Progress Report - Checking the Boxes

The Spring 2009 semester is quickly coming to a close – thank goodness! I don’t know what it was about this semester above all others, but it seemed so exhausting and I’m not sad to see it pass. I’m sure carrying a full course load, some upper level classes, in a school that is farther away, all, of course, while working, hasn’t helped matters, but nonetheless, it will be nice to bid farewell to these last few months.

Most of my peers are looking forward to a nice, long summer of chillaxin’ (or so the kids are saying), but not me. I’ve got two summer courses lined up and, with the potential of packing up and moving to a new home (no, I don’t have an update on that…sorry!) some time during these classes, I should be plenty busy and hating this semester, too. I say that with a smile on my face, though, because I am now officially a college Senior!!

I’ve never really paid attention to the traditional freshman-senior model since I figured it would take me much longer than four years to earn my bachelor’s degree (ironically, though, if I hadn’t changed my major FIVE TIMES, I could have graduated in UNDER four years. Huh. I’m not going to be bitter about that at ALL – haha). But being called a “Senior,” seeing that word in print next to my name in the PatriotWeb system, really means something. It means that the light at the end of tunnel is real, it’s getting closer, and it’s NOT a freight train. It means that now I have to really start putting some thought into what my next steps ought to be – like taking the GRE exam. Wow. It means that sometime soon (by my calculation, January 2011), I will have my bachelor’s degree and a boat load of free time on my hands. I haven’t had free time in over four years!! I actually have friends that have only known me as a full-time student and worker. What the hell am I going to do with myself and all that free time? It’s almost overwhelming to think that all of this suffering will end soon.

Oh, but wait, degree conferral does not a complacent Erica make!! I had initially set out, for this posting, to look back on the last 4+ years in one of those “you’ve come a long way, baby” Hollywood flashback montages. But seriously, who has time for that? My work isn’t even close to being over, not by a long shot. The bachelor’s degree was the first check in the box for admittance to veterinary school. There are many more boxes to go.

Oh yeah – veterinary school! Thought I forgot about that, huh? I suppose somewhere in this blog I led all to believe that I got a little wishy-washy in my life goals and some how decided I wouldn’t be going to veterinary school, after all. Blasphemy, I tell you! Nope, plans are still in place, or at least taking on a little better shape now. Sorry if I led anyone astray!! Admittedly, sometimes I feel like someone who is my age and at the same point in his or her career has no business plotting to finance a small mortgage worth of additional student loans for the privilege of playing with other people’s pets. Seriously, if you think about it, it is a little nuts. I admit it. But then there’s that little voice inside my head that intimates that a hard-earned 4.0 GPA should not go to waste. That maybe I’ve succeeded academically for a reason. Well, OK, there’s that and the fact that I’ve convinced myself that I’d never be happy doing anything else, but besides all THAT, I’m certifiable for even considering trying to get into veterinary school. I won’t even get into how competitive it is to get into vet school (exponentially harder than medical school); that’s another post for another day.

That said, now that I’m this close, I feel like there’s no direction to go but forward. I still have so many things left to do and so many questions yet unanswered! After graduation, I have to find a part time job in a veterinary office (cross your fingers that the job market improves by then – entry level positions are quite scarce at present). I have to somehow find somewhere to gain some research experience (this requirement has me VERY stumped and I’d love a nod in the right direction if anyone can think of anything I can do!). I need to continue the various side projects I’ve been working on already (volunteering with the horse therapy program and the wildlife refuge, etc.) and find more of them if I can. Quite daunting, but very exciting, I must say.

In a stroke of luck, I actually managed to get in contact with what I imagine may be a very valuable resource in finding my way to vet school in the form of a current, soon-to-be 3rd year vet student at VA Tech. Also from the NOVA area, this person seems to be my life-double who just happened to be a couple years ahead of my schedule. I’m looking forward to sitting down with this person and picking her brain to hopefully gain some insight into making this dream a reality for me. I won’t divulge too many details about this person except to say that I’m exceptionally grateful for her willingness to help guide my way. Helping a total stranger, with nothing in return to gain, doesn’t seem to happen real often in this society, let alone from someone as busy as a vet student. I’m quite thankful to have found someone who can help me sort things out, logistically speaking. If you’re reading this, you know who you are, and THANK YOU!! Best of luck on those finals :-)

I suppose, in closing, I can allow myself one brief moment of reflection to feel a bit proud of myself for (FINALLY) setting a goal and sticking to it. Even if, heaven forbid, I should not make it into veterinary school (in which case ALL of you should purchase stock in Kleenex immediately), I can hold my head high knowing I gave it the ol’ college try (pun not intended).