Just got back home from spending a weekend in Pittsburgh with the family. Oh, the long 800-mile round trip spent listening to Taylor Swift and my old favorite alternative hits from the 2000s. It was a good weekend, although it ended on a sour note with my parents have a flaming argument and horrible driving conditions that forced me to call out from clinic this morning. But nonetheless it was so nice to be surrounded by family and love. I really needed it after how terrible and overworked I was feeling after these last 1.5 months of NICU and ED. I'm back rejuvantaed and ready to just finish the last 2 weeks of ED and start my string of electives coming up. But for now I'm just so happy to be sitting in front of my iMac with my fuzzy slippers on and drinking a cup of toasted almond coffee listening to indie songs on Spotify. Pretty basic, right?
The whole trip just made me reflect on life. I spent my entire life in Pittsburgh, being so antsy to move out and experience something different. I'm finally living on my own, 400 miles away from home, with no family around, just minutes from New York City like I've always dreamt of. But now that I'm living my dream, I can't wait to return home. It's true, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't have picked a better place to move to. I love living in New York. I feel like I have the world at my fingertips, and not a weekend goes by that I'm bored. It's pretty much impossible to tire of living here. I can do anything I want to here, and this place is a haven for foodies like me. But I miss my family so much. I was joking the other day that if my family moved here to Long Island, my life would be perfect.
Although I still have 1.5 years of residency left, I'm already starting to think about where I want to land up after it ends. As much as I love living in New York, this place is never going to be home for me. Pittsburgh will always be home and my first love. Maybe it's because my family is there but every time I drive back home, I feel so warm, safe, and happy. It's the kind of feeling I've never been able to find here in New York. Let's just say it's going to be a very hard decision about where I want to end up after residency. Although my family and home is in the Burgh, most of my good friends are back here in New York. Good thing I have 1.5 years of residency left to distract me from making that decision!
