I woke up to snow this morning.

I literally haven't seen snow fall since high school…it was a pretty neat scene. But then my amazement quickly spiraled into horror when I remembered I had to walk my friend's dog. Try to imagine my face when I took my first step outside in those freezing white flurries.

SMH.

What's even crazier is that the snow abruptly stopped a couple hours later and the sun came out like any other ordinary day. Looking outside now, it's as if the snow flurries never existed; as if they were a part of some weird winter wonderland dream. But I assure you, the snow that coldly stung my face this morning was very real. And COLD.

I want to take a moment to shoutout to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for everything he did for this country & the world in general. I want him to thank him for his Dream and for helping pave the way to equality and success for people that look like me. I also want to thank him for this three-day weekend that I desperately needed. You see, we started learning about the different bacteria that cause infections in people last week and maannnn let me tell you, there are a TON of bacteria all around us at all times. There are so many different types of bacteria that have so many different ways to help us as well as attack us, and we're expected to retain all this information. Not only do we have to know every kind of bacteria out there, but we also have to know how to identify them via the disease processes the body exhibits and we need to know how to treat each infection.

I learned about most of these pathogens in college, but memorizing (and pronouncing) everything this time around hasn't been any easier.Well I should say hadn't been any easier, because I started using this Godsend called SketchyMicro last Thursday…and it's changed my life! For any medical students out there that either are studying Microbiology right now or are beginning to study for the Step 1 exam and for some reason haven't heard about this miracle yet, PLEASE check it out. Hell, even undergrads could use it, although it's quite a bit more detailed than is necessary for undergrad Microbio classes. Anyway, for those of you unfamiliar with SketchyMicro, the creators literally took just about every concept and organism that we need to know in the world of Microbiology and sketched a story out of it. So instead of having to dryly memorize so many facts word for word, you literally watch a story unfold with pictures used to trigger certain elements in the concept you're trying to learn. It sounds hella weird I know, but it's extremely creative and it's working wonders for me so far! People were recommending it to me for so long and I can clearly see why. I've been binge-watching it this past weekend, and will continue to binge-watch up until my exam next Monday. SO needless to say, I've been pretty much a lame all weekend. But we all gotta make sacrifices to be great, right?

Also, I'm getting the opportunity to house a Wake interviewee for a night this week so that he has a place to stay for free before his interview on Thursday morning. It's an awesome feeling to be able to do this, especially since it was done for me when I had my interview here almost exactly a year ago. Having a secure place to stay before my interview day and getting to talk to current medical students at the time definitely made my interview experience a hell of lot less stressful. I feel that it's only right that I give that opportunity to another potential student. I'm slick excited to meet this guy and help him de-stress before his interview; he's already called me up about any advice I had for him lol.

So with that said, if you're currently interviewing for medical schools or any other graduate school in general, keep your head up and good luck! Always remember that if you're being asked in for an interview, you're already winning the battle. All you have to do is give them a good reason to pick you, which means being confident, being true to yourself and genuinely answering any question they throw at you. And smiling. Definitely smile.

Have a great week!

– Black Man, M.D.