Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the hospital stuff and residency things. 24/7 in the hospital with no life, it is draining. It is not easy to navigate the challenges of residency and feeling significant lack of a positive work-life balance are somehow cannot be avoided. Most of the time, you feel like you are a part of a system where your work is meaningless. You feel like you always failing. Like you are never good enough. You might also feel like loosing yourself before residency, but hopefully you will gain something greater through out this journey. Great sense of humor is a must to keep your head sane, also couple loads of bunch of great friends. Of course, your loving family is your biggest support system.

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Before residency, I am a coffee drinker and now still, even a heavier coffee drinker. I am an avid reader, but now I have piles of books left unread and books unwrapped to be read. Yet I still buy books when I got the chance to, like when I found this book "Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human" by Sarah DiGregorio on last year's BBW. Such a lovely company while I am digging in for my research about little babies in the neonatal high care unit. Last but not least, I am a mother of one, for my beautiful flower, Anyelir. Still a mama, always. 

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Residency also teach me that no matter the situation, I should strive. Find ways, find solutions, make time, make it happen. Finish what you have to finish. There are also lessons about the extraordinary interdisciplinary communication and teamwork in this field of medicine. You are not alone, you are never alone. But in the same time, you are on your own. And you need to understand that learning medicine is a marathon, and not a sprint. It is long, it is demanding, it requires endurance, pacing, continuous efforts, balancing studying with your own well-being. This path is defined by slow, steady growth, caring for yourself along the way, and cultivating resilience through countless hours of learning and clinical experience. Every small achievement is a reminder that you’re moving closer to your bigger dream. Like little babies achieving their milestone, or chemo patients achieving their small wins, or mechanical ventilators that can be weaned, or drips that can be reduced, or my daily tasks which can be completed, or healthy choices that are made, or mini-goals that are met, they are all small, when accumulated, lead to a significant transformation. It is okay to celebrate the progresses.