Stethoscopes and Armbars: New Year Resolutions

Before we delve into all the greatness that a new year brings, I think it’s incredibly important to take a moment to think about how many blessings were in the previous year. 2012 was a really good year for me – I finished my first year of med school, I had 2 amazing summer jobs that taught me the value of patience and true respect, I finished I&I (probably the biggest blessing), I found BJJ (which, no one outside of BJJ can understand that importance) and I had incredible times with my family and friends. I am so thankful for everybody and everything that I have been blessed with.

But now, what do I hope 2013 brings? Well this is going to be quite the year. For starters, I will *hopefully* finish my second year of medical school and do well on step 1 of the medical licensing board exams (or USMLE Step 1 if you will). I know that’s going to bring about 6 weeks of studying 14 or so hours a day, but that’s not until May so why think about that yet! I will also get to start working in the hospital this year! Now, since high school that has been a moment I have been working so hard for, so you cannot imagine how excited I am. This year my oldest brother graduates from college, and my youngest brother graduates from high school (in the midst of that USMLE studying no less, so that’ll be fun!). Oh, and I’m going to compete in my first IBJJF tournament, which is extremely exciting. And through all of that I’m sure there will be plenty of other things that come up.

So what are my goals for 2013? My best friends will be the first to tell you I often make incredibly unrealistic goals. So this year I’ve decided on one completely reasonable goal: to become the best I can be. I know that seems vague and completely overused, but you know what, it fits about every situation you can imagine. For example – when I wake up I usually hit snooze 4 times before dragging myself out of bed and into school. Instead, I can wake up the first time and review my notes before class thus starting my day off much better. When we have those weird 2 hour breaks between class, I could spend it on social media (re: pinterest), but instead I will choose to study. At the end of the day when I’m desperately in need of a nap, I could go home, or I could drive to the academy and put in a solid workout. Now these all seem like small things, but when done every single day they truly add up.

You know what also makes you a better person? Spending time with others. I will be the first to admit that medschool has caused me to really scale back on how much time I spend with or talk to friends. And in hindsight, that’s crazy! At a time where you already feel incredibly isolated and sometimes like you’re drowning, what you need is more social experiences, not less. So in that 10 minute walk from the library to my car, I can call up a friend and say hi. It’s the little things.

So I guess when I boil it down, my resolution is to do little things that will improve my life. Studying a little more everyday will help immensely with the USMLE around the corner. Training a little more and a little harder every day will push me to improve step by step. Reconnecting with friends will help remind me that I’m human and there are people who I still care about outside of my books.

I hope that people will hold me accountable for attaining my resolution, and I look forward to hearing what other people are going to try and accomplish this year. I’m incredibly excited for what the year holds. So remember, resolutions don’t have to be “work out 4 times a week” although they can be. But this year, I think that making myself a better person will be one of my most worthwhile resolutions yet.