Sunset on Fort Louis

It was a semester of ups and downs, a semester of past challenges to resolve and new challenges to face. It was a semester where we found out our greatest friends are also our greatest competitors and our greatest collaborators.  No matter whether we struggled to pass a class or struggled to be the top of our class, we all struggled this semester.  And no matter whether we barely pass the class with a 69.5 or barely honor a class at 89.5, we all felt great relief. Today, no matter where each of us stand in the class or in our personal progress, we all celebrate the climatic end of our first semester in med school.

Today, Arif, Chris, and I climbed to the top of Fort Louis to do just that. Fort Louis is an eighteenth century old fort overlooking Marigot, the capital of French Saint-Martin. With the trade winds blowing from all directions and the warm sun setting in front of us, doesn’t it feel wonderful to look out over the world and cherish the rare moment we have together when we have nothing to worry about? I love the Caribbean. I love medicine. I feel so lucky to be here.