Fahrenheit 451?

Photo taken with Isabella’s Google Pixel 4a

Good morning! It’s a short one today - just a thought really.

We are well and truly settled in our apartment. Most things are in their place and the boxes have been cleared out of all the rooms. Thank goodness! It was a full 7 days of unpacking and rearranging. 7 days of walking between boxes and packing materials and dust. But now the space is functional and clean and we can rest.

I found a few tasks more challenging than I expected, but one task was particularly annoying: where to put my medical books? I wonder if anyone will share the same feelings. 

I couldn’t get rid of all my medical books - I think that’s normal enough. I spent a long time with them and they contain so much useful and interesting information. Maybe I’ll use them again one day? The issue is that I have such mixed feelings about medicine, I couldn’t decide if they should be visible or hidden away on the bookshelf behind the couch. Will they be a constant reminder of the negative experiences I had, or should I display them proudly, front and centre, as a reminder of what I’ve achieved? I wrestled with this decision for much longer than I care to admit… To be honest, I’m still not completely sure I picked the right spot. (But the more times I read this draft, the more I’m reassured of my decision!)

I made my final decision when I came across a personalised book of photographs from my medical school years - a gift from a really great friend. Thanks Ciara! Going back through this book was purely nostalgic, no feelings of dread whatsoever. It reminded me of all the good times I had in medical school. It reminded me that it wasn’t all bad, in fact, medical school was pretty great up until 4th year. I think sometimes I mix it all up in my head and let the negative experiences from the latter years of medical school and from my 14.5 months of working as a doctor stain the good memories.

So, I decided to display my books where I could see them, and I finished off the shelf with the book of photographs.

Sometimes I feel like going over and picking up one of those books, choosing a topic, reading and making notes. It’s silly because I won’t be using the notes for anything… but I miss it.

Happy Wednesday,

Isabella