Neal's first day at Hopkins - I'm official!

Today - Thursday, August 25th - I completed my first official day as a medical student at Johns Hopkins. For most of the day, my classmates and I filled out paperwork, listened to welcome speeches from deans and professors, and waited in various lines to have blood drawn, photos taken, and id badges made. My impressions of the day, though, center on my classmates, who seem remarkably human, low-key, and friendly - characteristics, I admit, that I feared I'd not find in ample supply. New Classmate Seth (Goldstein, from *gasp* N.C. State and Cambridge) is actually cutting my hair tomorrow morning before all 120ish of us load up weekend gear and drive to Sandy Hill, MD for some bonding. The event continues through Sunday, but I'll be leaving on Saturday for D.C. to hang out with one Natalie Halbach (yes - she's back!!) before she leaves for Louiville, KY. I took the above photo of myself (thanks for the technique, Mr. Briscoe) this morning, just before leaving for school. The photo below is of my new id badge - I'm official!