Ready for School

Well, here we are.  One day to the start of Medical School.  I’ve been waiting my whole life (or most of it) for this day.  So it all is beginning to seem a little bit scarier. 

I know that I’m ready, but now I’m getting nervous!!  It’s an excited 

nervous…but still.  I don’t really like being anxious, and so I wish it was Friday already, because then all of those butterflies would be gone!

Either way, I have a few things to do still.  I would like to go to the library and check out a book to read in my (not so) free time, but I’m waiting for Mockingjay, the new Hunger Games book, to come out, which is next week!  It’s getting mailed to my house, but then my wonderful mother is going to mail it up here!! Yay!! I’m super excited!!

The other excitement in my life right now is my kitten.  He’s really, really cute.  And his name is Raphael.  Raphael the Archangel is the Patron Saint of Medicine, so I thought that was appropriate for the occasion.  Also, his nickname is now Raffy.  Which is also cute.  My brother initially wanted to name him Tiger Face Killer, or TFK, but I said no.  It was way to long and complicated.  But I’m sure that my goofy brother will still call him that.  Whatever.  It’s not his name. 

So I’ve got some new things in my life:  new school, new kitten and new roommate.  My roommate’s name is Ali and she seems really nice.  She just moved in Wednesday.  So her stuff is all over, like mine was a few days ago.  But either way, I’m glad to have a roommate.  I really don’t like living by myself.  In fact, I’ve never really enjoyed being by myself.  That was true even when I was finally okayed to do it by my parents.  I just like people, I always have.  Maybe eventually I’ll live by myself, but for now I’m happy to have a roommate. 

We finally got our class schedules and syllabi.  Everything is going to be so intense.  Most weeks I have two or more tests, and if not I at least have a quiz.  Everyday we have anatomy, biochemistry and histology, whether it is in class or lab form.  It appears that three times a week we have OTM lab, which of course my mother is the most excited about, because she wants her back aligned and such.  I told her it’s going to be a while before I can do that, but she’s ready and willing to wait.  But anyway, we have like 21 hours of class per semester.  KCOM has more credit hours than any medical school in the United States.  So I guess even though I’m going to be super busy I’ll learn extra? 

I’m enjoying tonight and tomorrow night though.  These are my last holdouts before I’ve got to go back to the real world.  Honestly, I’ve had nothing but time since I graduated, but it feels like the seven months went so quickly!  Since I’ve been up in Kirksville though, I’ve watched a couple of my favorite movies and just been relaxing and trying to get my room together, which is almost finished.  I just need to hang some pictures up and I’ll be finished!! 

It’s time to sign off though.  I’m currently watching Cinderella, the Disney one, and my favorite part is coming up.  (The part where Cinderella gets her old rags turned into a beautiful gown.)

“No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish, will come true.” 

Apparently it is August 11th.

Well well well.  Today I just realized that it's August 11th.  And that I move on 14th.  At the latest.  

Then I had this realization while I was driving that I'm going to really have to be an adult in a week and a half.  Eek!  I also haven't taken a test in a few weeks.  Or months.  I have done some random studying here and there, but all in all I'm out of the school mindset.  However, I do think this is going to be a good thing in the long run.  My mind is completely rested and I'm actually caught up on sleep so I think that I'm just going to jump gung-ho into med school.  Where I'm going to have to study.  A lot.

The other thing that I've been thinking about is how nervous I am!  I mean from reading on our facebook group a lot of my classmates have experience as EMT's, Medical Assistants, etc.  I have hospital experience, but I can't start an IV or anything like that.  I'm sure that there will be other people who have little or no experience, but I hate to start out behind everyone else.  But, I've decided that I'm going to just go in with an open and optimistic mind and that I'll get through no problem.  And I'm sure that the school is prepared for people who have no experience, I mean isn't that the point of our training and paying lots of money to go to school?

Despite my jitters and nerves though, I know that I have support coming from all over.  I really have a great family and great friends, so I'll definitely be watched over.  And I am truly thankful for that.  I'm sure that these feelings are normal and I am also sure that I will be ready when school starts.  

Which is August 20th!

You gotta have heart!

Recently, I've been a little down in the dumps.  My family being here was a little overwhelming and I'm just trying to get through work.  (I only have a few weeks left!) 

I'm thinking that going away again will help some of this out.  I love my parents, but after having to mostly rely on them for the first few months of the year and then still being home since then, I'm ready to move back to school.  

I also had to cut back on my exercise regiment a little bit.  After gradually starting to increase my lap numbers/strength training in the pool, I noticed that my ankle was giving me some grief.  After some intense motrin regimentation we've come to the conclusion that I probably tweaked some ligament or tendon in the ankle, and since I do not (physically) remember how my foot should feel anymore, this is not surprising.  Apparently my exercise really does help me.  It not only was/is keeping me healthy, but it does that little thing known as giving endorphins.  They really do help!  I promise!

Here's my plan for the next few days:

1)  Re-start swimming and get ankle to feeling better.

2)  Get together a final "here's what I need for school" list.

