday, we checked out the area around the school and were so glad that we found the best place to get milkshakes. Sunday, we walked around the touristy parts of Chicago. We grabbed brunch, checked out the Chicago Riverwalk (I hadn't had the chance to check it out, so I was happy to do that), and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. So far, we've been getting along wonderfully and I am so glad that I lucked out in the roomie department. Sadly, she's going to one of our other campuses, so I won't be able to room with her past the summer, but I can already tell we will be having a great time (or as much of a great time as we can have).
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| Loved this adorable mug from Elida's kitchen. |
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| Elida's mom makes the best Mexican breakfast. |
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| Brunch at Yolk in Chicago. |
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| The view of the Chicago River from the riverwalk. |
Week Four
I think of week four as reality week, because it had me thinking, "What did I get myself into?". Coming into this program was definitely a drastic change compared to what I had been up to the previous year. Our days are pretty packed with classes and when we aren't in class, we try to get studying in at home. It's taking some getting used to, but reminding myself that this is what I wanted is what helps me get through it. It's crazy because I've been dreaming of becoming a doctor for a while and now it's here in my grasp. We keep hearing "When you're an M1"and I still can't believe that'll be me this fall. Our week was very school oriented, but we tried to have fun on the weekend. Friday, Emily and I went out for dinner before heading to study for a couple hours. Then Saturday, we met her sister for drinks, before I went off to attend the Beyonce concert with Megan. Beyonce was absolutely incredible and I had such a great time dancing and singing with my bestie. Sunday, I grabbed brunch with my family before coming home to grab a couple things that I was missing at the dorm as well as spend some time with them before things get very hectic.
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| Emily and me looking less than enthused about our 7- hour orientation. |
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| Our delicious BBQ dinner on Friday. |
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| Before Beyonce, we grabbed dinner at this adorable nautical-themed restaurant. I was loving the decor. |
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| Before Beyonce! |
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| So thankful I got to share this experience with this gorgeous human being. #girlswhowillruntheworld |
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| Queen B. The show was incredible. |
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| Honestly, one of the best brunch places I've tried. I had lemon poppyseed waffles topped with a blueberry compote. |
Looking Forward
I know the month ahead is going to be a challenging one, but I am going to do my best to kick butt. We have an exam every Monday starting June 6th. I am so excited that I am getting a taste of medical school because it has only reaffirmed that I am doing what I should be doing, but it has also shown me that I'm going to work my butt off for this. Thankfully, I am up for the challenge. Also, each month I keep getting closer to officially becoming an M1 (two more months!!)! I am excited to share all the things I'll be doing during this program and I hope that I can keep up with it all. Also, If I happen to miss a post, I greatly apologize in advance. I will be trying to do my best to keep that from happening, but I am merely human:)
I hope you guys had a great month and I can't wait to share what I've been up to next month!
~Genesis<3
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