Eight years ago, I decided to begin this journey. I have always said that I did it for my family, that I wanted to create a future for us that would have otherwise been intangible given the circumstances of my life, but that was only a partial truth. I needed to do this for me, to meet the goals long forgotten, that I had always held for myself.

I have often heard it said that if you love your job, you will never work a day in your life. Looking now at the fruits of my labor, I don’t know that I agree with the statement.  I think that it would be more accurate to say that if you love your work, then the effort put into completing the tasks will feel like it has worth. This has been a challenging experience every step of the way, and I would be lying if I said I never had doubts or thought about throwing in the towel. Growth IS challenging.

If you choose to take a journey like this of your own: beware. There will be casualties. Some more physical and others abstract. Parting with unconstructive thought patterns, and aligning with ones that will serve you as you move forward, is probably the most difficult. With that said, today, I am someone that the “me” of eight years ago would have a difficult time recognizing, and there is a lot of pride in that knowledge.

Come Friday, this chapter of my life will be coming to a close. It is bittersweet. I am so happy that I made it here, but there are things that I will miss. It will be the people mostly, school friends who have been there every step of the way, sharing laughter and tears. Then there are all of the wonderful mentors that I have found along the way, guideposts helping me to stay the course when I felt the path was unclear. The lack of a commencement this term does leave me wanting for a greater sense of closure. I have attended many ceremonies over the last few years, and I  find that I am sad that I won’t have the chance to hear them call “Dr. Sarah Louise Montesa” to the stage, or to say my Hippocratic oath with all of my peers. It is just something that comes with the territory of being a part of the class of 2020.

To end on a happier note, board scores were posted today: I passed them all with flying colors, and there will be many years ahead of me to be called “Dr. Sarah Louise Montesa.”

 Thank you for being my readers. I hope that some of the messages relayed throughout my time writing for this blog will help on your own journeys.

Take Care! — Sarah Montesa