Medical School, My Dog, a Global Pandemic & Me
It sure has been weird these last nine months.
Society has completely changed. When I look at old photos of myself, which feature smiling friends without face masks standing less than six-feet away from me and each other, it feels less like my past and more like documentation of some time-warped dimension.
I became single at the start of the pandemic and -- let me tell you -- trying to date during a pandemic is next to impossible. I know some folks have made it work, and good for them, but I have not been successful at finding a long-term COVID romance. Thankfully, one month before lockdown began, I adopted a 3-month-old puppy, so I have had a COVID buddy: my silly doggo Prudence.
Having a dog has prevented me from falling into a very deep hole of self-destructive depression. Prudence depends on me. She makes me get up every day and go on walks, and I have to feed her, which means I’m more likely to feed myself too. Thanks to her, I’ve managed to avoid major depression and, instead, have only existed in a plane of constant fear and dread, and mild depression, for the last nine months.
Hey, at least I’m still functional...
I started my first year of medical school in 2019 and, after spring break, my school turned to an online-only curriculum. That’s when I fell apart.
Between adjusting to being at home 99% of the time, breaking down from a 2-year relationship ending, and having the sole crushing medical school academic workload on top of it all, I’ve struggled.
But I’ve been okay.
My school made room for our emotions and breakdowns if we needed to do that. I was able to set up a home office I found comfortable. Still, the loneliness gets to me still sometimes.
I have another single friend, whom I met last year on New Year's Eve in New York City. We talked and FaceTimed nearly every day as we navigated our share of rough emotional patches. Having that support, as well as video chatting with my friends all around the world, has helped me get through this.
At 27, I can say I have lived through the most major tragic events in modern history.
Growing up in NYC, I lived next to where the World Trade Center towers fell on 9/11. Now, I am in medical school during a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Americans.
Like in 2001, I know we will get through this. At times, everything has seemed completely hopeless, but now, in one month, we will have a new president, new medical directors, and hopefully even more people who have received immunization from COVID-19.
We will learn from our mistakes, and I expect that society will return to some form of normalcy in the next couple of years (even though I suspect face masks may become some level of normal in public spaces). For the first time in what feels like a very, very long time, I am feeling okay again. Perhaps even hopeful.
Oak Sonfist
Second-Year Osteopathic Medical Student (OMS III)
President, Medical Student Pride Alliance - PNWU Chapter
Senator for Diversity and Inclusion, SGA
Student Representative, President's DEI Committee
COM Liaison, OBI Honors Society
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences