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It's sad to hear that people are already falling out... after all that hard work to get this far! I hope it's all just a temporary hiatus, and that they come back again next year and prosper
BK, we actually lost 2.
SOV-don't give up! It'll get better.
I'm not so sure.
I've just had to use up so much of my limited energy on non-school related issues (marriage, health etc) that I feel severely handicapped at almost every turn.
Add to that the academic challenge that this part of vet school plays into my all my weaknesses (memorization, detail oriented rote learning) and none of my strengths (conceptual understanding, pattern recognition, analytics etc) and it is hard to envision any improvement.
Finally, and largely due to my personality disorder (ok a bit of an exaggeration, but it makes my point), I really feel isolated and I feel like I don't have anyone who is there for me academically or emotionally.
I've tried to maintain a good attitude, but that is getting increasingly difficult as I just manage to scrape by (or not from time to time). I don't think I am alone in any or all of these feelings but still, that doesn't seem to make it any easier for me to deal with.
I probably should just post this in the rant section and move on... Posting it at all is a bit out of character for me... but there you have it.
EDIT- i forgot to mention another piece of advice. CRY! i think 90% of our class has admitted to crying, a lot lol. This always makes me feel better. sometimes, its just so hard and i feel like i'm never gonna get through it and i dont knw how to release my anxiety and then the tears just come out lol. I wondered how the dudes in our class were handling the stress....i dont think any of them have admitted to this. but its ok...u can secretly do it at home and then never tell anyone lol
Ok... hold on a second... There. I squeezed out a few tears for you. Well, it did make me smile a little. Is that what was supposed to happen?
I'm not so sure.
I've just had to use up so much of my limited energy on non-school related issues (marriage, health etc) that I feel severely handicapped at almost every turn.
Add to that the academic challenge that this part of vet school plays into my all my weaknesses (memorization, detail oriented rote learning) and none of my strengths (conceptual understanding, pattern recognition, analytics etc) and it is hard to envision any improvement.
Finally, and largely due to my personality disorder (ok a bit of an exaggeration, but it makes my point), I really feel isolated and I feel like I don't have anyone who is there for me academically or emotionally.
I've tried to maintain a good attitude, but that is getting increasingly difficult as I just manage to scrape by (or not from time to time). I don't think I am alone in any or all of these feelings but still, that doesn't seem to make it any easier for me to deal with.
I probably should just post this in the rant section and move on... Posting it at all is a bit out of character for me... but there you have it.
I think I'm also at an advantage because I am not the "type A" personality that I think a lot of my class is. I roll with the punches and just keep going and I don't worry too much about my grades, or whether I'm getting an A or a C. Sure it would be nice to get As but I'm not going to kill myself or my relationships to get them.
I think another part of me enjoying school is just being back in school! After going through graduate school and having everything be so uncertain for so long (who knows when you'll graduate, who knows if this experiment will work, who knows when the paper will be published, who knows if you're on the right track or being completely mislead, who knows if you're studying an artifact, who knows if you made a mistake somewhere and didn't realize it etc etc), it is SO nice to just go to class, learn material, and have an exam on it and KNOW what my grades are and KNOW whether I'm moving ahead, whether I need to pick up my game, how long until Thanksgiving Vacation (26 days!), know that I get a winter break (unheard of in graduate school) etc. It's wonderful being so regimented! I know, I'm weird, but grad school is unstable and here all I have to do is pass and I move forward. That's nice.
And for all the future PennWe's out there: I'm really enjoying school. I have it easier than the rest of my class, I don't have to take Biochem which is a huge deal (10 credits) ...
Finally, and I know this is getting long, but for all future applicants (PennWe's and non-PennWe's alike) find out if you can get exemptions from classes and if you can, try to take some of those classes before you get to vet school! If I had known Penn granted exemptions I would have taken Histology and Developmental Biology back in graduate school! Although my classmates would probably revolt and kill me if I was exempt from everything but anatomy.