3)  Get room clean again.

I think that these things can definitely be managed.  I think that I just forgot that I "gotta have heart."  And I'm positive that they will help me!  I just need to smile.

Smile, though your heart is aching,

Smile, even though it's breaking.

When there are clouds in the sky-

You'll get by.

If you smile through your fear and sorrow,

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun come shining through

For you.

Light up your face with gladness,

Hide every trace of sadness.

Although a tear may be ever so near,

That's the time you must keep on trying,

Smile, what's the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile,

If you just smile

~Charlie Chaplin

Waiting for life.

It's been a while since I've updated this dealio.  So here we go.

The family came and went.  That was a crazy week and a half.  You know that saying "It's great to see the cousins go, but it's better to see the family leave?"  Well, I'm not sure that it's entirely true, but I think there's a point to that.  For ten days we had a variety of people in and out of our house.  Which was fun.  Of course we ate horribly for the whole week, which was not so fun.  But, I did get to see my youngest cousin (he's 8) who I haven't seen in a few years, and it's neat to see him now, because he's like a real little person.  And he's as sharp as a knife, which made him very whitty and entertaining.

Beyond actually seeing them, we did get to do some fun things.  We had the actual reunion, which was crazy.  It also taught me how important my dental hygiene is, as many of my family are missing teeth.  We also went shopping, to see that new Twilight movie and bowling.  It was a lot of craziness.  Oh and we had Ted Drewes' pretty much every night.  That's not healthy.

After the family left I've just kind of been relaxing around St. Louis.  I'm working, but I kind of have been giving away shifts left and right, because I hate my job right now.  Actually, I think I've mentionned this before...but it's most of the people, not the job.  I enjoy most of the patients and most of the work.  The idiots who don't know what they're doing and complain about little things like lunch time or why they have to work in a certain location are the ones that I hate.  There will be people that I miss.  And I'm going to visit them.  The others, not so much.

I'm very much ready for school right now.  I've been hitting up my Netter's Anatomy and Physiology Flashcards hard recently, and I'm getting more and more excited about starting school.  I was with one of my friends last night who is going to school with me in the fall and we both had the same conclusion:  that school needs to start soon.  I like being home and doing nothing/slaving away at my workplace, but I'm ready to start up again, and I guess it'll be a little bit like being an adult.  We were talking about how busy we are going to be and how we aren't going to get any sleep.  However, I've decided that I'm ready.  I often do well on little sleep.  So medical school, Bring It.

That's pretty much it right now.   I'm just biding my time.  I've got a little bit of shopping to do here and there, but other than that, I'm just waiting.  Waiting for school, waiting to move out and waiting for life to begin.

Schlueters

Well.  I've got family coming in starting tomorrow.  

We're having the big old family reunion on Saturday.  I mean there's going to be 80+ people there, most of whom I do not know.  This should be interesting.  And the heat's not going to help.

My mom's one of six and is the 27th of 28 cousins.  Wow.  Her oldest cousin is 71 and has great-grandchildren.  So one can see that the numbers are big.  And what's scary is that we all look alike.  So I guess if one was to come by Pavilion 2 in Forest Park on Saturday, you'd be able to see my scary cult-like family.  But I would definitely advise against it.

The other fun to add to the situation is that there will be at one point or another, an extra 9 people in my house.  That's a lot of extra people.  My mom recently bought a new bed, for my room when I'm gone, and she's just going to set it up in the front room.  No big.  I'd be scared to sleep up there anyways.  

So, I hope that I don't get overstimulated or anything.  Here's to family.

I promised...

Here's some cool photos from my summer galavantings!

Here's me with my favorite ride from Cedar Point...it was awesome.

Standing in a glass box 1030 ft. in the the air.  No big deal.  (In the Sears Tower)

Oh and the view straight down.

The Shedd Aquarium.

This Walrus guy was really cute.

As was this little sea turtle.

See?  I told you all that I've had fun this summer...even if it doesn't happen at work!

Water Your Mind

AND READ!

Summer reading.

The St. Louis County Library has a new summer reading program.  It's something about how we should grow with reading so we need to water our minds.  Or maybe that's the other way around.  But, needless to say I'm doing it because I love the summer reading program.  If you read 10 books you get entered into a drawing for free stuff.  How cool is that?  Especially since I love reading.  

So far I've read two new books and re-read one.  The new books are The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen and Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  The latter of the two was really good, but a sad one.  The first one was good but left a lot to be desired.  The book that I re-read was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Obviously that's a good book.  In fact, most teen fiction geared at younger teens is great (i.e. The HARRY POTTER series).  Not that I like that one.

The current book I'm reading is entitled Say You're One of Them, which is a collection of short stories, based in Africa, put together by Akpan Uwem.  It's hard to get through because it is so sad.

Finally, I'm waiting for a book called The Magicians.  I'm just going to link it so that anyone who wants can look at it.  I'm very excited.

Reading is one of my favorite pasttimes because it allows me to have an outlet into other worlds.  Which is pretty great.