The End of the Beginning

Well, it would seem that this crazy journey is coming to a close. In a mere 48 hours, I will receive my diploma and don for the first time the title of Doctor of Optometry. As such, it is only fitting for my final farewell to be a sincere expression of gratitude. So to all of you, from me, here goes.

To the professors who taught me along the way
To the classmates that allowed me a place in their ranks
To the friends who filled this road with laughter
To the reps with endless bowls and platters
To the attendings who honed my clinic skills
To the staff who kept our exam rooms filled
To the patients who trusted our shaking hands
To the kiddos I never saw – despite my plans
To the TBIs that pushed me to the field I face today
To the one who encouraged me to see life her way
To my favorite felines for cuddles at night
To my many housemates for keeping house life light
To my travel buddy mother for our cramped days in the car
To my academy companions who all traveled far
To the VA docs who weren’t afraid to show me my flaws
To my brave VA fellows who accepted me – quirks and all
To my southern family for a home, food, and fun
To my patient, calm father for our 27 hour cross country run
To my Fillmore family for making it home
To the beautiful mountains for places to roam
To the ones who wrote, who visited, who called
To the ones who believed, who encouraged, who calmed…

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have taught me, guided me, forgiven me, trusted me, encouraged me, molded me, and loved me. You have all played a role in shaping me into the young doctor that I am today, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Til we meet again,

Hannah

Little Lessons

April 14th, 2019.

As of today, it is a mere 3 weeks to the day until I walk across the stage in the Shoe and officially become a Doctor of Optometry. It still doesn’t feel real.

With the coming end of this season of my life however, it only feels fitting to share list of things that I have learned over the past 4 years (in relatively chronological order as to when I learned them). Here goes!

-What it’s like to live with 16 other people
-Google Maps does not help when you don’t know left vs right, nor will it take you home if you put in the wrong address
-How to comfortably live in a 9×11 room for a year
-How to sleep in a hammock
-First impressions, powerful though they are, aren’t everything.
-Just how important your first day seats are in determining the rest of your optometry school career
-Free food is amazing… but it’s also probably healthier to skip those free meals
-What it’s like to sit in the same room for 8 hours a day for an entire semester year
-Mom was right: you really should separate whites from colored clothes when doing laundry.
-How to “study” while jogging and dancing
-That sleep is more important than grades
-The necessity of stress relievers like baking and cleaning during finals week
-The importance of space heaters
-Not to try to fit 65 different activities into a 2 week Christmas break (it’ll drive your family crazy – I promise)
-That 24 credit hours/semester really isn’t that much if you remove your social life
-That you don’t have to remove your social life to pass those 24 credit hours
-To enjoy every day, regardless of if it’s your “last summer ever”
-Biking 100 miles for a good cause is more inspiring than exhausting
-But make sure you own bike shorts before trying it.
-Hands-on labs beat didactic work every day of the week.
-First year really isn’t the hardest year.
-Coffee will begin to mold when you let it sit.
-Training for half marathons is overrated. Running them is not.
-It’s better to learn skills right the first time, than try to be the first one out of clinic, but have sloppy skills.
-Seeing patients is loads of fun.
-Losing people you love is hard, but don’t believe loss is a burden you have to carry alone.
-It is possible, and even suggested, to run a mile between every lecture.
-On spring break, there’s no reason to sleep more than 4 hours a night. YOLO!
-Summer semester is miserable, but when you’re all in it together, somehow life isn’t so bad.
-Short escapes from the monotony of daily routines will rejuvenate the soul more than extended vacations.
-Exercise and the outdoors will always be a better stress reliever than alcohol.
-Your plans will change. Just relax and enjoy the adventure.
-It’s more important to invest a lot of time in the few people who will last a lifetime than to invest a little time in a lot of people who will only be around for a short season.
-Control is elusive and fleeting. Just when you think you’ve got it pinned down, it’ll disappear like smoke in the night.
-Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.
-Studying for boards is exhausting. Don’t start more than 3 months in advance.
-How to survive a mouse-pocalypse.
-Don’t be afraid to make your own way. Following the crowd is less important than trusting God and following your heart
-Don’t take a practice exam the night before boards.
-You can’t chew gum during boards. You can have cough drops.
-Most people in this world simply want to be heard – listen to them.
-Whoever thinks it’s better to be early than on-time must be less awkward than I.
-Don’t mistake charisma for character.
-It’s okay to admit when you don’t know.
-4th year is hands down the best year of optometry school.
-I desperately need someone greater than I in this life.
-If you are from Ohio and have the opportunity, GET OUT OF OHIO! There is no better time to experience a completely different culture than when it’s included in your education. You will be amazed at the wonders you see and the people you meet.
-Whoever said that NBEO studying should be summarized as 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days was completely right. Don’t overstudy – it’s not worth the burnout.
-People will tell you to your face that you failed. Take a breath and keep pushing on.
-Failures are the quickest, albeit most painful, way to learn.
-100 wrong ways to complete an exam
-You don’t have to do a residency to be a good doctor, regardless of what people may tell you.
-But residencies are amazing opportunities, so if you’re interested, give them a shot!
-Be yourself, wherever you go, in whatever you do. Putting on a facade for the sake of impressions will only serve to hurt you and everyone you come in contact with.
-Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams, but when you do, measure your dreams with the ruler of reality.
-Have a backup plan, or 6.
-New Mexico truly is the Land of Enchantment.
-Your voice is important, even if you’re that quiet kid in the back of every class. Don’t be afraid to speak, but in speaking, don’t lose sight of the value of silence.
-You will be afraid in life – it’s only natural – but don’t let the fears of tomorrow keep you from living today.

