Tempus fugit
Chris Adkins August 7th, 2008
Trying to think of how to start off this reincarnation of my old blog, I went back to Commodore in Spain to take a look at how I introduced myself a little less than a year ago when the Vandy Blogs were just starting off. With another year of life under my belt including nearly four months in Madrid, I thought that I would be a changed man. I guess I was a little too ambitious…
Crew team? Still doing that, although now that I’m an officer and a van driver, my mornings start closer to 4:30 than 4:38 (big change, I know). Research with Dr. Friedman? You guessed it; I’m still chugging away at the lab bench, producing data on telomerase mutants like none other (except for all the other undergrads and grad students in my lab, I suppose!). In fact, I just returned home from Vanderbilt where I continued my research over the summer as well as mentored my wonderful rising sophomore intern Jessica so she can develop her own research project over the coming years. And, as for that paper I was so excited about, it finally made it to print (caution: link not for the faint of heart)! Interpreting at Matthew Walker? Well, pretty close. Instead of interpreting at the low-cost Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, I now interpret at the free Shade Tree Clinic, a facility operated nearly entirely by Vanderbilt medical students. It’s been an unbelievably rewarding and educational experience and is one that I hope to continue until the day of graduation.
While I dabble in a few other activities on campus, these remain my big three, the ones that have already made me homesick for Vanderbilt after being at my real Florida home for only about a week. Over the next year, then, you can expect to hear a lot about them, hopefully giving you a better idea of the myriad activities available to Vanderbilt students (and hopefully it might just convince a few of you to give crew a shot!).
Another theme that you can expect to read about over the coming months is medical school. Or, better said, applying to medical school. Since it has consumed my life over the past month and secondary application essays are likely to consume it for the next month, it will inevitably sneak into this blog. If lady luck is on my side, I might even get to write about all the great cities and schools I travel to for interviews. Wish me luck; heaven knows anyone going through this process can use as much as they can get!
Until next time.
