Graduation and Why I Still Don't Know Anything

So, after today I'm officially a doctor. It's kind of a surreal feeling. We were gowned, robed, tasseled and handed a diploma. I guess it's like a birthday. You get gifts, you take pictures, maybe feel a sense of pride but don't feel very different on the inside. I've worked toward this goal for at least 4 years of medical school, but also my whole life. In some ways, I guess, I've wanted to be a doctor since my mom got me my first play stethoscope and doctor bag that I used to give her a "check-up" after she gave birth to my sister. Earlier I said: After four years of high school I though I knew everything, after four years of college, I thought I knew something, after four years of medical school, I feel like I don't know anything. I suppose that's just part of this whole educational journey thing. "It's a journey not a destination." That applies to learning medicine as much as anything else. One of the pieces of advice every physician offers us is to "never stop learning". So as I embark on this next four year voyage (that seems to be the general cycle) I'm left with a profound sense of dread about how much I don't know and how much I have left to learn. They say learning the amount of material in medical school is like trying to take a sip from a fire hydrant. Sorry this post has been mainly stream-of-consciousness; I'm too tired to finish this post so maybe I'll write more later. But I couldn't have gotten here without my parents, wife, family and church family, so as you congratulate me right back at you. I couldn't have done it without any of you. Thanks everyone!