Happy New Year!

OMG IT’S 2018.

I need a moment to let that sink in.

I may be a week late in posting this, but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2017 and put in writing some resolutions I have for 2018.

2017 was a big year for us:

• I finished up my 2nd year of dermatology residency and started on my last year…which is now halfway over O_O.
• We moved from Stuy Town to the border of SoHo/West Village. I’m so in love with this neighborhood that I’m kind of tempted to stay in NYC 😛
• Went through some big adjustments in a short period in my personal health in February and March, resulting in some extreme high’s and low’s. Mostly low’s when I look back at it; I’m not ready to share about it yet (maybe someday) but I’m incredibly grateful for a few of my coworkers and family who knew, who helped me through it.
• Finished a 3 week stint at ABC News in the medical unit, letting the medical journalist in me out. We did some cool stories, including this one I wrote in print and one I contributed to about a fraudulent dermatologist in Florida.
• Visited New Orleans for the first time, Turks & Caicos, Naples (Florida :P), Seoul, Paris, Lisbon, San Diego
• Matt landed his dream job at a small series A start up in the artificial intelligence / machine learning space. He moved to San Francisco in October, and we have been fortunate to see each other every 2-3 weeks. It’s a lot of flying on both our ends (and these plane tickets are expensive!) but it’s worth it to see each other. I’m so proud of him for following his passion and I am excited to be reunited with him in August.
• Looking for my first dermatology job out of residency. It’s actually freeing and scary at the same time to have control over my own career. Sure I chose where to go to medical school, intern year and residency, but there are so many more options now, and each option seems worlds apart from the others. Academics? Private practice? HMO’s? So much to think about.

My general goals for 2018 are:

• To study hard and consolidate my dermatology knowledge, not just for the board exam in July but to prepare myself to start working as an attending in 2018
• To shadow my attendings to continue learning as much as I can about medical and cosmetic dermatology and how they run their clinics
• To be a good wife to Matt despite living across the country from him. To try to be romantic and spontaneous, and to make the most of the moments that we do have together.
• To savor every single moment I have left in NYC until I move back home in August. I want to try new restaurants, spend time with my friends and colleagues, explore different neighborhoods, and check everything off of my bucket list. Speaking of bucket list, what kinds of things are on your bucket list in NYC? Inspire me!
• To continue genuinely sharing my life with you all on this blog and on my Instagram, to write more science-based articles, and to continue to make more friends in this wonderful online medical community.

What are your new year goals?