It’s finally here. A day I’ve been waiting for since before I started medical school. I always dreamed of my hooding. The bright emerald green pendants on my black regalia. A soft cap instead of the undergrad mortarboard. The soft velvet green of the hood with the gold and black lining signifying that Wake Forest is presenting me with my doctorate of medicine. The weight of that hood carries more than just the material it’s made of. The hood signifies the honor, responsibility, pride and humility I will carry with my career. I cannot begin to describe how much this moment means to me.
But there’s a sadness as well. Some of the people who have become more like family over the past four years will be moving to bigger cities further away to continue their training. I remember vividly that first day we all arrived for orientation. The fear and anxiety. I didn’t really know where I was or where I was going. And then I sat down at a table with a girl wearing the exact same color shirt as me (a feat seeing as it was teal) and a girl who had been through this once before, who had lived in Winston for the past five years. In that moment I knew that as long as we were in it together, we could manage anything sent our way. Second year brought in new friends to our circle. One in particular a somewhat shy but giggly girl from California. She and I have gotten each other through everything since then. We rotated together through all the third year clinicals. I say with my heart of hearts that she is as much my family as my own sister. I love her dearly, and it breaks my heart to think how far away she will be come Tuesday. The entire United States to be exact. I can only wait for the day that we have vacations that coincide so I can see her again, and see where she grew up.
It will be a shock the first day of residency when I walk through the doors of my beloved hospital and see so many new faces, but so few of my comrades. I can’t believe that this is the last weekend that we all will be together as a whole.
