Life by PJ

Hello all! Well, the new year is quickly closing in on us. 2014 has been a crazy year for me, and I honestly wouldn't have changed a thing. And from looking at the flood of "Your Year in Reviews" on Facebook, it looks like everyone else has been having quite the year too! (I deleted mine after seeing that it didn't include me getting into dental school. Because it's not like that was my ultimate life goal for the last 10 years or anything.) So here's the second installment of my six part interview series! The only thing I knew about Pittsburgh before visiting it was that I heard a rumor that if you put a lit lighter under a running faucet the water will light on fire (Pretty sure this is false. Maybe it was true at one point, but I'm sure they have this under control now.) One of the dentists I worked with over the summer went to Pittsburgh and convinced me to apply there and after visiting I could see why he encouraged me so much. I loved it! After ...

Happy Two Days After Christmas! I meant to write this sooner but you know me when I'm on vacation. I'm currently extremely busy working my way through the Lakebed Temple in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii, which is basically a full time job.  This is risky business. Do not try at home. Anyway, I've also been busy: shopping online shopping eating sleeping excessively watching movies making Christmas cookies eating Christmas cookies etc. etc. Christmas was wonderful this year! Jeff bought me my very own (fake) chinchilla! I've basically been talking his ear off about chinchillas recently, so he decided that buying me a plushie chinchilla was a much better idea than a real one. Did you know chinchillas can live to be 25 years old? Neither did Jeff, but he does now! So the stuffed one will have to suffice for the time being. I still can't believe that Christmas is over and my winter break is *gasp* almost to an end. I ...

Hey hey hey! I paid my deposit down at UMich the other day and I am ready to go! Nothing gets me excited for dental school like handing over a check for over a thousand dollars and getting some routine immunizations tomorrow. Joy of joys! It's a good problem to have however, since I know I'm crazy lucky that I have to get immunizations for dental school because, bottom line, I've been accepted to dental school! Anyway. This post marks the first of my six post series detailing all of my dental school interviews this cycle. I hope you gain some knowledge and also muster a giggle or two among the way. The first (and last) time I had been to Virginia before going to my interview was my senior year of high school. My friends and I, being the rebels that we are, decided that we would travel to Williamsburg for Spring Break. Between the tri-cornered hats and the colonial get-ups and the absolutely beautiful weather, I fell in love with the state. Truly, down to my core, this...

Finals are over. Over, people! Fin! Done! Complete! The last couple weeks have been pretty rough, but I only managed to have one complete breakdown so I'm taking that as a win! Anyway, I am officially on winter break, and I have to say this might be the best winter break of my life. My responsibilities this break boil down to one word: nothing. I am free to do whatever I want. Last winter break I was studying for the DAT for 6-8 hours almost every day and it was not fun. At all. I kinda feel like I didn't really have a Christmas last year and I am more than making up for that this year. I am watching the stupid Christmas movies, baking Christmas cookies, doing an insane amount of online Christmas shopping - I'm doing it up. 'Tis the season! So with all this spare time, I thought I would write a guide to interviewing. Dental School interviews can be pretty stressful, so it helps to read about it from someone who's already been through the process. Also...

Monday morning at exactly 9:00 a.m. my phone's screen lit up. An unknown number had dialed my phone, and I almost broke down when I saw the town it was from: Ann Arbor, Michigan. I picked up the phone in a state of full-on panic, my breath escaping me. Yes, I was Patricia. Yes, I was having a good day. And then the voice at the other end of the line told me I was in. At this point in time, I wanted to break down but I knew I couldn't. I thanked her graciously. And then there was more news - a scholarship. A very, very big scholarship. It took everything I had to not cry and quickly get off the phone before making a fool of myself. I squeaked out a thank you, hung up the phone, and lost it. I completely lost it, I don't remember the last time I've cried that much and I just couldn't help it. Thank goodness I was in my apartment getting ready for the day and not in public or else I would've been sent to some sort of therapist. As I've been explaining i...

