What a month...

When I tell people that this has been the month from hell, I truly mean it. I finally know what complete exhaustion feels like and I'm not so sure that I like it. Since the beginning of October (October 2 specifically), I have been on the edge of a nervous breakdown...well not a real nervous breakdown but just a period of where I want to crawl into a hole and sleep for a week and a half without talking to anyone. I've had 4 medical school interviews in 4 different states and over the past week and a half, I've had 3 of those interviews. I have decided that I now hate to fly and that airplane peanuts are only a step above licking dirt off the floor.
All of my interviews have been at osteopathic medical schools and after my past month of seeing students in action and actually getting to know the philosophy behind this way of practicing medicine, I think that this is the type of physician that I want to be. If you don't know what osteopathic medicine is, I'll be happy to explain it to you (that's basically what I've been doing in every flippin' interview), but I think that this website will do a much better job of explaining what it means to be an osteopathic physician. My first interview was at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA. Since it was only 1.5 hrs away from Buffalo, I drove to that one. It was a nice school and I liked the classes, building, instructors, etc. but it was in Erie. Erie is pretty much the same as Buffalo but without as many empty buildings. Same weather, some strange people....Two weeks after my interview I got a letter in the mail telling me that I was accepted to LECOM. Yeah, I was super-pumped mainly because I know for sure that I will be in medical school somewhere next year. If it's in Erie, so be it. I'll make the best of it and I'm sure that I'll be happy.
My next interview was in Harrogate, TN. Where is Harrogate, you ask? It's about 1.5 hours northeast of Knoxville. Two years ago Lincoln Memorial University opened up an osteopathic medical school called Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. The school is absolutely gorgeous. The technology is amazing and everything was just so clean and new. The faculty was super friendly and I felt like they were behind their school 100%. The campus is in the middle of nowhere and I really like that. Most of you know that I think East Tennessee is absolute beautiful because of the mountains and trees and this school was nestled right in the middle of that beauty. The only bad thing about this school is that since it is brand new, it does not have its full accredidation yet. In order to be fully accredited, you have to graduate your first class of students and they will do that in Spring 2011. Even if I do get in here, will I go? We'll see.
My third interview was at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine-Georgia Campus. PCOM has their main campus in Philly but they also have a satellite in Georgia (about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta). The campus is actually in a business park which is kind of weird. I had mixed feelings about the look of the building but once I walked inside, I felt completely at ease. You know that you've stepped into a medical school. This interview was a little strange mainly because it was so short. The other interview days were a lot longer and we were given more information. GA-PCOM we were given a tour, lunch, and then we had the interview. That was it. We didn't get presentations about financial aid and how great the school is. I mean, I liked it the whole experience but it was just different. I liked this school so we'll just see if I get accepted.
My last and most recent interview was at ATSU-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. This school is in the middle of nowhere. I actually had to drive 3.5 hours north of Kansas City, MO in order to get here. The population of the town of Kirksville is 17,000 and the main sport here is hunting. Most of you are thinking that I hate it, right? Well, you are wrong! I absolutely love this town and the school. The interviews were a lot more challenging than my other ones but I think that made me like the school even more. I get the feeling that the faculty and the community are behind their students and I just love that. Luckily, I have a friend who goes here so I stayed with him and I've been harassing him with questions. Such a nice guy!
Hopefully I'll hear if I got into anymore schools within the next week or so. Honestly, I'm just excited that I'll get the chance to go to medical school next year. I know that there's a plan for me...I'll just have to wait and see.

keeping my fingers crossed