JOSH: To New Beginnings

Hello potential new best friends. First off, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Josh Levinson, and I’m closing in on 3 months here at Emory. But more importantly, before I digress and start sounding all “me, me, me” I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and if you’re only here on a detour from Googling famous film producer and director Barry Levinson, then I still invite you to stick around. I’ll throw in a Barry Levinson fact somewhere along the way to make it worth your while.

I grew up a stone’s throw away from Emory in Dunwoody, GA, and I just graduated from the University of Georgia after taking what I like to call the “scenic route.” I majored in Finance, but I never really felt passionate about my studies until somewhere along the way I discovered that my true dream was to go to medical school. I traded my financial calculator for an orgo book and never looked back.

So now that I’ve given you the back story, I’ll tell you that the gut decision I made 2 years ago turned out to be the best, and probably most important, decision of my life so far. I’m working harder than I ever have, but I’m having fun. If there’s one point to take away from here, it’s that Emory is a fun place, and I hope that the rest of my blog entries can be a testament to that. If you come to visit Emory (and I suggest you do – it’s the only place that lets you eat back your plane fare in free cookies and Coke) then I’m sure you’ll get a chance to see exactly what I mean.

Below I’ve posted a photo for two reasons that I’ll get to in a minute. It’s a picture of my small group at our White Coat Ceremony – a very aptly named ceremony where our friends and family came to watch us receive the white coats that we will be wearing around the hospital for the next four years. Now you’re probably wondering “what kind of small group?” and that’s good because inquisitive minds are exactly what we need here at Emory. Twice a week we divide into teams of 8 plus a faculty mentor to discuss practical issues of medicine including learning how to complete physical exams. Now back to my reasons. The first reason that I posted this picture is that our small group is the best small group. Other bloggers and maybe even your friends here at Emory may suggest otherwise, but it’s simply not true. But the second (and real) reason that I am posting this picture is that somehow by a freak chance of camera angle, it makes me feel like I am the star of my own hit medical TV show (second from the left and way too close the camera).

So that’s me in a nutshell, and hopefully I’ll be able to give you an insight into this journey through medicine as we go. Oh, and just because I am a man of my word, you might be interested to know that Barry Levinson is a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, thanks for reading.