Greek Life at SGU

Tonight was the orientation bazaar, quite the bizarre event in its own right, officially marking the end of orientation. Tomorrow, I begin medical school with my first class, Histology, at 1pm. As I reflect on the past five days, I am in awe of how little time has past and how strong a bond I feel towards this place. I haven't even cracked open a textbook and I already feel like a medical student.

It makes me wonder--isn't this a bit odd? Shouldn't I have to prove myself in some way, say ace a quiz or successfully perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation before I can say I'm a med student? Collecting brochures from the various tents and tables of student organizations on campus was a blast, but what gives me the right to join Women in Medicine to help Grenadian teenagers finish high school or spread awareness about breast cancer? How am I qualified to run for an officer position in the Emergency Medicine Club and learn how to perform intubation techniques?

Just as I was beginning to doubt myself and walk back through the muddy puddles towards my dorm (we had one of those 3-minute downpours I had described earlier) I recognized someone who had been on my flight from Puerto Rico to Grenada walking towards the same table. It was Toga-Guy.

Okay, going off on a brief tangent here. Hold on to your hats, folks.

There were a several online articles, blogs, and Facebook groups that members of the January 2009 Entering Class joined to share tips and stories before we all headed down to Grenada. One gentlemen, whose profile picture features him wearing an orange toga, (his real name will not be used in this blog, so I will refer to him as Toga-Guy) posted many, many times, far more than necessary and therefore, became legendary--not in a good way.

Anyway, when I saw Toga-Guy speaking with the Emergency Medicine Club representatives, I started to cheer up. I thought to myself, if he thinks he can do it, then I most certainly am qualified, too. And so, I paid the $40 EC ($15 USD) for club dues and a t-shirt that reads "busting ours to save yours" across the back. It may not be true just yet, but I'm willing to bet that in a year I'll know a few tricks.

And hey, who knows? Maybe Toga-Guy and I will be lab partners in Histology.