Celebrating the Small Things
Veterinary school is tough, but it is so worth it. The best part of school is getting to finally learn about what you have wanted to learn about for so long—veterinary medicine. When you can look at what you are learning and then apply it to something you have seen when you have shadowed or worked previously, it makes class so much fun.
After so many days of class and lab, though, vet school also can be exhausting. It is hard to maintain that same excitement you had during orientation; you forget to look at the things you are learning and see a clinical application. Instead, you see another topic to study before your first test.
One thing that I have learned from this year, my first in vet school, is to celebrate the small things. There are so many times when I wish that I had gotten a better grade on a test or that I had more time to sleep, but when I walk into school everyday and remind myself that I get to go to vet school, I have such a different outlook on the day; I remember that I want to be here and that this is getting me so much closer to getting into practice and seeing everything in person that I am currently learning.
When you look at your day, there are many small things to celebrate. Some of my favorite things are when we get out of class five minutes early or when it is a beautiful day outside and we get to sit in the courtyard for lunch. Another great day is when we don’t have to wear closed-toed shoes. Even getting the clicker questions right in class is something to celebrate.
I think my favorite thing to celebrate is when I get to the parking lot at the same time as my friends so we get to walk the eight minutes from our cars to the school together. It is so fun to see a friendly face before I even walk into the building, and it gives me time to hear about their lives or swap funny stories from the night before.
Celebrating the small things has helped me find vet school really enjoyable. There are late nights studying and difficult tests, but they are all worth it for the learning opportunities that I have. And that is the greatest thing of all to celebrate—I have wonderful learning opportunities because I am now in vet school, a place I have wanted to be my whole life.