Ah, yes, midterms. Anna wrote about them last week before
they truly began, so now that they are over and I've had a weekend
to reflect, here's what I learned (or what I knew but had
reinforced): my class is my family. I would not have survived
midterms (or first year) without my classmates to help me prepare,
get through and recover. They're there to listen when you need to
complain about studying, and to motivate you when things get
tough. Sure, I have my real family and my friends outside of
vet school, but they can only help up to a point. Not to
mention that my non-vet friends and family don't necessarily want
to hear about the pig parasites I have to study or how difficult
the dissection was this week. The 130 people I see everyday
know exactly what I'm going through because they're going through
it too.
It's not even just the emotional support that this incredible
network provides. Many of my awesome classmates send out
reviews and charts that are indescribably helpful, especially when
it's the weekend before midterms and you start to have a panic
attack because you're looking at the stack of lecture notes you
haven't even looked at and you start thinking, "Oh my God, how am I
going to get through all these study questions and make flash cards
and have time to actually study it?!" And then you check your
email and some kind, well-prepared soul has sent the class an
outline to the notes or a link to online flash cards. Because
we are all in this together, everyone is willing to help out,
whether it's explaining a difficult concept to a study partner or
simply reminding someone the homework's due tomorrow.
Then there are the third-years who, like older siblings that
have already seen it all, take pity on us. They send us
their notes and charts from the year before. They give us
advice about what to study most and what the tests will be
like. They even brought us coffee the morning of our last
midterm.
And finally midterms are over and who do you celebrate
with? Your classmates. You sigh one huge, unanimous
sigh and know that you survived. It's a pretty unique feeling
to share the same goals and the same daily life with 130 different
people. We spend so much time together and have so much in
common that bonding is inevitable. It's nice to know
that when I'm stressed out from school, there's a lecture hall full
of people who understand and who can make me see the bright
side.