‘Til the next time,

Hannah

It’s Still Early in the Mountains!

Greetings from the Land of Enchantment!

So, somehow, despite my best intentions, it has once again been many moons since my last opt school update. In the last post, I was just beginning to adjust to life as a 4th year, and eagerly looking forward to my upcoming rotations and travels, and now, here I am – nearly halfway through my final rotation, and a mere two months from graduation. I know it’s a recurring theme in my posts, but time truly does fly. What have I been up to? Check it out!

August of 2018 began my last rotation in the Columbus area. For this, I jumped between clinics at the College of Optometry and clinics in the surrounding areas. Over these past months, I have realized the impossibility of determining a favorite rotation, as they are all so unique. On Mondays, I spent the day in a joint OD/MD practice getting as much exposure to ocular disease as I could. This was my first time really seeing any ocular disease, so I loved the opportunity to grow more comfortable in the diagnosis and treatment of various conditions. On Wednesday’s, I had the opportunity to be at The Ohio State School for the Blind in the mornings, and Twin Valley Behavioral health in the afternoons. Both places provided exceptionally unique experiences that I doubt I’ll ever be able to replicate. Finally, on Fridays, I worked with a well-known private practice optometrist in the Columbus area and gained more exposure to the ins and outs of owning a business. As much as I enjoyed my time here, however, come November, I was ready for a new adventure outside of the Columbus area. So, I packed my bags (and mom) into my little car and headed south to beautiful North Carolina.

Before beginning my rotation, however, it was only fitting to make good use of my allotted week of vacation, this time, in the form of a trip to San Antonio for the annual American Academy of Optometry meeting. For those of you who may not know about Academy, it’s a 4ish day conference full of continuing education lectures, presentations by vendors, and networking opportunities.) This was my first time in attendance at Academy, and it turned out to be a great experience – even if I’m not sure which I enjoyed more, the conference itself, or my explorations of San Antonio.. 🙂 After a whirlwind trip though, it was time to return to my new reality – life at the VA.

For me, VA life was a solid adjustment. While I was fortunate to be assigned to a location with free, on-campus housing, after living at the EYE house, I was unaccustomed to the silence that permeated the living quarters regardless of the hours. In addition, from the first day, we as externs were in charge of the complete care of 7-9 patients, many of whom had multiple ocular diseases. This was a significant change from life in Columbus where a crazy day might entail 3-5 healthy patients. I admittedly went home from clinic may nights overwhelmed and discouraged, feeling that I would never be able to reach the standards that the attendings held for me. After time, boards, and a few understanding conversations with close friends, however, I came to appreciate life at the hospital. Through countless failures, I began to realize the importance of challenges to promote growth – as an individual and clinician alike. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the veterans and loved learning from the doctors who I was working with. And so, despite my early frustrations, I was surprisingly sad to see my time at the clinic come to an end in late January.

This sorrow, however, was short-lived.

