I had been anxiously anticipating the arrival of the month of December since this fall when my residency applications were submitted. I was very excited to visit new cities and explore residency programs as I got one step closer to starting the next chapter in my medical career and in my life.

As my interview trail started, I found the interviews to be much less stressful than those interviews for medical school. Preparing for interviews gave me the chance to reflect upon what it is that inspires me to go into Family Medicine and upon these past three and a half years in medical school. I know it sounds clichéd, but I truly cannot believe how quickly these years have passed. I vividly remember my first day of anatomy lab, nervous and excited to start this rite of passage into medical school. I never expected that among those five other classmates that made up my lab group, I would find some strong friendships that I'm sure will last a lifetime.

It's funny how perspectives change. I remember being a first year and seeing the fourth years walking around the hospital with their white coats and stethoscopes and thinking that they were so mature and intelligent and ready to be doctors. At that time I felt as far from being ready to be a doctor as possible. I couldn't fathom myself ever getting to the point of those fourth years. Now, I am one of those fourth years, but I don't exactly realize how that change came about. I never woke up one day saying "wow, I sure am ready to be a doctor". The change has been gradual. The countless hours spent hunched over textbooks trying to learn as many facts as possible the first two years slowly instilled in me the sense of responsibility that comes with being a physician. However, I believe that it was really the third and fourth year rotations that brought about the most significant change in me. I was finally able to be a part of the side of medicine that drew me to the field in the first place: patient care. I think it has been those interactions with patients and being a part of their most joyful and most heart-wrenching moments that have silently matured me and brought me closer to being ready to become a doctor.

As I was sitting on a plane after my most recent interview just looking out the window, a song came on my iPod which helped to remind me and to bring back into perspective the reason I went into medicine. It made me so excited to finally reach my childhood dream of becoming a physician. It helped me to dispel some anxiety and stresses that I have recently been feeling trying to find the best residency program for myself by realizing that wherever I end up I will be able to change patient's lives while they change mine. That song was With my Own Two Hands. "I can change the world with my own two hands. Make it a better place with my own two hands..."