The "To Do" List

[ylrebmik]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

What are things you want to do (or have done and always wanted to) before you get to vet school, settle down with a family, turne 30, in your lifetime, etc? I'm working on making my "To Do" list now, it's so exciting but everything costs so much money!

 

[EqSci]

My sole goal in life right now is to become a vet. I do have other things I want to do in my lifetime... mostly consisting of visiting/seeing places (travel). But most of the things on my 'dreamlist' are veterinary-related career goals... and right now, I can't think of anything except vet school. Someday I would love to have lots of land. Raise a steer and pig for meat each year. Provide a good home for all sorts of animals that need one. Doesn't really go along with the travel wish, does it?? Haha!

What's on your To-Do list? Interesting thread!

 

[sumstorm]

Explore Alaska. Hike some of the large cross country trails throughout our country and other countries. Hike on the glaciers of Argentina (before they are gone). participate in Polar Bear research (keep them from being gone). travel through the rainforests of s. America. Visit Africa ( I have been to europe, asia, Australia, NZ and belize.) SCUBA with Walruses. Swim with manatees. Participate in more whale shark research. Visit third world countries and provide assistance with disease prevention in livestock (a critical resource.) Volunteer as a vet with American Humane for disaster recovery. fly a helicoptor. Get my pilot's liscence. pilot a submersible. Research living bio indicators. Participate in environmental restoration. Contribute signficantly to my undergrad college. Raise children without TV. Live (again) in rural america. Spend a summer in a fire tower.

Lots of others. Every time I take something off my list, I find others to put on.

 

[pressmom]

Are people in vet school allowed to participate?

My goals while in vet school:
Spend more time with my friends WITHOUT studying.
See my family more often.
Study smarter, not harder (easier said than done)!
Figure out where I want to practice!
Get up to NYC and Seattle to visit friends before I don't have summers anymore.
Do more research.

My goals after vet school:
Get a job at a hospital where I can practice quality medicine.
Practice for about five years to see if I like being a general practitioner.
Then decide if I want to go in industry, go back for a residency, own a practice, lobby Congress on behalf of the AVMA, research, etc.
Go to Japan, Spain, and Italy.
Pay back my loans.
Live closer to my family.
Get a bird.

And, BTW, I'll be 31 when I graduate. You certainly don't have to complete all your life goals by 30!

 

[pupsforseeing]

hike the john muir trail. go to israel. be employed as a vet at a guide dog school. be a long term (>1 year) missionary in a third world country focusing on both livestock development and deaf ministry (yes, i realize these are two very different interests 🙂). own my own horse (not so compatible with some of my other plans, though, so that will have to come way later). be a proficient interpreter in both american sign language and mexican sign language. learn spanish (yes, i live in mexico and know mexican sign language, but barely any spanish!). learn to play guitar. learn to solve a 4x4 rubix cube.

oh man. so many things to do. life is an adventure!

 

[ylrebmik]

Explore Alaska. Hike some of the large cross country trails throughout our country and other countries. Hike on the glaciers of Argentina (before they are gone). participate in Polar Bear research (keep them from being gone). travel through the rainforests of s. America. Visit Africa ( I have been to europe, asia, Australia, NZ and belize.) SCUBA with Walruses. Swim with manatees. Participate in more whale shark research. Visit third world countries and provide assistance with disease prevention in livestock (a critical resource.) Volunteer as a vet with American Humane for disaster recovery. fly a helicoptor. Get my pilot's liscence. pilot a submersible. Research living bio indicators. Participate in environmental restoration. Contribute signficantly to my undergrad college. Raise children without TV. Live (again) in rural america. Spend a summer in a fire tower.

Lots of others. Every time I take something off my list, I find others to put on.

That's amazing! I would LOVE to do most of that. (don't really care about the helicopter though haha).

Pressmom- I'm going to Japan this Spring Break! I'm so excited!

I'm sorta working on my list of things I want to accomplish right now. But this is really interesting, I hope more people reply 🙂

 

[pressmom]

Pressmom- I'm going to Japan this Spring Break! I'm so excited!

So jealous! My cousin and his girlfriend have recently gone and loved it. With everything I've read and seen about it, Japan sounds like an amazing country!

 

[sumstorm]

Right now? The think I have kind of realized is that opportunities don't always arrive at the 'right' moments, so by knowing what my longer hopes/plans/wishes are, I keep myself open to opportunities. For example, say someone on here know a professor planning a research trip for whale sharks that needs experienced field biologists. They might see my 'want to' list and give a shout out. It wouldn't be the ideal time in my life, but it would be possible to make time for it. Then another 'want to' would be solved. I never thought I would have the opportunity to do research in half a dozen countries, and even when I applied for a Watson Fellowship to do so, I never dreamed I would be selected. When I was, I had applied to vet schools and grad schools and had to sacrificae all of those apps to grab ahold of that dream, but I wouldn't change it for a moment. So, the conclusion I have come to is to think about what you want now, but also keep a list of things you dream of doing and share that list. Want to have a lively dinner conversation? Mention that you want to SCUBA with Walruses. I can pretty much promise the discussion will be interesting, people will remember who you are, and when they hear of other 'crazy' things, they might send them your way.

