I apologize for getting this up a bit late but as you can imagine, the end of the year quickly transitioned into the beginning of the new semester and that has kept me preoccupied for the first week of the year. As I mentioned in last month's recap, December was supposed to be pretty tame. The end of our semester consisted of only two exams and then we finally got three (well deserved) weeks of break. I spent most of the month catching up with the people I hadn't had a chance to spend time with as well as doing things that I had put to the side during the semester. Overall, I felt the month provided the R&R that I will be needing in order to make it through the beast that is second semester (We'll touch more on that later) and provided all the fun and excitement that is expected of the holiday season.
Some of My Favorite Moments
Literally, one of the very first things that I did once I had hit submit on that last exam was meet up with my best friend Elida for some girl time. We spent the day catching up and visiting our alma mater and I cannot begin to tell you how amazing that was. I hadn't been back where I went to undergrad since I had last gone to visit G right before she graduated. Walking around the places that shaped me into the med student that I currently am felt all sorts of amazing and being able to experience that with my best friend just made it even more special.
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| Our favorite burger place was all decked out for Christmas, so I obviously had to get a pic:) |
Later the same night, We celebrated one of our med school friend's birthday and the beginning of winter break. My med school crew went out for a classic girls night of dancing and of course, that is always a blast. I'm very content with our little friend group and I was so happy that we had a chance to celebrate how hard we worked this semester before everyone went off to start their own winter breaks.
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| My "doctorbread" cookies <3 |
As I had a surplus of time, I spent some of it making Christmas cookies. I made three different recipes, but I was super excited about these gingerbread cookies. I had been wanting to make homemade gingerbread cookies for a while now, and the recipe that I found was amazing. From the picture above, I'm sure you can tell that I am obviously very artistic (lol) Not really, but when you're a med student you turn everything medical so I couldn't help giving the cookies a little stethoscope! I made a bunch of cookies and gave them out to friends and obviously ate quite a few myself, hence why January will be filled with many visits to the gym.
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| Chicago Squad Friendsmas Outing 2016 |
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| Maybe one day I'll be tall enough to be the princess</3 |
One of my favorite Chicago traditions is the Christkindlmarket that is put up every year in the Daley plaza. Growing up we used to come to look at the cute shops and lights but now as adults, everyone makes sure to come for the Gluhwein (German mulled wine). Every year, people line up for a mug and every year they change the style of the mug which I think is a super cute detail. The market has tons of little shops selling treats and homemade goods. It's always fun to go and have a look around. This year, I happened to go with two different friend groups this year. For the Chicago Squad, it was only a part of our Holiday celebration. The other half was hanging out at Meg's for wine and gingerbread house decorating as well as a trip to Macy's (R.I.P Marshall Field's) to check out the holiday window displays.
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| Our annual Pj Pic |
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| My uncle plays the role of Santa and announces presents |
Christmas came up really quick, but I was really glad that I had time to celebrate it with my family. I was raised in a Nicaraguan household, so we actually celebrate on the 24th. We gather with family, have a nice dinner, open gifts at midnight, and just enjoy each other's company. I feel really blessed that I have the chance to spend Christmas with people that I love so that in itself was an amazing gift.
Finally, I got to celebrate the end of the month by closing out the year with my girls. We had such a great time singing and dancing our hearts out at one of our favorite dueling pianos bar, and I don't think I could've picked a better way to spend it New Year's Eve than with this wonderful group of ladies. We started the evening collecting our NYE squad at Meg's place (We had a couple different friend groups join in) and then headed out. The four of us also met the next day for our Sunday Family Dinner. Recapping the previous night's events was all sorts of hilarious, but what I loved most was spending the first day of the year with these amazing group of girls. This past year has really built up our friendship in so many ways and knowing that I have such a solid crew makes medical school all the more bearable. So, if you guys are reading this (which I know you are lol), I just want to say thank you for making the past year so amazing and that I love you guys very much <3
Looking Forward
Not going to lie, the end of the Holiday season was definitely bittersweet as I knew that soon enough after coming back to school, we'll be in full force. I know this semester will be rather busy, but I am excited to continue learning. Sometimes I'm still in awe at the fact that I even get to do any of this, and I think I should spend more time recognizing how lucky I am. I've also made it a goal to change my mindset from thinking about the things that I "have to do" to recognizing them as things that I "get to do." I heard that from one of my favorite bloggers Laura Lacquer and I thought it was brilliant. Not everyone gets the opportunity to become a doctor, so I shall keep that in my mind as I trudge through the class work I have to do this week.
I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday season and I can't wait to show you guys what goes on this next month!
~ Genesis<3
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