Anyone who knows me can probably attest to my ridiculous energy and general love of adventure. From this point, it should come as no surprise then that I was eager to hop in the car with my faithful travel guide (thanks, Dad!) and begin my first official (27+ hour) cross-country road-trip.

It. Was. Amazing.

No, there aren’t pictures, because when I wasn’t driving, it was too dark to get pictures of the scenery. However, I may have been reminded a few (dozen) times to keep my eyes on the road instead of the scenery around me. I was captivated. Every new state held new wonders – from the bayous and swamps of Louisiana, to the ranches, deserts, mesas, and mountains of Texas. I loved it all.

Eventually, after 4 days on the road (and a residency interview along the way), we made it to the Land of Enchantment, just for me to fall in love once more – with my house, my town, my coworkers and job, and, of course, all of the unbelievable scenery around me.

I may never leave.

But that’s a decision for another day. Until then, I’ll keep enjoying this crazy awesome life that I am blessed to be living. Hope y’all do the same!

‘Til the next time

-Hannah

4th Year is Here!

Greetings from the other side of finals and life as a fourth year! Today’s blog is brought to you by coffee and summer rains, in the ever popular interview format. So, find a lounge chair, kick off your flip-flops, and enjoy yet another update from The Ohio State University College of Optometry!

(Interviewer, aka Kuu*): Hello all, and welcome to A Day in the Life of an Optometry Student! Joining us today is Hannah, back from her third-year tour, and ready to share all about the happenings of 4th year! Hannah, how are you?!

(H): I’m doing great, Kuu! Thank you so much for having me back!

(K): It’s great to have you with us today. So, tell me, where are you now?

(H): Well, Kuu, right now I’m still in Columbus, on what’s considered my “in-in” rotation. With this, I, and about a quarter of the rest of the class of 2019, bounce around between 5 different clinics here at the college for 3 months.

(K): That sounds pretty exciting. How are you liking it so far?

(H): I honestly love it here. Being in-in first has been a great way to ease into daily clinic life, which I’ve definitely appreciated. Though I wouldn’t say clinic was necessarily a struggle for me in third year, it’s been nice to gradually work into a larger volume of patients and hone some of my weaker skills as I go, rather than being thrown in to see over 50 on my first day.

(K): Your approach definitely sounds less stressful. How did you come to be in-house first? And is that how you wanted it to be?

(H): So, around a year ago, I started thinking more about extern rotations. Though they’d been explained in various brief lectures over the years, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, or what was considered the “best” way to work externs. Naturally, I turned to my attendings for advice. One in particular suggested being in the Columbus area first, as it would be more conducive to housing (rather than having multiple short-term leases), would allow me to gradually wean off of attending dependence, and would foster the strongest clinic skills. In my own mind, I also realized that such a schedule would allow me to be in the Columbus area while it was warm, while hopefully being placed far enough away on extern to escape the potential of another brutal winter. With all this in mind, I submitted my extern location and timing rankings mid-fall (through a process that will likely be changing dramatically this year, so I won’t go into any detail on it), and waited to hear back.

(K): It sounds like you put a lot of thought into your decision. And so, would you say it worked out as you had hoped? Do you indeed get to avoid another Ohio winter?

(H): So far, everything’s worked out great. It’s funny – I was so afraid of being disappointed by my placements that I refused to be the first person to look and see where I was going. I happened to be home for Thanksgiving when the extern email came out, and so I begged my older brother to look for me. After a few minutes of reading through the message and searching for my information, he assured me that I wouldn’t be disappointed, and announced to the family and I where I had been placed. Both extern locations were in my top 6 choices (aka, not in Ohio), and I was going to be in-house first. Admittedly, I was so thrilled by the news that I jumped out of my chair, screaming in excitement. It was a good night.

(K): I’m glad everything worked out for you. So, going back to current fourth year life, what do you enjoy most about it?

(H): That’s a tough question, Kuu. Honestly, I love most everything about fourth year life. Probably one of the biggest highlights though is not having to study (finally). Yes, we still have assignments for different rotations (like quizzes and case reports), and we are still in one business class with Dr. Wright, and there are some nights when I go home and look over different topics related to a patient that I saw during the day, but it’s totally different than the studying that we had to do before. After 3 long years, I can finally go home at night and not worry about finding time to study for an upcoming test, or review new information. I can largely learn in my own time, at my own pace, and focus more on the topics I’m interested in. It’s so much more relaxing.

