Life by PJ

Happy Wednesday! The D1s have started showing up around our school and I literally could not be more excited. I see them walking with their articulators to the pre-clinic and I just shudder thinking about when that was me last year. Ugh. Waxing. So glad those days are over. Oh wait, I'm waxing a molar on Monday. Well, that'll be Monday's problem. Anyway, I have my first perio patient tomorrow, meaning I will be cleaning someone's teeth for the first time. I'm excited, even more so than nervous. I figure if I can do a filling on someone I can clean their teeth... We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?! I guess it's true what they say about summer in dental school; it's pretty chill. Dental school, chill? Not two words I will probably ever say together in the same sentence. (Unless the sentence is "I need to chill out about how hard dental school is.") I guess the professors are taking pity on us since it's the beautiful summer and we'r...

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...

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...

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...

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...