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It's been a tough journey thus far. There were days D1 year, when I would come home, lay on the ground in my living room, and cry. The first year of dental school is unlike anything I've ever experienced, and there's no good way to really understand it unless you've done it or are going through it. The only solace of first year is the knowledge that your dental school friends/family are suffering as much as you are, and the reminder that every dentist before you has gone through the same hell. Depending on who you talk to, D2 year is just more of the same. Lucky for me, second year was not terrible. Yes, there was a ton of lab work and still quizzes/exams/etc, but it was so much more manageable. When the clock stuck 5PM, I got to go home, and on the weekends, I even got to have some fun (I mean, I was able to adopt a dog and start planning a wedding second year)! Like I said before though, I was kind of lucky- I was never behind on lab work, and an average of 2 quizzes/exams/etc was a lot easier to budget time for than the never ending stream of studying required for first year.
My parents and I during "Family Day" first year. So grateful for their love and support during dental school and the many years before, while I was working towards my dream of one day attending BCD.
To try and put dental school into perspective for any non-dental readers, there's an analogy floating around the halls of Baylor that dental school is like learning to jump through hoops; the first year it's a hoop of fire, second year it's a hoop covered in barbed wire, third year there's another dangerous hoop, followed by yet another (for posterity's sake, I'm sure) for fourth year. Somehow though, we all end up safely on the other side, degree in hand, ready to add those three little letters to the end of our names, and our wounds fading to scars. Poetic, isn't it?
Unlike last summer, which despite doing summer research was pretty lazy, there's not really a summer break between 2nd and 3rd year. Jokingly referred to as "sophomore summer" by the clinic faculty, this summer comes complete with both summer classes (exams included) and patients (with "on-the-job" training on how the clinic runs and how to work the school's computer system). Its seems to be going pretty fast though; we're already on the 3rd of the 6 week summer school program! Truthfully though, it hadn't been that busy until yesterday. Monday was one of those go-go-go days; I had class for 2 hrs in the morning, followed by back-to-back patients at 10AM and 1PM (to make matters worse, the 1PM patient was a surprise when I checked my schedule at 1:10PM after cleaning up from my morning patient), which meant I didn't get home until 5:30PM after doing some lab work. Not only did I not get to eat lunch, but I didn't get to pee until my second patient left- my poor bladder! Even though I was at school the same amount of time I am during the normal school year, running around clinic and interacting with patients is a lot more exhausting than sitting on your butt in a lecture hall.
D2 year, among other things, K and I found time to carve pumpkins (or a watermelon in his case), go to the State Fair of Texas, and attend Holiday Gala (aka Dental Prom)
This summer isn't all bad. Baylor does give us a 2 week break after finals before summer clinic starts and 4 more weeks after it ends before school starts in August. And really, it's much appreciated! The first 2 week break has long come and gone, but I did fill that time with a visit to my old high school to give a 2 hour presentation to the clinical rotations classes on how to apply to dental school and what life is like once you're in it (I promise I was upfront about how first year makes you question why you wished such torture on yourself. Regardless, those kids won't truly get it unless they all go to dental school). There was even enough time for K and I to make our way around the LA/Burbank area to not only tour venues, but to even put down money to reserve one! Our official wedding date is now Friday, May 30, 2014. Everyone should request off from work and start saving money now!!!
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Lucas on their recent nuptials!
As a woman in the middle of planning her own wedding, I don't want to sound biased, but weddings are a lot of fun! This past weekend, K, 3 of our friends, and I all piled into K's Toyota Corolla and headed up to OKC for our college friend's wedding (FYI weddings are a totally different experience when you're planning one!). It was a short 24 hour stay, but we loved seeing people we hadn't seen in awhile, and the chance to eat, drink, and dance the night away! Sunday morning before we headed back to Dallas, we made a point to go to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It was a very somber way to end a joyous weekend, but it was very moving. I have vivid memories of the news showing the building after the explosion, and firefighters carrying a young African American child from the blast zone as she cried and blood ran down her face. Despite that, I almost feel that the visit was more powerful to K and our friends since none of them grew up in Texas or the surrounding states, and were therefore not as familiar with the bombing as I am.
On a lighter note, with only 3 more weeks of summer clinic left, K and I will be headed to New Orleans towards the end of July for a mini-vacation, and then back out to California the first week of August for his cousin's wedding. I guess wedding season really has arrived!
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