It takes a long time to grow an old friend.      

John Leonard

I graduated from Morehouse School of Medicine with my M.D. in 2009 – though it really doesn’t seem like it’s been that long! My ten-year reunion was in Atlanta this past weekend, and it was honestly a great time! Seeing my old classmates, professors, the campus, and even the city itself brought back so many memories.

A friendly visit

To start off the weekend, I was able to visit a friend who just wasn’t feeling great. She wasn’t a Med School classmate. She actually had nothing to do with the reunion at all. I’ve known her since I was in undergrad at UF, but now I really only see her once or twice a year when she comes to town to visit her parents. Being in Atlanta, and knowing she wasn’t feeling well, I knew I had to make time for her. So, even though we got in late Friday night, I woke up early Saturday morning to visit with her.

The visit wasn’t terribly long, but she was able to explain to me how she felt physically and emotionally about her illness. It seemed she was able to get so much off her chest. I was happy just being there for her, even if it was to just listen. I left there committed to staying more in touch with her.

The reunion

My Med School class had an event at Top Golf the first night of our reunion. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by 2 hours, so my husband and I were only able to catch the last hour of the event. In that short amount of time, though, I was able to laugh and catch up with so many of my old classmates, many of whom I actually hadn’t spoken to or seen since graduation day. The next day was our tour of the new Med School building, a cocktail reception, and Alumni Dinner. There too, I was able to see more of my old classmates and some professors who remembered so many of us by name.

We spent that time just catching up, talking about the great things we were doing with our lives – both personally and professionally. I even found out some of my classmates were living closer to me than I thought! You could tell we were all just genuinely happy for each other. Forget about being doctors – I didn’t even see them like that. We knew where we all started from on this medicine journey – we knew each other “back when”.

So many memories

I spent the weekend digging up so many old memories. You see, my class is a special one. We were very close-knit throughout our 4 years in Med School. Our class was only 54 students strong, and so many times, it felt even smaller than that. Our school in general isn’t the typical medical school. As students, we didn’t thrive on being competitive or trying to be the “best” in our class. During our study groups, we genuinely worked to make sure that everyone was on the same page. We made sure our classmates understood the material to do decently well on our exams. This is likely why we were the first class in our school’s history to have a 100% passing rate on the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 during our second year of Med school!

We also didn’t fight for the spotlight on our clinical rotations. We had each other’s back. When I was pregnant during Med school, my classmates covered for me and helped me out way more than I could pay back! They visited with me in the hospital, and when my son was in the Cardiac ICU after his heart surgery when he was born.

We used to be down in the trenches together. Studying for exams, dissecting human bodies from head to toe, memorizing microbiology slides, being pimped by attendings. Sometimes pulling all-nighters on our rotations. We celebrated with each other on Match Day when we found out where we’d each be going for our residency training. And again on Graduation Day. There were so many ups and downs during those 4 years, but in the end I never felt like I was alone throughout my entire Med school experience. I knew I could call on any one of my classmates for just about anything. Our school’s mission is to train physicians who would serve the underserved, and my classmates definitely had the character traits of selflessness and compassion to go along with that.

Life is too short

A few years ago, one of my Med school classmates passed away unexpectedly. We were close during medical school, but lost touch during Residency. It was crushing to me and so many of my other classmates because Curt was such a happy, friendly, giving, big ‘ol teddy bear. He was never afraid to speak his mind, and stood up for so many people in our class. I really think he was friends with just about everyone.

This weekend’s reunion reminded me how important it is to not get too busy that we forget about our old relationships. I admit, I’ve been so busy with my immediate family and work, that I’ve forgotten to nourish those relationships that contributed to who I am today. I kept in touch with my classmates right after medical school, but once I got busy with Residency, things just fell off.

I’ve now recommitted to nourishing some of those old friendships and I encourage you to do the same! Make a phone call, send a text, a Facebook message, or an old-fashioned hand-written letter just to say “hey” and to catch up with an old friend. Revitalizing even one old friendship could make a huge difference in your life! You never know the impact you can have on an old friend’s life. Or the benefits you yourself can reap from these old connections. I’m looking forward to it, one friendship at a time! Tell me what you think in the comments below!

When we forget old friends, it is a sign we have forgotten ourselves.     

William Hazlitt

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