(K): That sounds amazing. So, if you no longer need to spend long hours studying, what do you do with all your free time?

(H): It honestly varies quite a bit. Some nights, I admittedly don’t get out of clinic until 6:30 or so. On those nights, I can be pretty worn out, so I may just go home, make myself some dinner, and then just putter around doing odds and ends around the house until I’m too exhausted to function anymore. On the days that I get out earlier, I like trying to get a workout in, either by myself or with friends. When it’s nice, it can be awesome to go hiking at a metropark or go on a long bike ride to get out in nature. I’ve always loved yard work, so when there’s a break in the rain, I try to get out and work both at my house and at a family friend’s residence. Finally, on weekends, I head home pretty routinely to spend time with my parents and younger brother and help on the family farm.

(K): So you like to keep yourself pretty busy, it sounds? Do you get much vacation as a fourth year?

(H): Yes, I love to keep busy – so much so that last weekend, my dad compared my daily schedule to Tangled’s Rapunzel in the song When Will My Life Begin. Considering she’s my favorite Disney princess, I think that that may be one of my favorite compliments to date. As far as vacation time though, the short answer is no. Being in clinic is obviously what 4th year is all about, and so we are given a total of 5 days off in each in-house rotation (one Monday, Tuesday, etc). In theory, there can be some clinic swaps to modulate this schedule, but compared to previous years, it doesn’t feel like much.

(K): I can definitely understand that feeling. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the most of your vacations?

(H): Absolutely. My family rarely does the typical “family vacation” thing, so for me, it was all about using my days wisely and sporadically to allow for some form of a break almost every other week for the whole summer, rather than using all my days off at once. So, for instance, I took a random Thursday off to go hiking with a friend, and a random Wednesday to spend the day with my little brother. Mondays and Fridays I tried to make into long weekends, and then I chose to connect my Tuesday off with a holiday. Obviously this type of plan wouldn’t work for everyone, but I’ve been amazed at how much just a single day away can break up the monotony and give me more energy to finish out a week of clinic.

(K): Huh. I’d never thought of using vacation days that way. Good advice! Well, we’re running out of time for today, but before we go, is there any other opt-school advice you’d like to share with our audience?

(H): It sounds ridiculously cliche, but have fun and choose to make the most of wherever life finds you right now – whether that be a prospective student trying to plan details of the next 4-5 years, a first/second year enjoying the remaining days of your “last summer ever”, a third year counting down the days until summer semester is over at last, or a fourth year working to find some stability in the transition to full-time patient care. Life passes crazy fast – blink and you might miss all the wonderful things that this stage has to offer.

(K): True words indeed. Well, that’s all the time we have for today. Hannah, thank you so much for joining us! And friends, don’t forget to join us next time for another update from OSUCO’s A Day in the Life of an Optometry Student!

One More Trip Around the Sun…

Hi. Howdy. Hello.*

(*read: I have no idea how to start this post)

Somehow, much to my surprise, it has yet to have been a full year since my last blogging excursion. However, as another round of finals draws ever nearer and my desire to procrastinate studying grows ever stronger, I find myself again at my standing desk and keyboard, attempting to chronicle the life happenings of an optometry student at The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

As similar as this situation sounds though, this time it’s different.

Tomorrow is my last day of classes at OSUCO.
This week is my last set of finals.
The following week will mark my last days as a third year, and will be the last time that I see many of my classmates until graduation.

And while I won’t pretend to be particularly nostalgic regarding the times spent with the Class of 2019 or interested in reminiscing especially fond memories that we have shared, knowledge of these upcoming changes fosters a perfect opportunity to commence my biannual half-day of public life reflections. So, without further ado, let’s see where this journey of words may lead today.

*insert awkwardly long pause here*

Some days, it’s truly amazing how much (and how quickly) things can change. Coming in as a first year, I’ll admit that I really had no understanding of the eye. At all. You could’ve asked me what the cornea was, and I’m not even sure I would’ve been able to tell you that it was the front part of the eye.. Let alone that it has 5 layers. From there, I definitely couldn’t have told you anything about the retina, or vision, or…well, much of anything really. As a first year, life could be summed up by words and pictures – abstract representations of a 3D world. I guess in that light, it only makes sense that I blogged frequently, working to replicate my life to the world in the same way that the eye was replicated to me.