Hey GB, sorry if this is a bit OT, but what qualifies you for an exemption for a class? Do undergrad classes count (ie, I need to take a developmental biology course next semester-4 credits and I already took a 4 credit biochem)?? For some reason, I'm assuming that that only pertains to grad level courses, but that would be totally awesome if I didn't need to suffer through biochem again Wishful thinking
Just to clarify, what little hope B33 may have given you is too much hope on the biochem.biochem---you can TRY to get exempt by doing an oral exam otherwise, go get a phd lol
Just to clarify, what little hope B33 may have given you is too much hope on the biochem.
NO ONE has EVER passed the biochem exemption oral exam at Penn.
They really only exempt for a Phd in biochem or biochem related field.
One piece of advice...
You need to accept that you will not likely ever feel "caught up". When you have term breaks, TAKE them. Relax (I know harder to say then do). Don't try to prepare ahead to be caught up. You resting and doing something you enjoy (remember those things called hobbies?) is much better for your mental health.
It is hard to do admittingly, but once I finally accepted the fact that I would likely not ever be fully "caught up" I felt/did much better. Just study at your normal pace for understanding (or memorizing if that is what you need to do) and when you are done (like when you read the same damn paragraph twice and you think you already read it but are not sure) sleep and move on to the next day. Remember, there is a reason you are there. You can do this!
Very small sample of some of the cookies...
And that horrific anatomy exam we were all peeved about? Didn't turn out as bad as we thought. School is like that sometimes. You can be totally wrong at anticipating something or have a wrong reaction to an event.
Very small sample of some of the cookies...
Happy Halloween!
On another note... I second pretty much everything Nittanykitty said. I have been super impressed with our class so far. We are a pretty young class so I could see there being a lot of drama, but there really has been very little. Everyone pretty much gets along and we actually have A LOT of fun!
Oh chii, always making me regret not going to Edinburgh. I see how it's going to be.
Sorry SOV, no order form. Baking depends on my boredom level and work load. Seems to be directly proportional to both.. hmm.... I probably won't bake for a few weeks though.
speaking of books...what books are you guys using for the horse/goat dissection?? Besides Pasquini because I have that book but I'm talking about a dissection guide. We are using 2 guides that our professors made but they haven't been officially published for everyone yet because they say it is still in the works. And yes, they definitely needs to be improvements lol. So what are you guys using??
I'm not so sure.
I've just had to use up so much of my limited energy on non-school related issues (marriage, health etc) that I feel severely handicapped at almost every turn.
Add to that the academic challenge that this part of vet school plays into my all my weaknesses (memorization, detail oriented rote learning) and none of my strengths (conceptual understanding, pattern recognition, analytics etc) and it is hard to envision any improvement.
Finally, and largely due to my personality disorder (ok a bit of an exaggeration, but it makes my point), I really feel isolated and I feel like I don't have anyone who is there for me academically or emotionally.
I've tried to maintain a good attitude, but that is getting increasingly difficult as I just manage to scrape by (or not from time to time). I don't think I am alone in any or all of these feelings but still, that doesn't seem to make it any easier for me to deal with.
I probably should just post this in the rant section and move on... Posting it at all is a bit out of character for me... but there you have it.
I just want to say that I love Physical Diagnosis lab. A 6 week old kitten that plays with my stethoscope is such a great stress reliever.
Too bad we don't have it next semester!
Got my first A on a test in vet school today, in Anatomy of all things.
Got my first A on a test in vet school today, in Anatomy of all things.
Got my first A on a test in vet school today, in Anatomy of all things.
so you didn't just smack it on the ass? congrats!
Afterwords it was like "haha, very funny bitch, now learn the head and all the foramen associated with the skull!"
Anatomy is such a crude subject.
1 week until we're done with fall academic classes
2 weeks until we're done with fall finals.
4.5 weeks until we're done with the fall semester.
Definitely NOT ready for any of those exams coming up, but I can't wait for break!!!
Also, neuroanatomy sucks. Big time.
So... what are you doing for 2.5 weeks after finals?