The night before my first day of optometry school…

All summer I have been looking forward to this date, and now that it is finally here, the feelings I have are very back and forth. Similar to waves crashing into a shore and retreating back into the ocean, maybe even more intense. It feels familiar, as this is my 5th “first day of school” at THE Ohio State University, but still foreign to me since I have no idea what to expect in the life of a graduate student. I’m excited to meet all my classmates and learn from the excellent faculty, but still nervous about the workload and how it’ll affect my mental health (despite how many times I tell myself I AM CAPABLE). I am eager and hungry to become the best optometrist I can be, yet full from the falafel I just had for dinner (oops not related, but still true). 

12 hours later…

I’ve just finished my first couple lectures. I have been very captivated with Dr. Chandler’s overview of ocular anatomy, and enjoyed getting to know more about Dean Zadnik and how she will prepare us for our careers. A comforting feeling is that I am going through this with everyone else. We are all nervous and unsure of what to expect, but that’s okay. Today I am only feeling confident that I will succeed, and with the help of the excellent faculty, student advisors, and my fellow classmates, I know I will be able to get through this. Just like the peaks and troughs of ocean waves, there will be many highs and lows throughout the semester and it’ll be on me to manage them appropriately. But for now, I’m gonna keep on riding the peak of this wave for the rest of the day (and more..)

To be continued..