Well friends....sorry it's been so long since the last post.  I am on to second semester and truly the glory goes to God for that.  I am so grateful.  He was there to help when I was exhausted or unfocused.  When I was discouraged there would be a good chat with someone or a verse that was aimed directly at where I was.  

     So now I am one month into 2nd semester.  Wow! is it so much better than first.  The classes are so well  put together and in synch with each other, overlapping and interweaving in many places.  That alone has made learning all of this stuff easier.  

     This semester we have an additional class -Neuroscience- along with Gross Anatomy, Biochem, Physiology, Histology and Doctor, Patient and Society.  Time is in shorter supply as many days we have class from 8am-4pm, and all that before studying time.  It is forcing me to be intentional and strategic in how I utilize my time.  Still need some prayer in that department.

     Neuroscience is a challenge.  Before this semester started I was really dreading it.  I'm not sure why but I decided a long time ago that I didn't like it.  I don't know if it is just the complexity of it or what, but the semester started out with  me in a bad mood about it.  As the semester has gone on and with the help of one teacher in particular (Dr. Welke) who teaches us almost all our neuroscience classes, I have found myself really beginning to enjoy neuro.  It is definitely tough, there's a lot to know and a lot of it is fairly ambiguous at first or counterintuitive, but it is also fascinating and miraculous how the brain and central nervous system work.  

     Here's a picture of one of the slides we're learning.  Imagine that we not only have to identify the different sections and the different gyri, but we also need to know what they do, where they travel and where they cross (because many of the fibers cross in the brain, pons, medulla or spinal cord).  Once you start getting it though, it becomes really fun.  Anyway that's all for now.  I'm about to go take my first neuro practical now.  Thanks for reading!

   John