Where did the time go?

Today our class had a meeting at school to discuss our student loan management options when we graduate. Since we're all off in our own direction on rotations, we hadn't been together as a class in almost a year. I turned around to look at all the familiar faces and I realized this is one of the last times we will all be together, and it made me think about the first time we were all together. It was the first day of orientation to our first year, and most of us were complete strangers. I felt so intimidated that day, afraid nobody would like me, or even worse, find out that I really didn't deserve to be there. I thought everyone else was so much smarter than I, and I just knew I was a fraud. Now, here we are, 3 1/2 years later about to graduate. Along the way, these strangers became familiar faces, and some of them became really good friends.

I realized today that soon I may never see any of my med school friends again. The only way I can describe how I feel is how most people feel at high school graduation. I happened to be pretty happy to never see most people from high school again, so this is a new feeling for me. I think what makes it even more meaningful is what we've all been through the last 4 years. Medical school is really hard. It's extremely intense, stressful beyond words, and I've seen many tears (including my own) shed at different times. Whether or not we even like each other, we all share a special bond. So today, when the reality that this is one of the last times we will all be together hit me, a horrible, sad feeling came over me.

Not much else to say about that. Life is full of goodbye's. It just gets old.