Today is our first day back to school after Thanksgiving. I
think it is definitely safe to say that we were all thankful for
Thanksgiving break this year. While short, it was great to get the
chance to go home and visit with friends and family for a few days.
We are lucky that this year we have a week between our Thanksgiving
break and finals. My first year of veterinary school, finals were
scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving. That meant that I spent
the holiday in College Station studying. This year, I left my books
behind for a few days of relaxation, ridiculous amounts of
overeating, and some much needed time away from school.
I have learned over the past three years, that by taking some
time to remind myself of why I want to be a veterinarian and how
important it is to me, I am much more productive and determined in
my school work when I return to it. It is easy to be bogged down
with the details, specifics, obligations, meetings, and exams.
Radiology, Parasitology, Immunology, Pathology, Pharmacology,
Toxicology, Physiology and the list goes on and on….can easily
overwhelm you if you let it. For me, it is best to take a day
or two, put the books aside and remind myself of why I should press
on. Spending the Thanksgiving weekend at home with family, friends,
and my horses (of course!) was just the rejuvenation I needed to
help me get through finals.
As I only have one semester left before fourth year begins, I
have been much more mindful of taking advantage of the breaks that
we are given this year. I plan on studying diligently and finishing
the final two weeks of this semester with a bang, and then enjoying
every moment of Christmas break.
It is hard for me to believe how fast this semester has flown
by. Each year has gone by quickly, but they have never seemed to
pass as fast as this one. It is both exciting and terrifying
to think that in 18 months I will be graduating from veterinary
school. It is becoming very real to us as we have already had to
select our vacation and externship dates. We are already making the
plans for our last year of school!
I cannot wait to begin my fourth year. Although it is a twelve
month year, it is spent on two week rotations working in different
services. Because I will be taking a large animal track, I will be
spending the majority of my time in the large animal clinic. I am
most excited about the equine rotations that I will be assigned,
and I am hoping that the Advanced Food Animal Medicine course I
will be taking next semester will help prepare me for those
rotations that I will be spending in the other half of the large
animal clinic.
The next year holds some extremely exciting experiences. As I
look back over the past two and a half years, it is hard to believe
how far I've come. I pray that in December of 2013 I will be saying
the same thing.