With the dawn of second year and the introduction of clinical techniques, everything began to change. What was once a mental construct suddenly began to take on a concrete form. Seemingly overnight, the words and pictures that I had come to rely on were no longer enough to create success in and out of the classroom. Rather, they were to be an augmentation of the practical skills that we as a class were fostering daily. Admittedly, this incomplete paradigm shift proved difficult for me, as I struggled to find a balance between abstractions and reality. Controlling this seesaw of expression became a constant task of minimalization, as I sought to decrease both weights in my life. In doing so, it is no wonder that for the past two years both socialization and communication have been kept to a minimum.

As fourth year rotations begin in a matter of weeks, however, the balance of life is again shifting. This coming year I have the opportunity to travel around not only the state, but also the country as I complete my final year of education before becoming an optometrist. At long last, clinical work will surpass didactic tasks, and the career that I have been working towards for the past 4 years will lie on the brink of reality.

If you can’t tell, I’m (just a lottle) excited.

And so, here’s to one more trip around the sun before this crazy journey’s done

-Hannah

A Letter to My First Year Self

So, it has successfully been nearly 10 months since my last Optometry school life update, and with the dawn of a new school year, I’ve found it to be the perfect time to sit back and reflect on the happenings of the past 2 years on this crazy journey toward my OD. Enjoy!

Dear First Year Hannah,

Holy cow – time has flown by since I was you. It seems like just yesterday that you moved to Columbus to start your new life, but somehow it’s already been two years. Right now, you’re excited, as well you should be. You’re about to embark on a crazy journey, where everything is new – the city, the people, even this career field that you’ve suddenly found yourself in. Every day is a new adventure, and it’s easy to fall in love with every new sight that you see. As the months and years go by, however, what was once brilliant and beautiful quickly can become commonplace and dull. Don’t lose sight of the mystery of life as you find yourself falling into the routines of graduate school. Remember, there is always beauty and wonder surrounding you, if only you slow down and open your eyes enough to see it.

You’re also a little bit scared, which is more than understandable in the face of so much change. You have no idea what to expect, and it’ll be easy for you to want to control everything in your life that you can. Resist the desire to control though, and remain yielded to the one who holds this world as surely as he holds your heart. He will never let you go.

During first year, you will begin a journey to find yourself in a new environment. You will become a blogger early on, relishing the opportunity to share your daily experiences with all those reading your words. You will attend countless meetings, primarily for the promise of free food, rather than the content of the speakers themselves. Try to listen to what they’re saying though, despite not understanding what a “Dk” is, or why it matters in contact for contact lens health – I promise it will all make sense one day.

You will grow tired of sitting in the basement day in and day out, and long for the days of patient care. Be studious during this time – the foundation that you’re building truly is important for the rest of your career. Don’t worry so much about grades though; you will survive your first A- and B+. Understanding the material is much more important than your ability to spit out random numbers on the right days.

You will eventually reach your one day of clinic every other week, and you will look up to the third years over you as optometry gods. While they have learned a lot, realize that they are humans too and really don’t have the world figured out. Trust me on this.

Finally, after one year of schooling, you will survive a second round of finals and a week of Keystone to receive your white coat. Be proud. You worked hard to get to this point, and once you’re past first year, you honestly won’t understand how you ever pushed yourself so hard for so long.

Summer will pass quickly. You will want to savor every moment of your “last summer ever”, which is wise indeed. Savor every moment. Don’t, however, resent returning to school so much though – there will be more chances to explore, if only you embrace them.

Second year, you will strive to push your body, just as you pushed your mind first year. You will bike your first century and run your first half marathon. As the time passes though, don’t forget to keep pushing yourself, mind and body. It truly is amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

During this time, you will finally begin to learn the clinic skills that you’ve so longed for. Initially, it will be hard. With time though, running a slit lamp with your left hand and seeing a reflex on retinoscopy will become less of a concern, and you’ll finally begin to start actually seeing the structures that you’re supposed to appreciate.