Today I am thankful for many things. Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect on the things we are thankful for, but I feel like this year I have so, so many reasons to express my gratitude. Even more than usual. My life is basically a dream. Don't get me wrong, I'm not prancing around like Princess Middleton with people waiting on me hand and foot, but I can't even express how happy I am right now. I have a family who loves me and supports me unconditionally, I have friends who are always there for me, and I have an amazing fiancé who makes me happy to be alive every time I'm with him. Most importantly, I have my Grandma B. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago and has been battling it ever since. So above all, I am thankful for every holiday I get to spend with her. It's cliche but you really don't appreciate people for who they are until you're scared you might not be able to anymore. Reflecting on all these things in my life, it makes m...

Well Blogosphere, I am home. Home sweet home. Home is where the heart is. Home is where I don't have to change out of my pajamas all day. (Don't act like you don't do that too.) Thanksgiving is upon us, which means that I can feast on my Grandma's delicious homemade food and pretend like I care about football for 4 hours. But really, Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. After dinner, my family and I quiz each other with turkey day trivia - something we've been doing for as long as I can remember. And even though the questions are the same every year, I still am just as bad as the year before. There's just something about turkey trivia that just doesn't stick with me. By the way, did you know that t urkeys are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere? Well now you do! Go...team? It is now 6 days until December 1st. On the one hand, I want the day to come as soon as possible so I can stop freaking out. (And I...

Merry Christmas! I mean Happy Thanksgiving! I mean...happy November 18th? What is this nonsense? I woke up Monday morning to a horrendous site that made me shake with fear. Snow. And not a light dusting of snow as would be expected this time of year, snow snow. As in, did I just step out of Arendale, and if so why has Queen Elsa been replaced by a crotchety, old bus driver telling me to "move it?" So now I'm buried neck deep (that might be a bit of an exaggeration) in snow and it's not even December yet. I mean heck, here I am desperately waiting for December and now I have a constant reminder every time I step outside that it is most definitely NOT December.  Here are some examples to show you that I am only slightly  exaggerating. So now here I am, watching Masterpiece Theater and drinking hot chocolate because I don't even know what to do with myself anymore. 12 days until December 1st. We're nearing single digits now, and I don't know if that...

Where's Kelly Rowland? Because I'm in need of some motivation. (Ha! See what I did there?) I've finished two exams this week, and now I have to study for my third one on Friday. Needless to say after my exam today, I am exhausted. I was in the library until 12:30 last night and I got up early to go back to the library at 9:00 this morning to study for Immunology before my exam. I don't know of any of you have taken Immunology, but it is not a good time. I took Immunology because a dental student recommended that I take it, since it's such a challenging course in dental school and any exposure I could get to it before then would be beneficial. So I took it! And really, it is really interesting! And I have an awesome professor, which always helps. But oh my goodness. The human body is an extremely complex system, as I'm sure you all know, and your immune system is ESPECIALLY complicated. As I was telling a friend the other day, after taking this class, I have n...

How's it going team? You hanging in there? Going strong? I have 3 exams this week; I look at it like a preliminary finals week- you know, just giving me a fun little taste of what's to come. So don't mind me if I seem a little... loopy. I was at Club Library for about 12 hours yesterday. At one point, I looked up and was startled by the wall behind me. That's when I left. (You have to watch those sneaky walls! They'll get you!) Last weekend was my sorority's semi-formal, which was a super fun night. I enjoyed being able to dance and forget about all of the stressors in my life for a little while. Plus my fiancé (I have to use that term whenever possible, since it's just so much fun!) came up for the weekend to be my date. He also helped me out when I was at the library by doing a Burger King run, because does everyone get super hungry when they're studying or is that just me? In whatever case, it was much appreciated, because nothing can soothe my anxi...

Tired of waiting for December 1st? Is every minute lazily passing by a million times slower than the one before? Have you studied every thread on the Student Doctor Network forums so many times your eyes have gone crossed? Never fear! I've put together a list of ways you can make those 26 days (I'm not counting) before the first day of Dental School decisions are released pass by in a flash! 1.) Take up a new hobby! Ever thought about picking up a musical instrument? Well, there's no time like the present. Now you can finally be the harpist, flutist, or acoustic guitar player you've always known you could be! 2.) Solve a jigsaw puzzle. The more pieces the better. Buy one with a peaceful, serene theme, such as boats on a river, or palm trees swaying in the wind. Best to stay away from anything emotionally stirring. 3.) Express yourself creatively. A great way to get out some of those feelings is materializing them . Paint a picture, sculpt a statue, make some pottery.  ...

