Remembering Quarter 1

I've decided to start a series of blogs where I recall each quarter and try to give my readers a sense of what these were like. My poll has shown that people mostly want to know what daily life is like... so that's what I'm going to do!

The Schedule
My first week at Palmer I was already overwhelmed. After my first day I went home, called my mother, and cried. This being said, I didn't remember this. I had to look at my journal entries to remember. To me, forgetting the pain and stress of that week, seems like fairly good proof that things improved quickly. By the time we got to week three or four of the term, I was used to the schedule. In undergrad, I took a heavy course-load, sometimes taking 21 or 22 credits a term, but compared with the 30+ credit load here at Palmer, it was nothing. I was not emotionally ready for all the extra hours in class mixed with the stress of being 1500 miles away from home. I'll show you a picture of my schedule during that first quarter... at the time, I thought it was pretty intense.



The People
I think the most important thing was starting to get closer to my class. Due to the nature of our program, the people who are in your class from the beginning are the people you will be with forever. So my friends now have seen me every week day (and lots of weekend days too) for the last two and a half years. Getting to know these people in first quarter was invaluable. We had a few mixer-type events to get us to know each other, but I think the major catalyst was that no one knew anyone else either. We were all together, facing a very strenuous program, hoping we would make it. That breeds familiarity. It's strange to think that the soon-to-be-doctor sitting next to me was once a girl who I didn't know. My friends who have already graduated tell me that these friends become colleagues and references forever.

Expectations
One of the hardest things for me to contend with is a mismatch between my expectations and reality. When I originally applied to come to Palmer Florida I had an idea of what the students would be like. Narcissistically, I thought they would be like me. I thought they would be coming to chiropractic for largely the same reasons I was, I thought we would have the same goals, etc. When I actually arrived, however, I found that my class could not be more academically and personally diverse. There were people who had never been adjusted, music and theater majors, second-career students, business men and women, and so many versions of practice paradigm I could write an entire entry on them. At first, I found this disconcerting, but as time went on, I came to see it as an asset. These people, from such disparate backgrounds, quickly began to make alliances and each add distinct points of view and skill sets to every endeavor. My worries soon melted away into admiration for even the most unusual members of my class.

Putting it all together
By the time the end of first quarter came, I had almost forgotten my anxiety at its start. Getting through that first round of classes--and doing well--was a huge confidence-booster and knowing how the next quarter would go was comforting. Although I still had a long way to go, I felt fantastic about my accomplishments and went into break feeling more motivated than ever to succeed in my time here. The nicest thing about our schedule is that each term only lasts 11 weeks. No matter how stressed I am, I know that I can push through for just 11 weeks and I'm confident that you can too!

Look for Quarter 2 Reflections in the near future! :)