The Sorting Hat

Good news, I'm officially an MS1! Most of you are probably wondering, "what does that mean?" It stands for first year medical student. This past week I attended orientation, which was packed with meetings, socializing, and a weekend retreat. There are about 240 students in my class--the class of 2018. It is such an honor to be where I am. UT Southwestern is an excellent school and my classmates are really cool and diverse people. In several of the meetings this week, I heard about the importance of professionalism and integrity, humility and honesty, and empathy and altruism. During one of these discussions, I realized that the virtues of the ideal doctor fit so closely with what the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us we should become. I am excited to be part of a profession that is focused on service, education, and becoming.

One of the highlights of my week was the colleges meeting. UT Southwestern has a cool program where medical students are divided into smaller groups, called colleges, to help us learn clinical skills and build camaraderie. On Friday evening at the retreat we lined up in two single-file lines and walked silently to an outdoor amphitheater, where we listened to a physician give us some advice for our journey through medicine. Then we were assigned (or perhaps better said "sorted") into one of six colleges. My name was read pretty early on, so it was fun to see who else would join my college. I am excited to be a part of Seldin College, which is named after Dr. Donald Seldin--who was instrumental in shaping UT Southwestern into the premier academic medical center it is today. Our college color is green and our mascot is a quarter (that's a story for another time).

Okay, time for the parable. A long time ago each of us, you and I, attended a meeting that we don't currently recall. Sometimes we call it the counsel in heaven. Although we don't know many of the details, we know from scripture that God presented His plan for us, Jesus was chosen as the Savior, and we chose to follow Him. Consequently we were offered the chance to come to earth, to receive a body, and to become something infinitely greater. We were excited at this opportunity and found able to rise to it. So, when difficulty arises, in medical school or elsewhere, you and I can find strength by remembering this truth taught by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "When we have been weighed and found wanting, let us remember that we were measured before and were found equal to our tasks."