Remember me? I feel like I always start my blog posts out by apologizing for how long its been since I've last written, so in keeping with this tradition, I'm sorry it took so long to get this out here. Moving on. My life is crazy. Absolutely crazy. But, I wouldn't want to have it any other way. So what has happened since I've last checked in? Well, probably the biggest thing has been that I got engaged! When my boyfri, er, fiance... and I visited Canada last July, he popped the question! We've set a date, which is June 13th, 2015. Now I know what you're thinking, "Wow that's super fast!" And to respond to you a.) we've been dating for five years this November, b.) I've been wanting to marry him for around 4 years (what can I say? I know what I want!), and c.) we really wanted to get married before I started dental school. So as if planning a wedding doesn't add enough stress (fun stress, but still stress) to this semester, the...

Happy Sunday Funday! This week I was brought back to reality after spending a fantastic Fourth of July weekend up at a friend's cabin on Lake Huron. We did everything from watching fireworks, to swimming, to sunbathing and justifying floating as swimming. It was a fantastic weekend and I couldn't imagine being stuck at home instead. (Even though I didn't sleep very well. Me and tents do not mix, especially when I wake up to a 100 degree tent with no air circulation.) Here are some photos! It was so great being able to meet up with friends and catch up! The water seemed to go on forever! Jeff bought this dress for me at the farmer's market we went to that same morning! The sunsets were absolutely breathtaking. Anyway, after a weekend of bliss, I then went back to work at a dental clinic owned by the company I work for. After scanning and sorting through files, I learned how to make confirmation calls which was an interesting experience. Having th...

Happy Tuesday! Today has been a busy day. I got an extremely rude wake-up call from my alarm clock at 5:00 am. (the nerve) since I had to be at my work site by 6:30 a.m. and it's almost an hour away from my house. Exciting announcement alert! I got a job! In the dental field! (Crazy right, when does that opportunity ever present itself for us non-trained pre-dental hopefuls?) Right when school ended, I contacted every dental clinic in my community asking if they needed any volunteers. I felt pretty defeated when I didn't hear anything back from any of them for a long time. But then miraculously, one contacted me and said that their HR department wouldn't let me volunteer in the clinic (bummer), but they had a job opening for a dental clerk in their summer fluoridation clinic (yay!) I jumped on the opportunity, made a resume, contacted my references and applied the very next day. I then had an interview scheduled within the next week and prepared myself the best I could. ...

Yesterday I went and saw "The Wizard of Oz" musical with my mom, my grandma, and my boyfriend. My grandma has seasons passes at this adorable little theater that never fails to deliver. I've been going to this theater for 10 years now, which is something that's crazy to think about. The first play I saw was Evita and I was 11 years old so you can imagine how much went right over my head. Anyway, back to "The Wizard of Oz." Having first watched the movie when I was a kid, I missed a lot of aspects to the story. For starters, I didn't even know the scarecrow, tin man and lion were supposed to represent the three men helping Dorothy around the farm at the beginning of the movie. But more importantly, I missed out on a lot of themes and lessons taught throughout Dorothy's struggle to return back to Kansas. When Dorothy was belting out "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," I felt myself getting pretty emotional. I could understand her yearning for mor...

Hello all, and sorry for the extended absence!  After finals week rolls around, I'm usually so caught up in my summer plans that my blogging goes by the wayside, which is exactly what happened a couple months ago. But, I'm back! And ready to type. After my last final in April, I immediately went home and got busy working on my personal statement. (Some people say type-A, I just say well prepared.) And boy did that personal statement take me longer than I thought it would. I had written many drafts, beginning as early as last summer at SMDEP, but none of them resonated with me. But when it came down to crunch time, I became inspired as all writers do with an impending deadline, and drafted something that came directly from my heart (and my keyboard.) I'm so proud of it, it makes me giddy. I never expected to have one 4500 character document explain me so perfectly. But I'm not going to say it was all sunshine and rainbows - it was pretty difficult at points trying to...