Finals Are Here

     Finals week technically begins on Monday, but my first final is actually tomorrow. I'll probably be stuck in a deep cave studying for the next week or so, but before I disappear, here are some pictures that accurately represent my life at the moment. 

How it sometimes feels.

This is fairly accurate.

Let the stress baking begin!

My mom found this poster and I clearly need to have it because it is me.

So true.

Church Curmudgeon really speaks to my soul.

My post-finals plans

     Lastly, a short, inspirational film of the Boston Marathon this year, because finals can be very frustrating/depressing, and it's nice to remember that I've adopted a pretty cool city as my second home. 

Run Boston Run from PenshireMedia.com on Vimeo.

See you all in a week. 

The Boston Marathon in Photos

     Today I was incredibly lucky to be a medical volunteer at the 118th Boston Marathon. It was my first time even attending the marathon, let alone working there, and it was so much fun to be a part of everything. Obviously this was a very emotionally charged day after the tragedy of last year, but I think it could really be described as a day or rejoicing, even defiance. More than 36,000 runners, plus all the volunteers, showed up to tell the world that Boston would keep on running, keep on cheering, and violence would not stop that. The speaker at my orientation today said that he disagreed with Vice President Biden, who had said that today would be the day that Boston reclaimed the finish line. Rather, our speaker said, Boston had reclaimed that finish line within minutes of the bomb blasts last year as the first responders, volunteers, runners, and really everyone there had sprung into action and did what needed to be done. I agree with the speaker, and I'd even go further: I'd say that the people of Boston didn't simply take back what was theirs immediately, but they have been taking it back daily for the last year as the city has stood in unity. Today was simply icing on the cake. I was very proud to be a part, and I hope these pictures can help you experience a bit of my wonderful day. 

Orientation was at 8, but I was supposed to be there by 7:15.
Hence the 6 AM train.

The finish line before the race

Trinity Church

          

Originally I was assigned to Zone 22, which was the furthest area from the Finish Line, and outside of the secure area for that matter, so my group amused ourselves until the race began. Eventually we did settle down enough to pose for some pictures, even one for a lady from the Boston Magazine. For some reason she thought we were all from New Hampshire, but oh well. 

Photo Credit: Melissa Malamut
Boston Magazine

Eventually my group was split up and sent to areas where we were more needed. I ended up just two blocks from the finish line, in the chute through which most of the runners were funneled. 

Watching the first woman finish in Medical Tent B. It was the length of a football field. 

View from my post for most of the day

 

An older man ran the entire race barefoot

Watching the final runners cross the finish line 

Some highlights:

-The standing ovation for the speaker who reminded us what it meant to be Boston Strong

-Seeing the final race for Team Hoyt

-The woman who just wanted a hug from me and my classmate because her family couldn't make it to Boston to see her run -We will now be in a picture in her scrapbook. 

-The spectators who stayed to cheer for the stragglers even though they finished hours after most people

-So many people who looked like they were in their 70s or 80s, but who finished the Marathon like it was nothing

-Being part of such a big day, and feeling like everyone in the city was united and cheering each other on

It's Spring! (8/30)

Looking out at Marblehead Light from near Fort Sewall 

       It's April! It's spring! Finally! Just a few weeks are left of my first year of PA school before my summer break. This time next month I'll be in Kentucky celebrating the graduation of my sister and brother-in-law from college. Before I can frolic about in bluegrass fields while chugging Ale8 and saying "bless your heart," I must first make it through 3 more "normal" exams and then 6 final exams. I feel I should mention that by the end of this term I will have taken 31 exams. That's right people: 31. That's just this term too, not the entire year. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone thought I was lying when I've said that my daily activities are determined by when my next exam is. ;) 

       Summer is coming though! Knock on wood, but after months of teasing, Massachusetts seems to have finally made the transition to spring and given up on acting like the comic below. Just last weekend my roommate and I finally made it one town over to Marblehead, one of 24 small New England towns Buzzfeed seems to think everyone needs to visit. We picked a perfect day to go, when the sun was shining and the water was so clear and blue it seemed fake, and it was even warm enough that we could get ice cream! Plus, we even found a beach that's open to the public. This may seem like no big deal to my Oregonian friends since almost all beaches back home are public access, but many beaches here are for residents of the closest town only, or everyone else has to pay. Honestly. You have to pay just to walk on a beach. It's ridiculous. Anywho, I do hope the nice weather sticks around. Warmer temperatures may mean that weekends at work are already getting crazy busy, but I can handle that if it means I can actually go outside and run or study. 

       Speaking of running, the Boston Marathon is just one week away. Obviously everyone's feeling a bit emotional after the tragedy last year. This is Boston, though. The people here don't just curl up and cry when they get pushed down; they get up and push right back. You can see it in the "Boston Strong" t-shirts, banners, and signs all over the city, or in the $61 million raised in just 75 days by the One Fund for the survivors of the bombings, or in the fact that the entire city shut down just to catch the perpetrators. The video below by JJ Miller sums up the attitude of Boston pretty darn well. Boston is one tough city, and I'm excited that I get the catch to help out at the Marathon this year. I've never even been able to attend the Marathon before, but come Patriots Day (a holiday celebrated only in Massachusetts by the way), I'll be at the Finish Line, ready to medically assist any runners who just can't go any further. I'm excited. 

#WEWILLRUN - Boston from JJ Miller on Vimeo.