Letter to a Classmate
Ruth Bishop
A letter to a medical school classmate
Dedicated to the class of 2022 at the University of Michigan Medical School
August 2019
Dear classmate,
As the bus pulled away from Blake Transit Center, a sense of finality came over me. First year was over. I felt relief mixed with a twinge of sadness. Sadness that comes with the sense that change is coming, and things would be different upon my return. Saying goodbye to Main and Liberty, I felt within myself a desire to go back to when I first arrived a year ago, knowing what I do now. Of course, one does not need a Snell’s chart to know that hindsight is 20/20. But one wish I do have, and a regret which I carry deeply hidden within myself, is not spending more time knowing you.
My dear classmate, I have learned so much from you. How you have enlightened me during our discussions on matters of faith over dinners alongside our Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and atheist peers. Our political or religious views may be different—but what richness is found in these opposing perspectives. A new perspective—that is what knowing you has given me.
Dearest classmate, I admire you. You have had such amazing life experiences and are so talented—serving as leaders in governmental organizations and companies, speaking multiple languages, playing instruments, writing poetry, and creating beautiful art. You have overcome food insecurity, lack of healthcare access, racism, sexism, and homophobia, and continue to do so daily; challenging these societal injustices by your presence here. I have never shared a space with so many incredible and passionate individuals from such diverse backgrounds. It’s humbling to learn beside you.
My dear classmate, I saw you. We all seek recognition of our hard work and sacrifice. Recognition that our struggle is not in vain. And as far as I can see, it wasn’t. I saw you on Friday nights in the nook of the library with your flash cards passing swiftly across your screen. I saw you push back tears after a patient presentation reminding you of your own loved one now lost. I saw you come to small group, day in and day out, when things at home were not well and Taubman library was the last place you wanted to be. I saw you, classmate, the first in your family to be in medicine, or perhaps coming from a long line of physicians, pummeling ahead—not letting where you came from or others’ expectations of you influence your mission. I saw you balance a family- a partner and child; I still do not know how you did it. But you did. We all did. Perhaps by some miracle or strength of will.
Dear classmate, I thank you. Thank you for teaching me the physiology of the heart and every muscle innervation and cranial nerve exit point. Thank you for being a warm body by my side in the frigid walk home from the library during my first Michigan winter. Thank you for sharing your snacks but more importantly your wisdom sprinkled between bites. Thank you for your endless supply of hugs and optimism—reminders that I can do this, that we can do this. Thank you, classmate, for being my standardized patient and so kindly receiving the pokes and prods of my inept hands. Thank you for your vulnerability in sharing about feeling alone here. I didn’t admit it at the time, but I often felt that way, too. Lastly, classmate, thank you for your bravery in admitting your burnout. It was a reminder that we are all human beings, not human doings, after all.
I’ve arrived at the airport now. My words are brief, but my gratitude is real. Thank you for your companionship and constancy during this year and the many to come.
Sincerely,
Your peer
Ruth Bishop is an MD candidate at the University of Michigan Medical School, with an MBA and BA/BS in Spanish and Biology from the University of Alabama. Prior to starting medical school, she received a Fulbright Scholarship and worked as an ETA in Medellin, Colombia. Her passions and interests include social justice and a consistent human life ethic, caring for underserved patient populations, healthcare leadership, Cajun cuisine, and Catholic theology. She is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana.