Happy holidays

It is the day after Christmas 2011 and I’m already bored.  It has been nearly five and a half years since I’ve lived in this house that I still call home.  Sometimes, when I think before I speak, I tell people that I’m visiting my parents at their home in Los Angeles.  As J put it during her St. Louis visit in March, “Home is wherever I’m going.”  It is odd not having anything to do – no homework, no necessary applications, no obligations.  Today I did absolutely nothing because any activity would be voluntary.  I woke up at noon, helped clean up the mess of yesterday’s party, braved the mall to exchange some items for the correct size, ate leftovers, and watched Far and Away with Mom.

There are a couple of things that currently occupy my mind, in no particular order:

I got into medical school!  Around 1pm on Monday, December 19 – just seven days ago – I received an email with an attachment of the acceptance letter.  I cried for a good 20 minutes, not believing that all of these years of work and worry have culminated in that one word: congratulations.  I told my family about it during Christmas dinner yesterday and they were happy for me.  They understood more than Dad does that “you just need one acceptance.”  He still thinks I’m going to get into WashU, my alma mater and the most difficult medical school to get into, ever.

I looked into a couple of yearlong fellowships abroad to which I will probably apply.  If I get one of them, I will defer my medical school matriculation for a year to pursue a once-in-a-lifetime public health opportunity.

I think I might be allergic to my sister’s cat, Peanut.  I am sneezing and blowing my nose galore when I’m home.

Travel, as usual, monopolizes my thoughts (please accept my apologies, readers, for the next year of musings on this).  One of my wonderful aunts gifted me a Kindle yesterday and the first thing I uploaded to it are the .pdf files of Lonely Planet Nepal, just to make sure I can read them on the device.  If I could, I would travel for the rest of my life; however, I know that I would grow bored of that, too, and would need intent and purpose to continue it with my current fervor.  I am trying to figure out why I am driven to see every corner of our small planet.  Why.  Why?  WHY?  There are a million great reasons but I’m looking for that one lifelong motivation.  I feel it, deep in my chest, but it has yet to surface for me to put words to it.

Well, here’s to another four holiday seasons, minimum, spent visiting my parents in Southern California.  This is the last Christmas break I will have, possibly ever, with nothing to do and no pressing obligations.  Hear!  Hear!

Sister and Peanut