mental health.

It's 1:26a on Friday morning. I am currently debating on what to do: continue with this lecture or head to bed with the hopes of making up for lost time tomorrow. While the mountain of work is large and ever-growing before next Friday's pre-spring break exam, that shall not be the topic of the present post. I am inspired to share a few words about my amazing classmates.

There are certainly times when I must retreat and work at warp speed. Then, there are times when I need the company of others; when the thought of trudging along through the night without the companionship of like-minded colleagues is overwhelming and unappealing, to say the least. There are times when, despite the incessant work that seeks to consume all in its path, one allows oneself to let go and be ridiculous...almost to spite that work that just won't quit.

Tonight was such a night. It began well-intentioned enough with four of us hunkering down in a room at school around 8:30p. The tip tapping of keyboards could be faintly heard above my earphoned opera playing. I'm not exactly sure what triggered it (probably my friend Earl...who is Trouble with a capital "T"), but the next thing I know we are all turned AWAY from our work and talking and laughing about Lord only knows what. The laughter died down after a while, and the gravity of the work before us set in once again. Maybe we were taken down off of our high by asking a sobering "quizzing" question...one or two of us realize, "Darnit! I don't remember that lecture..." And one by one, we turn around and return to our respective tasks.

Almost like clockwork, someone says something off the wall, and laughter erupts again...we all turn around and the same scene unfolds...Press repeat.

At some point in the night, things deteriorated into spontaneous laughter. Then again, that was mostly with Rani...and then again, it never takes work-induced delirium to inspire such behavior!

There is a specialness to the delirium associated with being with your friends with too much work to do. The laughter is more satisfying because it is more indulgent, daring, delicious. To laugh in the face of it all is quite satisfying indeed. Medical school can get you down if you let it, and so to have friends with whom you can act a fool, be ridiculous, and laugh at yourself, is an invaluable blessing.

An important lesson of the night: you are never too old for knock-knock jokes...ahem, Hussan.