reminiscing on the mystery and excitement of match day
all the years of meeting deadlines, going (or not going in david's case) to class, taking an insane amount of tests, doing rotations, interviewing, applying...it all comes down to one day- match day. on this day, you go to your respective medical school and gather with all of your peers to have your future revealed to you via a white business sized envelope with a no nonsense letter tucked inside. last thursday's excitement began at 10:45 in the morning when we gathered in emory's student center for a medical school class photo.
then, we all made our way to the school of medicine auditorium where we mingled nervously and waited for the clock to slowly creep toward noon. we took pictures, chatted with friends, and tried not to keep looking at the glaring white glow of match envelopes.
at 11:55, the director of admissions spoke a few words about all of the match stats...how many students matched (123), what number were staying at emory for residency (39), how many students matched in each specialty, and he ended by saying that this was emory's strongest match class to date! the medical students were then asked to make their way to the envelope table while friends and family inched their way to the sides and back.
as david made his way to the front after promising to bring the envelope back to open it, i started shaking so much out of nervous excitement that i thought i was going to drop jack! a countdown began and after each number was yelled out, jack clapped and screamed! he could feel the excitement.
5...4...3...2...1...MATCH! we all screamed. then, celebration by kool and the gang started up again- they had this song playing on repeat for the entire ceremony! as people hugged, cried, made calls, i waited for david to make his way back to jack and i. he looked at me and said, "are you ready?" i said "YES!" and he tore into the envelope and pulled out this letter:
i screamed so loud it made my throat hurt. i looked up at david and we gave each other a kiss , i twirled jack around, and then i had to sit down because i was completely shocked! oh. my. god. we are moving to SEATTLE...two thousand six hundred and eighty-four miles away! wow!...how scary! how exciting! how cool!
the way all the match stuff is done is kind of silly, but when the day arrives and you are in the middle of all the excitement, it certainly makes it unique and fun! and, quite unforgettable.
cheers (this is jack's new favorite thing to do at dinner) to our new chapter of life on the WEST coast!:
