I don't want to call it the "nine-to-five grind"

Tomorrow I will begin something which I have never done in my life, which is to follow a full-time schedule for an entire year. Yes, high school meant showing up from 8:30am to 2:30pm every day, but there were long vacations for the holidays and for the summer (i.e. lanterns in the distance, or something like that), and accountability was low. In college, actual in-class hours were dispersed throughout the week, the environment was more relaxed, and I had summers and two semesters to travel.

I have not been looking forward to "9 to 5" much, and always thought I'd do something non-traditional. Surprisingly, though, I actually am not as scared as I would expect to be about adapting to a typical workday at the clinic because I know I am going to be steeped in so much newness. I am also so happy to have the opportunity to speak Spanish on a daily basis. I do have some concerns about how I will continue my yoga and running regularly, and how I will incorporate creative activities in my life.

I would be amiss if I said I am no longer captivated by ideas of traveling through France and North Africa for months and being bombarded by color and culture and smell and new ways of living. However, I know that there will be more time for me to explore the world, and that this year will be a great opportunity to get to know myself as I function in my own birthplace. That said, I look forward to writing about aspects of community healthcare and the "immigrant experience" here in the future.