one more day

Until a 3 day weekend... full of studying :(. This week has gone pretty good.  Had a pop quiz in anatomy on Monday which I did decent on, but definitely learned how specific you have to be when describing something. To make more sense our professor said if there is an arrow pointing to a structure you must describe it so well that if someone else read your description they would be able to place the arrow in the same exact place. Not as easy as it sounds. We have an 'assignment' tomorrow in anatomy which is pretty much a quiz. It shouldn't be too bad, but I should be studying right now.
Had a physiology quiz today that a did pretty good on,  too. I studied really hard for this one and it ended up being 10 times easier than the first. We had an extra credit quiz in histology on Tuesday which I felt good about. Had a couple questions, but I think I've already cleared them up.  We have a real quiz on Tuesday in histology that is going to cover epithelial tissues and connective tissues. I think I have epithelial, but connective I really need to study. Next Thursday we have our first test and it is in anatomy. A little nervous about it, but it you get to work with an assigned partner, so hopefully 2 brains are better than one.
Off to reinforce which ones are tubers, tubercles, tuberositys, and trochanters.... oh anatomy!

uhhh...

No title because brain too full. First full week of classes is complete and I am full of a lot more dismal adjectives to describe vet school than I was last Friday.  It can't even be compared to under grad. As much as I love to learn it is ridiculous that amount of studying done by vet students. I am definitely feeling the sting of not having been in a school environment for several years. I have yet to even watch a full tv program this week. I don't think I probably need to study as much as I have been, but I don't want to get out of the habit.

We had the club fair on Thursday and I think I am going to join equine, bovine, canine, and therio. Depending on how the canine goes, it may or may not last long on my list.

So far I have had all my classes except phys 2 which we will add in a couple weeks. I think I am a very visual learner and anatomy and histology are going to come easier to me than physiology. I didn't do too excellent on the first quiz and the main reason is that I rushed through it and made stupid mistakes. I felt I knew the information well, but I didn't read the fine print. I need to force my self to slow done and focus especially on the questions that are a paragraph long and require you to apply your knowledge rather than regurgitate info.

Tomorrow I plan on going up to the school in the morning to reinforce the anatomy bones of the forearm and maybe work on a better way to organize my physiology notes. I have been really trying to stay on top of my physical fitness, too. One of the doctors I worked with said when she had a good fitness regimen in school she was able to learn and retain info more easily so I have been getting on the treadmill in the mornings before class and going through some notes. Hopefully I won't be a whale by the end of the 4 years. Better not procrastinate my 'fun' filled weekend any longer...

I'm a survivor

Of the first 3 days, anyway. Nothing too exciting has happened yet,  but we have our first quiz tomorrow in physiology so then might be a better indicator of how everything is going. I have tried to get in about 5 hours of studying in a day. We haven't had much new information so I have been just reviewing lecture notes and going through study guides. While none of the concepts are too foreign, it has been a while since I've had it in undergrad so i am very happy to get this review.

Last night hills put on a dinner at hideaway pizza to learn about their company. It was nice to go out and interact with other first years outside the school. Tomorrow purina is providing chick fil a for a lunch and learn. Yay for more free food! They also have a position opening in the spring as their junior rep that I would be interested in. I'm not sure how competitive it is so hopefully tomorrow they will discuss it some more.  Tomorrow evening they are having a club fair. There are a ton of clubs I want to join, but as always,  time and money are concerns. Well, better get back to studying Physiology and do some reading for anatomy.

Freedom

... for a few more hours anyway. Classes start at 10am tomorrow and I have prepared more now for the first day then I ever did in under grad. I skimmed through my syllabi, read some required reading for anatomy and worked on my directional terms, and even went through all the powerpoints that were already posted. I got a Samsung Note tablet so hopefully I can take all my notes on it and not have a ton of paper overtaking my entire house. I am not tech savvy at all so it takes me forever to do anything with it though.

Yesterday I went to one of my good friend's bachelorette(sp?) party at my home town where I got a pedicure (bye bye last few dollars in my bank account). We all then went out to McNellies, an Irish pub in Tulsa. It was nice to see some old friends and I'm excited that I'll get to again in a month for the wedding.

Today my husband (I really need to name him something simpler than that) and I went over to Mulhall where his parents live and had lunch with them for his Mom's birthday. I am really lucky that I have the best in-laws. They have been super supportive through our whole relationship. On our way home, I stopped in Stillwater and met my 2nd year buddy and picked up old tests and stuff. She seems nice and will probably be a helpful resource in the future. Her biggest piece of advice was to get help the moment you know you are struggling with a class or concept. It happens to everyone and if you wait too long, it will make your life much harder.

Spending my last fews hours watching tv and surfing the interwebs before I will feel like I am just procrastinating instead of studying!

It was nice to meet you

Well, here goes nothing. I am starting vet school on Monday and like many other vet students I figured I would start a blog. I know, exciting, right!? There were a few reasons I wanted to do this: keep record of how much I hated loved vet school, for family and friends that want to know why I disappeared for 4 years, but mostly for the people who aspire to be vets one day. When I was struggling to decide what to do for the rest of my life I came across a few blogs that really influence and pushed me to follow the path that took me where I am today.

A few things about me... I am a non-traditional student, meaning I didn't go straight to vet school after ungrad. I am married, have 3 dogs, 2 horses, and live out in the middle of nowhere on a cattle ranch that my husband works for. I was born and raised in Oklahoma and have lived here all but about 10 months, when I moved to Kansas to be with the hubby after under grad while he worked as an assistant manager at a feed yard. I plan on being a mixed animal practitioner if once I graduate.

So far, we have had 2 days of team building orientation and a white coat ceremony. Classes this semester will include anatomy, histology, Physiology 1 & 2, Zoo technology, and Jurisprudence & ethics.  People keep asking if I am excited, and I say yes because that seems like the right answer. Truthfully I am mostly scared that I won't make it for 2 seconds. Apparently this is called imposter syndrome and almost everyone feels it after the initial excited 5 minutes when you receive that acceptance letter.

Well, I can't promise this to be the most eloquent, witty blog, or that I will be able to post updates every day, but I still hope it helps someone.  If anyone has any questions or comments, don't hesitate.
Oh and it was nice to meet you!