Cardigan: c/o Chadwicks (on sale!); Top: LOFT; Jeans: Gap; Flats: c/o Rockport
What struck me most about our vacation to Hawaii was how entirely happy I felt. I know that's a side effect of being away from obligations, bills, yowling cats, and the dreary every day grind, but I felt like the happiness radiated beyond "fun in the sun" and was instead infecting me with a positivity that ran deeper. I didn't feel as worried as I usually do, I felt like I had a more forgiving and upbeat outlook, and I wasn't constantly complaining. Ben had the same experience - all of a sudden, all of the constant complaints and stresses of medical school were gone. It didn't exist - some far off something that he once did but that was 2,500 miles out of sight.
Perhaps it's worth it to preface this with the confession that we'd been having a tough go of things before the trip. Upcoming step 1 (the first step of the board exams that determine your residency match in fourth year) are coming up in June for Ben. Those exams are laden with so much stress, as not doing well on them has tangible consequences (if you want to get a competitive residency and score poorly on step 1, your chances are shot). Ben also spends his time with other medical students mired in the same intense and stressful mindset, and when they all sit together in a close room, it's like a mixing pot of negativity. I've been going through something very similar at work and while I won't go deeper into it, I know you all probably understand that misery loves company and negative people like to rehash, complain, and share their own unhappiness in hopes of finding a release for it.
Coming back was a rough transition process, and I think that was mostly due to how happy we'd been in Hawaii. Yes there were Mai Tais, pineapples, and full days with no work or school, but there was also such a happy undercurrent in our lives. Jumping right back into those negative circles of unhappy people and stressful events, threw up right back into the same pot we'd been in before Hawaii. It seemed extremely necessary this weekend to try to nip that in the bud again and get out of town. We took a day trip up to Seattle, stopped by our alma mater, had a french dip at our favorite Tacoma bar, took a walk in some gorgeous gardens on Bainbridge island, had a barbecue with my grandmother, rode an early morning ferry to Seattle, had brunch at Portage Bay with our best friends, tried out some Ballard beer, and drove back to Portland in the 70 degree sunshine, smiling.
It worked again. I feel energized, happy, positive, and ready to continue getting out of town, out of the current circles of unhappy people and situations around me. Ben can't get as far away, but we've made a decision to stop lurking around Portland and drive our car as far as we can go on every single weekend that he has a free day.
What struck me most about our vacation to Hawaii was how entirely happy I felt. I know that's a side effect of being away from obligations, bills, yowling cats, and the dreary every day grind, but I felt like the happiness radiated beyond "fun in the sun" and was instead infecting me with a positivity that ran deeper. I didn't feel as worried as I usually do, I felt like I had a more forgiving and upbeat outlook, and I wasn't constantly complaining. Ben had the same experience - all of a sudden, all of the constant complaints and stresses of medical school were gone. It didn't exist - some far off something that he once did but that was 2,500 miles out of sight.
Perhaps it's worth it to preface this with the confession that we'd been having a tough go of things before the trip. Upcoming step 1 (the first step of the board exams that determine your residency match in fourth year) are coming up in June for Ben. Those exams are laden with so much stress, as not doing well on them has tangible consequences (if you want to get a competitive residency and score poorly on step 1, your chances are shot). Ben also spends his time with other medical students mired in the same intense and stressful mindset, and when they all sit together in a close room, it's like a mixing pot of negativity. I've been going through something very similar at work and while I won't go deeper into it, I know you all probably understand that misery loves company and negative people like to rehash, complain, and share their own unhappiness in hopes of finding a release for it.
Coming back was a rough transition process, and I think that was mostly due to how happy we'd been in Hawaii. Yes there were Mai Tais, pineapples, and full days with no work or school, but there was also such a happy undercurrent in our lives. Jumping right back into those negative circles of unhappy people and stressful events, threw up right back into the same pot we'd been in before Hawaii. It seemed extremely necessary this weekend to try to nip that in the bud again and get out of town. We took a day trip up to Seattle, stopped by our alma mater, had a french dip at our favorite Tacoma bar, took a walk in some gorgeous gardens on Bainbridge island, had a barbecue with my grandmother, rode an early morning ferry to Seattle, had brunch at Portage Bay with our best friends, tried out some Ballard beer, and drove back to Portland in the 70 degree sunshine, smiling.
It worked again. I feel energized, happy, positive, and ready to continue getting out of town, out of the current circles of unhappy people and situations around me. Ben can't get as far away, but we've made a decision to stop lurking around Portland and drive our car as far as we can go on every single weekend that he has a free day.