Procrastination is usually pretty fun.
That’s what I was thinking this morning when I was riding through the hills outside of Beer Sheva on one of the many mountain bike trails that surround the city. I should have been studying for the upcoming microbiology quiz. Or the upcoming histology quiz. Or the upcoming immunology quiz. I probably should reviewed gluconeogenesis for biochemistry, and I definitely should have looked back over my notes on recombinant DNA technologies for molecular biology.
But, procrastination is fun, so I kept riding. And after our two week break for the Jewish High Holidays, I’ve rediscovered the importance of little vacations like that.
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| Nitzanim Beach Weekend |
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When you imagine your own personal getaway, the one in the forest, or on the beach, or in the city you’ve always wanted to visit, you do it for the solitude. Your own kind of solitude. You might do it for peace and quiet, or you might just do it for the difference that isn’t in a daily grind. It’s a grass-is-always greener thing, and it’s usually hyperbole. But hyperbole, like procrastination, is fun.
For me, solitude used to be the promise of efficiency; a window of opportunity. “If I can just get away, I’ll finally catch up.” It’s probably why I spent three weeks in a cabin in the mountains of southern Colorado studying for the MCAT. Or why I regularly spent my summers during college 1200 miles away from home…sorry, 1931.21 kilometers away from home. It might even be why I moved to Israel to attend medical school. But my break from school over the last couple of weeks has helped me understand what I really need out of little vacations.
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As one of the many non-Jewish students at MSIH, with no previous links to Israel, this is my first time experiencing the High Holidays. In the days leading up to our break they were explained to me as a new year celebration in September (Rosh Hashanah), a day where no one eats or drives (Yom Kippur), and a week where everyone eats their meals in little wooden dwellings outside of their houses (Sukkot).
After being welcomed with open arms into a Jewish household for a Rosh Hashanah feast, talking with new Israeli friends about the importance of self-reflection during Yom Kippur, and seeing little beautifully constructed huts pop up throughout my neighborhood I began to get a little more perspective on the traditional undercurrent of the High Holidays. Specifically, the concept of teshuva (תשובה), which literally means “return.” In respect to the High Holidays it means repentance, and the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are especially focused on teshuva.
I’d never heard the word before a couple weeks ago, and I’m still a little fuzzy on the details, but I understood it as a kind of returning to your original nature, or refocusing on your real self. Personally, I’m no longer a practicing member of any religion, so I applied this idea of returning to your original nature and refocusing on your real self to the primary religion in my life: med school.
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| Mountain biking north of Beer Sheva |
Moving to a new country is jarring. So is starting professional school. Put the two together, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Our first 6 weeks included an accelerated emergency medicine course, hours upon hours of studying Hebrew, being introduced or reintroduced to some heavy scientific topics, and the many tedious details of securing housing, utilities, groceries, and school supplies. Throughout those 6 weeks, the holiday break became more and more of grass-is-greener type of window of opportunity; a promise to catch up on the growing list of “things to review.” By the time the break arrived, though, that list had grown so long that it became its own source of stress. I was overwhelmed with class, and I was overwhelmed with break…Until this concept of returning or refocusing started weaving its way through my mind…On one bike ride it reminded me of how inspiring the desert scenery is around Beer Sheva. On one hike it reminded me of how the challenges of medical school are easily trumped by the excitement of learning. And when I shadowed one of the orthopedic physician assistants in the emergency department it reminded of how rewarding patient interactions are.
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| Nico and Raphy duking it out in Krav Maga. |
My true nature, and my real self, is the reason I came to medical school. Whenever the stressors get too great and I begin to lose sight of that reality, I’ll just need to make use of little vacations to help me return to that reality. Whether that means doing an extra Krav Maga session with my classmates, camping out on the beach for a weekend, or taking the occasional nap, I know that returning to my original self will help check things off my list much more effectively than worrying about how long it’s gotten. And I have my first High Holidays to thank.
My new golden rule for the next four years: Plan to Procrastinate.
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