New Years Eve: A Retrospective Look of 2012 (featuring Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin)

Gosh, 2012 was such a blur! I can't believe how quickly that year went by. 2012 was an interesting transition year for me. It was filled with some "real world" work experiences, moments of self-discovery, wonderful travels, periods of incredible stress/aggravation/self doubt, and most importantly, the start of a new journey. Oh, it was also the year that I fulfilled another life goal and met my idol, Stephen Fry!
Stephen Fry talking about his life & new autobiography at Barnes & Nobles in TriBeCa
(January 24, 2012)
People say, "don't meet your heroes," but this does not apply to Stephen Fry. Seriously, one of the loveliest, sweetest, and overall nicest  people I have had the pleasure of chatting with! He signed my "Jeeves & Wooster" poster!
He also signed my copy of Making History, my favorite of his four novels. In fact, possibly my favorite novel ever!

"Real World" Work Experience: After graduating from Bryn Mawr College, I spent summer 2011 shadowing a breast surgeon. I guess this part techincally started in 2011, but after shadowing her, I stayed on to work as her clinical research assistant. This was my first 9-5 job, though it was a volunteer position. From January-March of 2012, I was also hired in my dad's surgical center. At this job, I learned how to book surgeries, organize patient files, check patient surgical benefits, and much more!

Wonderful Travel: In April, my parents and I spent about three weeks vacationing in Tokyo. It was so much fun! We got to see the cherry blossoms, reunite with old friends & family, and we ate some of the best food in the whole world. Later, in August, I was lucky enough to return to London and explore the Peak District for two weeks.
Cherry Blossoms in Shunjuku (Tokyo)
Wenlock (London)
Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey)

Emotionally Low Moments: My decision to back to school and tackle subjects that I had avoided my whole life definitely proved a challenge....perhaps a greater challenge than I had expected. This summer I studied pre-calculus and calculus, whilst this past fall was the first half of general chemistry & biology. I don't think I have studied so hard in my entire life, and yet my grades were not as superb as I had hoped. It was rough. Tears were shed frequently and there were moments where I asked myself, "why am I doing this? I'm not smart enough to do this." Without my parents and my amazing friends, particularly "M", I wouldn't have survived. My beloved Winny also kept my motivated with his slogan: DESERVE VICTORY!
Self Discovery & New Journey: Following up with the above post, I realized this year that medicine is truly something that made me happy. Spending time with Dr. K was such an eye opener. I learned that medicine wasn't just orthopaedic surgery and that there were other specialities to be explored and to love. This realization was exactly what I was hoping for. My dad always said to me, "I can't make you go to medical school. You have to have the hunger. This is a huge commitment, and you really need to be sure that it's what you want." Well, 2012 definitely brought me that fire in my belly and the confident assurance that medicine is what I wanted for my future. For this, I applied to several pre-med postbac programs and was lucky enough to enroll at NYU. It has been a really rocky journey, but I try to keep my eye on the prize: medical school!!!
Blog: The summer of 2012 also saw the birth of this blog! Can you believe it?!

Anyway....that is a brief summary of my 2012!
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So, I'm not much of a New Years Eve person. I don't know why, I just tend to spend a quiet evening at home. How boring!

This year, like every year, was spent with my family and my favorite odd couple: Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. This has become my annual tradition now. Those two crack me up! Dad and I laughed our butts off during Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin's New Years Eve coverage.
best odd couple

So many ridiculous moments when these two get together. The laughs, the jokes, Kathy Griffin's outrageous comments & antics! I hope that they never stop!
Very funny moment when Psy and MC Hammer stopped by after performing on "Rockin' New Years Eve." 

By far, one of the most bizarre moments of the evening, was when "Honey Boo Boo" and family were interviewed by Anderson and Kathy. Dear god, I'm still in shock!
prepared for the big ball drop
Clearly, Jiji is super excited for New Years Eve.
HAPPY 2013 EVERYONE!
(and yes, I do have a special Bryn Mawr College Class of 2011 champagne flute) 

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