As a second year, you will begin to skip classes, less out of the necessity to cram before tests, and more as a conscious decision to spend the hours of your day differently. While this may not be a wise decision, it reflects your improved ability to grasp your own study style. It’s hard, but learn to use your time wisely. It’ll pay off in the end.

After a quick Christmas break, you will return to school, eager to see your first “patients” in clinic. You will be ecstatic when you somehow finish your first exam in just under two hours, instead of the expected 3. Take your time during these moments though, rather than rushing to beat the clock. The knowledge that you could gain is far superior to being the first one out of clinic.

All too quickly, spring semester will draw to a close and you will find yourself a third year. You will go into your first official clinic rotation feeling confident in your abilities, only to have that confidence come crashing down around you in the face of real PVC patients that haven’t been pre-screened for problems. In these times, you will question your place in Optometry school, wondering if you will ever feel at ease in the exam room. Giving up and throwing in the towel will cross your mind frequently. But don’t do it – don’t quit, Hannah. You’ve come too far to give up now. It’s okay that you don’t know everything. In fact, you’re not expected to. Just do your best, and learn from all the mistakes that you desperately wish you wouldn’t make. You will make it through.

During your summer semester, you will long to be out of the classroom like you have always been before. Every spare moment, you will look for excuses to explore Columbus and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, this mindset will all too easily take a toll on your grades. It will be hard, but try to remain engaged in your studies, despite longing for adventure. The material you’re learning is important, even if you don’t always see the applications.

Thirteen weeks, six finals, 100 miles, a short vacation, and about 25 patients later, fall semester will begin. Your schedule will be crazy, and you will dread it initially, but as you take one day at a time, you will find yourself enjoying your increased patient encounters. At long last, you will start to feel comfortable giving exams and being honest about what you don’t know, though somehow your exams will take longer than they ever have before. Just accept that you will be in clinic until 6:00 every night, and life will run smoother.

And this is where you find me today. Just two weeks into fall semester of third year, the reality of becoming a doctor in a mere two years is starting to hit, especially upon registering for part one of boards today. These past two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I have no doubt that the next two will do the same. Though I have no idea what the rest of our journey will entail, I can’t wait to continue this crazy adventure – it’s sure to be great!

Catch ya on the flippity,

Your Third Year Self

*Insert Clever Title Here*

I suppose it’s time for a second year update, yes?

To switch things up, this post will be following the ever popular interview format, featuring… Well, me.

*Ahem*

Interviewer: Hello folks, and welcome to another episode of Optometry Bloggers! Tonight, our special guest is a second year student at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Please join me in welcoming Hannah!

*applause*
(Fun side note – I almost typed applesauce there. This post may get out of control pretty quickly… Anyway.)

Hannah, how are you doing on this beautiful evening?

H: I’m doing great! Today was a balmy 80 degrees and sunny – unheard of weather for Ohio in November! Not to mention, it’s November 1st, and you know what that means.

I: You didn’t break out the Christmas music.

H: Indeed I did. There’s something perfect about sitting in a windowless room, wearing shorts, and studying Pharmacology to the sound of Michael Buble singing Christmas carols on the first day of November – I just couldn’t resist.

I: Well. That’s… interesting. Anyway, how are you liking your second year?

H: As a whole, I love second year. We are literally out of class by noon every day, which is such an improvement over first year. Plus, we get to spend at least 4 hours in pre-clinic every week learning how to actually perform an eye exam!

I: That definitely sounds exciting. For those of our readers who don’t know, what is pre-clinic?

H: More or less, pre-clinic is an entire floor of Fry Hall (I think…) that is set up with clinic-like exam rooms to allow second and third year students to practice the skills they’re learning in class on each other (before being released to the actual patient population). The best part? It’s open 24 hours a day, so we can literally practice any time – day or night.

I: Very cool. I bet that comes in especially handy when you’re preparing for proficiencies (practical/clinical skills test)?

H: For sure. It can be stressful in the days leading up to a proficiency, so it’s pretty common to find second years in the exam rooms before class, over lunch, and even late into the evening.

I: What would you say the most challenging part of second year has been so far?

H: That’s a bit of a toss up. Pharmacology is a pretty difficult class for me, just because it’s all memorization. And becoming proficient with skills can definitely take some work. Overall though, I think my biggest struggle is knowing how to most effectively balance my schedule. Though it’s defintitely a lot more free than last year, it’s still hard to find the right balance between studying, practicing skills, and just having fun.

