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...