 

[ylrebmik]

Right now? The think I have kind of realized is that opportunities don't always arrive at the 'right' moments, so by knowing what my longer hopes/plans/wishes are, I keep myself open to opportunities. For example, say someone on here know a professor planning a research trip for whale sharks that needs experienced field biologists. They might see my 'want to' list and give a shout out. It wouldn't be the ideal time in my life, but it would be possible to make time for it. Then another 'want to' would be solved. I never thought I would have the opportunity to do research in half a dozen countries, and even when I applied for a Watson Fellowship to do so, I never dreamed I would be selected. When I was, I had applied to vet schools and grad schools and had to sacrificae all of those apps to grab ahold of that dream, but I wouldn't change it for a moment. So, the conclusion I have come to is to think about what you want now, but also keep a list of things you dream of doing and share that list. Want to have a lively dinner conversation? Mention that you want to SCUBA with Walruses. I can pretty much promise the discussion will be interesting, people will remember who you are, and when they hear of other 'crazy' things, they might send them your way.

Great Advice. What was your Watson Fellowship? I want to experience things like that (SCUBA with walruses), things that nobody ever gets to do, amazing opportunities, etc... you only live once, right? haha. This field is endless.

 

[Mylez]

Wow....lots of views, few replies...

At this point in time, I've accomplished a few things on my "to do" list like travel to South Africa and work on the wildlife there.

Other things:

Have a house on some acreage
Get a killer zoo medicine residency out of vet school
Work as a wildlife/zoo veterinarian
Travel as part of my job to do conservation work
At one point in my lifetime, I would LOVE to see anesthesia on a marine mammal
Compete in frisbee dog competitions
Learn how to fly (plane or ultralight)

And of course there are others...

C'mon...vets are dreamers. Let's fill this post up!

 

[BayleeVet2B]

Get a killer zoo medicine residency out of vet school (when I get in!)
Work as a wildlife/zoo veterinarian
Travel as part of my job to do conservation work

We must have been separated at birth! This is pretty much my goal in life...where are you for school?

 

[ylrebmik]

We must have been separated at birth! This is pretty much my goal in life...where are you for school?

haha that's what I'm going for too 😛 Don't steal my job! haha jk.

Mylez- thats awesome, frisbee dog competitions? What's that like? omg that trip must have been AMAZING! I'm so jealous.

There are so many interesting zoo internships and opportunites out there... I think I'm going to take a little extra time before vet school to do a bunch of these things... since zoo medicine will be so competitive... super competitive field with 3 people in one tread wanting the same thing. Yikes.

 

[NittanyKitty]

Well, other than the ultimate goal of "get into vet school", other things I want to do?

Finish this thesis project and take my GREs!!!
Host a last canning trip for THON
Join the Teach for America corps (Mississippi Delta region) this year
Work at Disney World's Animal Kingdom for a while
Advise FFA and 4-H chapters for middle and high school kids
Go to Africa
Have a nice house in the country with a big family to fill it
Raise milking goats
Do some international service work
Provide foster-care for children
Find the time for any of the stuff above! 🙄

 

[BayleeVet2B]

since zoo medicine will be so competitive... super competitive field with 3 people in one tread wanting the same thing. Yikes.

The vet we take our animals to told me, "everybody starts out wanting to be a zoo vet!" Way to burst my bubble! hehe

 

[ShelterGirl]

Pass and finish vet school 😀
Keep doing some non-veterinary activities like snowboarding and running
Improve my Spanish

Longer-term:
Have my own small animal & exotic clinic
Get married/have kids
Complete a triathlon
Complete more marathons

 

[dpcdoc]

What are things you want to do (or have done and always wanted to) before you get to vet school, settle down with a family, turne 30, in your lifetime, etc? I'm working on making my "To Do" list now, it's so exciting but everything costs so much money!

I don't know if I truly fit in this post cuz, I'm in vet school, with my head still above water and doing ok. Middle of the class is just fine with all these gunners. I've already settled down with a large family and had kids. Three to be exact. I turned 30, 11 years ago so that makes me about.........my to do list is relatively short, as I have travelled the world very extensively, have wife/kids already. Now working on a new list, as most of the last one has been completed. Won't go into it, but the last list was way cool, parachuting, repelling and mixed gas deep sea diving in order to salvage a piece of a historic civil war ironclad. Lots of other stuf including high explosives and teaching trauma medicine using an animal model.
This is the new list to do, offer my thanks to the animal and pledge to myself and each cadaver in front of me that I promise to be the best veterinarian I can be, and his/her death is not in vain.
Promise to my family that the 4 years where I was a passing stranger at times has not been in vain either, and I pledge to them and God to be the best Veternarian I can be. I will in my small way, leave this earth a better place than when I began this vet school adventure. Lastly, I remind myself daily that even the most stressfull day/week in veterinary school is still pretty ^%&$#%$ awesome and there are about 900 other people who were probably very upset they are not having the same fun as I. Take care.🙂

 

[Mylez]

dpc...that's ALWAYS good to remember. There is always someone who would die to be in your place.

To answer your questions, I attend OSU. Oregon state, not the others. 😉 It gets confusing/irritating sometimes! Yes there are lots of people who want to be zoo vets but I haven't got this far to be turned down yet!

I traveled to S. Africa this past summer to do research on cape buffalo. How is THAT for cool? As a bonus, someone paid me to do it, not the other way around. 😉

 

[VUprevetbubsy]

1) Study abroad! *I leave in January for a semester in Germany. Maybe not the most responsible choice academically (no science classes all semester), but definitely the best opportunity college has to offer.
2) Pilots License
3) Take the GRE
4) Land a good summer internship
5) Get into vet school...duh..
6) Masters in Public Health
7) Certification in Veterinary Chiropractics
8) Do Veterinary Rehab!
9) Travel...everywhere.
*Some goals already accomplished:
1) Worked as vet rehab assistant
2) Finished Orgo!
3) Trained Tigers last summer