I: That does sound like it could be difficult. Well, we’re running out of time for this evening, but before we go, what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen so far this year?

H: Hands down, it was viewing the retina with Fundoscopy for the first time. You can see pictures of the retina, but there are few things quite as awesome as seeing a retina with the depth provided by a binocular view. It’s absolutely amazing, and may have prompted my lab partner to exclaim, “You have the coolest retinas ever!!!” #dailyoddcompliment

I: Too cool. Well, I think that’s all we have time for today. Thank you guests for joining Hannah and I on another episode of Optometry Bloggers!

Catch y’all on the flippity!

-H

Annnd We’re Back!

Hello again lovely internet world, and welcome back to my blog!

After a fantastic three or so month hiatus, it looks like it’s again time to dust off my iPad and try to remember how this whole writing thing works. I apologize in advance for any lost trains of thought, crazy run on sentences, or excessive use of prepositional phrases. 🙂

In any case, as many of you know, this was my LAST SUMMER EVER.

Okay.. So that may be a bit dramatic. But, when looking into the face of 3 straight years of schooling, it really did seem like my last summer to just kick back and enjoy life without the pressure of school or the real world. So that’s what I did!

Well..sort of.

I realized soon after white coat that the “good life”, life without goals or a schedule, is actually really boring. So, rather than sit around bored all day, I did my best to fill this past summer with as many activities as possible. These ranged from working part time at an optometrist’s office, to helping my dad on the farm, to cooking and baking excessively, to spending the entire month of July traveling, to biking 100 miles in the Pelotonia (best. decision. ever.), to spending some much needed time simply enjoying the company of my friends and family.

It was absolutely amazing, and I hate to see it end.

But, in just 3(ish) short days, classes will begin again, and all of us OPT-II’s (yes, you read that right. OPT-2’s!!!!!) will finally start learning all of the techniques that we will need to see our first patients in JUST ONE SEMESTER.

I’m pretty excited.

And I hope y’all are too 🙂

Well, my last 3 days of freedom are calling me, and I must answer.

Catch ya on the flippity!

-Hannah

White Coat!!

Well guys, today’s the day when we do the thing.

What thing?

The one we first years have been waiting for since the day we were first accepted into The Ohio State University College of Optometry – getting our white coats!!

After finishing up keystone (our weeklong, two credit hour, problem-based learning course) yesterday afternoon, we have finally passed all of the coursework required to walk across the stage this afternoon and receive our first white coats from two of our esteemed faculty – Dr. Don Mutti, and Dr. Mike Earley. This will signify not only our successful completion of first year, but also our transition into the more clinic-based coursework that we will take over the next three years.

I literally could not be more excited – it’s gonna be a great day, which was made even better by the administration’s decision to live-stream the whole event, allowing one of my closest and greatest supporters who is physically unable to travel to the ceremony today to be a part of the festivities.

How blessed can a girl be?
This is #whyosuopt.

Well, anyway, I’ve got some more preparations to finish before the big event..

Catch y’all on the flippity…AS AN OPT-II!!

-Hannah 🙂

“But They’re More Like Subtle Raisins…”

Good morning all!

Well, this is it.. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Today officially starts the race to the finish that will include 5 tests in the next seven days.

It may be a bit rough.

But this morning as I was thinking about what to write as a post, I happened to come across a Facebook conversation (thank you Facebook memories!) between my freshman year roommate and I. It went something like this:

“I brought you a flower…but I ate it. I ate the flower.
But I don’t wanna be fat! Don’t make me fat!
Then eat your raisins!
No. They taste like raisins.
..But they’re more like subtle raisins..
Raisin’s aren’t subtle. They’re more kumquatish.”

Okay, so no one ever said that my friends and I are exactly sane.. But that’s not the point. Rather, this fantastically nonsensical conversation gave me three reminders that I would love to share as Finals Week Spring ’16 begins.

*Ahem*

1) Don’t take life too seriously. No one makes it out alive anyway.

2) It’s okay to be a little bit crazy. I obviously am. Just be thankful for the people who embrace your crazy and love you anyway.

3) Never forget to smile. 🙂

And with that, let the finals begin!!

Catch y’all on the flippity!

-Hannah 🙂