It will all be worth it… In 2 years and 6 months!!!

If you haven't noticed yet, I am obsessed with my Ohio State Buckeyes. Therefore, can you take a guess on which lenses are mine?  When buying our equipment we had the chance to customize our BIO (Binocular Indirect Lenses) Lenses. Most people put their name or initials while I chose Scarlet, Gray, and Black Lenses that say Go Buckeyes!

If you haven’t noticed yet, I am obsessed with my Ohio State Buckeyes. Therefore, can you take a guess on which lenses are mine?
When buying our equipment we had the chance to customize our BIO (Binocular Indirect Lenses) Lenses. Most people put their name or initials while I chose Scarlet, Gray, and Black Lenses that say Go Buckeyes!

I can’t believe that yet another month has gone by, but that just means that in exactly 2 years and 6 months from this moment I will be walking through the Horseshoe with my family (AKA Class of 2017) wearing our Seafoam Green Robes and Doctorate Hoods. This is crazy to think about how fast the past year has gone and how much that we have learned. This semester has continued on with many tests and practicals, but has been manageable. It has been pretty amazing to learn and practice our new techniques on each other yet sort of scary to think that in less than 8 weeks we will be giving our first full eye exam on our family and friends.

The past month has been quite the whirlwind like I said in my last post but has been a great one none-the-less. At the beginning of the month I traveled with many other Students from the College to the Ohio Optometric Association’s annual meeting known as East/West Eye Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. At this conference I got to interact with Doctors from all over Ohio and had the opportunity to make some pretty important connections for the future. The evening event was pretty amazing as they opened up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the Conference and a band of Optometrists known as the “Bad Habits” played as the entertainment. Overall the conference was yet another one of the many great opportunities that I have taken advantage of so far in Optometry to network and expand my knowledge base about the field.

Then on October 19th myself along with four of my classmates ran the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Half Marathon, with two of my classmates running the Full Marathon (Congratulations to my roommate Nicole Wenman who ran the full AND qualified for the Boston Marathon). So this goes to show you that you do have a life outside of Optometry School. Although we are so busy, it is very important to take time for yourself to relax and have fun. Some people call me crazy but I have found running to be a great stress reliever. Running works very well for me to clear my mind and then get back to studying but every person is completely different. One of the questions that I get asked most often is how I manage my time between the classes, the labs, being involved in nearly every club, holding many leadership positions in the clubs, and oh… having my own dog. My answer is that, is that it all sounds daunting but it is very doable at the same time. You have to become a master of time management. I personally keep every little meeting in my phone… basically if it isn’t on my calendar in my phone, I won’t be there. I have also become very good at getting my work done when I need too. I like to hang out with my friends and have fun on the weekends but to do this I have to really stay focused and get a lot of studying done during the week. And well with my dog, his name is Macula (which is a part of your eye J) but he is the greatest stress reliever that I have and I do not know what I would do without him. I live very close to the school which is convenient to be able to run home and let him out and play a few rounds of fetch if I have time. His favorite thing to do is curl up next to me while I study my notes which works out perfectly. And I do live with three other 2nd years in Optometry school which all treat Mac like their own and help me out with him, which I am forever grateful for.

So overall, my advice for this post is that although it does sounds overwhelming it is all doable. It is important to work hard and stay focused but you do need to take some time to yourself to relax and have fun. We often have to remind each other that our hard work will all pay off and be completely worth it…. In exactly 2 years and 6 months!!!!!

Goooo BuckEYES!! Beat Michigan State!

This picture was actually from the College of Optometry 100th Anniversary Celebration. We got all dressed up and even Macula put on his bow tie for our picture. I live with three other 2nd year Optometry Students, Corrie, Nicole, and Val.

This picture was actually from the College of Optometry’s 100th Anniversary Celebration. We got all dressed up and even Macula put on his bow tie for our picture. I live with three other 2nd year Optometry Students: Corrie, Nicole, and Val.