It's April 28, 2012. Yesterday, April 27th, the senior VMT students had their pinning and awards ceremony. The 2012 class of Veterinary Students graduated on Thursday. "Official" graduation isn't for another week or two. Graduation for me isn't even for another year, but I suppose all the hubbub surrounding the graduations at the vet. school has gotten me anxious over the next year.
But, it also makes me reflect back on the past year. This time in 2011, I was busy packing and preparing to leave Texas for MSU for the summer, not really wanting to go, but at the same time excited. It's really hard to believe that I've been in Mississippi for nearly a year, and when I look at where I was last year compared to now, it's really hard to believe how much I've learned in that time. I mean, I'm about to complete my first official academic year here in the VMT program. This time last year, I was finishing my volunteer time at the vet. clinic my family uses, and I didn't know then even 1/4 of what I know now! The summer semester was brutal in my eyes: it was ridiculously humid (something I wasn't used to), not to mention hot, AND it rained all the time! Add to this: a very irritating dorm roommate in Rice Hall, Rice Hall itself and dorm life in general, walking at least 2 miles each day for class beginning at 8 a.m., having to tackle trigonometry in a 5 week period, and being extremely homesick as well as out of place. The one thing I think that really helped me to not just give up and leave was having my sister so close: somewhere I could retreat if I needed to. But hey, look on the bright side: I'm pretty sure I lost several pounds that summer, and I got used to walking a lot without it bothering me! (Though I'm certain I gained all that weight back over the Christmas break...)
Then enter the fall semester. I only had a maximum of about 10 days at home in-between the summer and fall sessions, and had to be back for VMT orientation on the 15th. It's strange now to think back on orientation because I can't imagine not knowing my classmates! I didn't know anyone then, felt really out of place, and felt extremely overwhelmed with the expectations I was handed at orientation. Now, as I said, I can't hardly imagine not knowing my classmates like I do, and it's hard to believe the wealth of information I've gathered over the last academic year. It's funny: each new block of classes presented its own challenges, each block threatening to send me packing. Not saying that they were so hard I couldn't overcome them (Hey, I'm still here, right?), but that I felt like at the time that "one class" would be the one to send me home. (classes bolded were the ones I considered my hardest) The first semester saw radiology, animal handling, anatomy and physiology, food animal, small animal tech. skills, and terminology. Now, I don't even remember half of what I learned in classes like radiology because we dont' use radiology every day at the moment, but I still know more now then I knew prior to taking it...
Then came this semester: anatomical pathology, hematology, parasitology, clinical pathology, equine disease and management, animal science, intro. vet. med careers, pharmacology, and small animal. Oh yes, and art appreciation, which I only had to take online from NCTC because I found out MSU didn't accept my film appreciation class as my core fine arts course. Go figure! In all, I've taken 22 hours this spring semester, my heaviest load EVER in my college career. Now, there have only been 3 classes that were all semester, while the others were split up into blocks like before. But still, those classes take away from time you spend studying and completing assignments for other courses; time which I really wish I had! As soon as I submitted my final art appreciation assignment, I said to myself, "I hope I never see anything art related again", because I find art a drag. I've been more challenged this semester than ever before, and so far, I've done pretty well. There are projects and papers I didn't do as well on because I got to the point in the semester where I was trying to complete them, complete them well, but felt like I was running out of time to do so. I think even my art teacher realized that, because at the beginning of the semester, I told the class, "I'm only in this because I have to be. I'm taking 22 hours and this is one of them; I'm taking this course because it's cheaper through NCTC than it is at MSU." My art teacher made the comment on my final art paper: "I realize you only took this course to complete your academic requirements", i.e. "I realize that you didn't care about your assignments because it was a must-take course." Thankfully she was very lenient in grading things, and even though I don't like being a slacker, art appreciation wasn't one of those "Must do extremely well in" classes. I do have an A, which is all that matters I think.
Finals begin on Tuesday, and I'm very ready for them to be O-V-E-R! We only get a 4 day break (excluding the weekend) before our Maymester and summer classes start, but I'm going to take full advantage of that 4 day break! I have a list of things I've been wanting to do that I haven't had time to do since this semester started, so I'm looking forward to it very much!
