I’m at the point in vet school where I’ve realized that my life is very, very different from the way it was before vet school. How did I realize this, you ask?
Well, the first time I realized that although I’ve lived in Davis for 2.5 months, I’ve only gone food shopping 3 times. (Keep in mind I cook and bake a LOT!) The last two times I went food shopping I went 3 weeks between shopping trips. This week wasn’t looking good for food shopping, and I had to make the decision to forego studying for a test during a free 3-hour block in the afternoon to go food shopping. Of course now that I have fresh food in my fridge, I must now find the time to cook. Fortunately cooking is a bit of a stress reliever for me, so I look forward to that.
I am also a person who really values sleep. Not that I expect to get 8+ hours a day, but I’d like to get between 6 and 8. With that in mind, I have to decide every night whether I want to study more, or get some sleep. Most nights I value the increase in mental functioning that I will get from a few extra hours of sleep, so I forego studying.
Keeping in touch with friends and family is also becoming more difficult. People who are online regularly or on facebook are easier to keep in touch with, but I really enjoy chatting with people for good chunk of time and that is what is becoming more difficult. It makes me feel horrible that I rarely get to use my phone to catch up with people (thank you AT&T for rollover minutes!) other than quick texts here and there.
Although my life is becoming more hectic and I just want a few hours to catch up on chores and stuff that I am struggling to squeeze in, I am still managing to fit in healthy habits such as rock climbing & bouldering regularly (and I’m getting other vet students into it too), post-exam movie nights, potlucks, etc.
Now I’m in the middle of being slammed by test after test after test: p-chem, anatomy, histology, epidemiology, anatomy, and then p-chem (again!). After that, I get to breathe a little and perhaps enjoy Thanksgiving.
I am determined to get my life structured better such that I can be able to fit in all of these things that I value without having to sacrifice too much.
Time really is too precious. Make the most of it, especially before you’re in the thick of things in vet school!