After a week's worth of thoroughly thorough finals, I can
happily exclaim that it's Christmas break! This is always a much
needed vacation with all vet students because it allows us time to
refocus our minds and metabolize all the caffeine we consumed
during finals week. This break's to-do list (because even though
it's a break, there are always things to do!) consists of setting
up externships for my fourth year, catching up on sleep, working at
a mixed practice back home, and spending some overdue time with my
family.
Even though it's only one semester away, the fact that I'm
preparing for fourth year stuns me. It seems like just yesterday I
was one of the first years slaving away in the anatomy lab, and now
I'm finding myself strategically planning when to take my
externships and vacations. My looming fourth year and my impending
graduation kind of scare me because I still have so many unanswered
questions. Where do I want to do my externships? Where do I want to
practice? Do I want to do an internship? And if so, do I do one in
academia or in private practice? Thank goodness I have a year and a
half left to make all of these decisions!
The volunteer work at the mixed practice back home has been
wonderful. As a third year, you start doing a lot more hands-on
activities, but being able to get first-hand experience in a
clinical setting is priceless. I love the fact that all the pieces
are starting to fall together. We had multiple cases come into the
clinic that I asked myself "What would I do in this situation?",
only to find that the doctors' actions closely mirrored the plan I
had in my head. There is still a lot I have to learn, but it's
refreshing to know I'm on the right track.
No break would be complete without some much needed family time.
Between the comical banter of my brothers to the stories my dad
always seems to tell around the holidays, my family has this innate
ability to help me decompress even after the most stressful of
semesters. Too bad the break only lasts a month…