I must be getting older, because every time I turn around I'm shocked by how quickly the time has gone. When I first started school in September, it seemed like I would never make it until the end of first year, and now my break is almost over! Seriously, where does the time go?
I've spent my break working (much more than I thought I would be) full-time at my local eye clinic. While it was pretty exhausting to go directly from finals to a 14 hour drive home to working first thing on a Monday morning, I'm so thankful that I had something to do this summer. I think that I would have gotten bored after 10 weeks of doing nothing, and the best thing was that I was able to be in a clinic for 40 hours a week. Not only was I able to practice some of the skills that we were taught this past year, but I was also able to work on some skills that we'll be learning this summer and throughout the rest of second year. I can't stress enough how much being in a clinic setting has helped me and motivated me. I love being able to work so closely with optometrists and to see what they do on a day to day basis. This focus is really what helped me during some stressful moments during my first year. I'm so thankful to have a clear idea of my future career and I love seeing how happy the optometrists are with their careers. I'm hoping to work in a medically-oriented group practice when I graduate, and this clinic gives great insight into this type of setting.
Otherwise this summer, I've done a lot of visiting with family. It's pretty difficult to be so far away during the year and I love having the chance to catch up with everyone. My family and friends are incredibly supportive of my goals and it makes it much easier to be away from everyone when this is the case. My sister is getting married this fall and I was so lucky to have some time at home to be able to plan and be a part of her bridal shower. I love my small town and it's been great to get caught up with all of the locals and the local activity. Most importantly, I've been reunited with the two cats I had to leave at my parents' house when I moved, and I couldn't be happier to spend time with them.
I will be heading back to Memphis next Monday, a few days before classes start. My boyfriend is scheduled to graduate ranger school that weekend (woo hoo!) so I will be making a quick side trip to Georgia and then heading back to Memphis for summer session! It feels great to be a second year and to be getting ready to delve further into optometry-related course.
I'm so thankful to have had this nice long break. Not having to study after work has definitely given me a much needed break and I feel ready to take on all of the challenges that second year has to offer! I will be hitting the books very soon, but until then I'm going to start another beach read and crack open a beer! Hope you're all enjoying your summer, and I'll see you soon, Memphis.