Hello, D2

Tonight is the eve of my D2 school year, and... boy, it's a bit of a scary thought.

My first year of dental school was a blast. In hindsight, I learned a lot about dentistry, about the human body, about people, about myself. I've met a lot of great people whom I'm grateful to call my friends. Scott and I have maintained a solid, strong relationship that - for most of the time, anyway - makes me feel as though we've always been beside each other, as though the distance of thousands of miles was reduced to nearly nothing. I have built my hand skills tremendously. Do I still have a ways to go? Yes, but I can move forward in a direction with confidence. At the beginning of our first restorative course, I had a difficult time developing control over my handpiece, letting it nick the adjacent tooth I was prepping, creating too wide of an isthmus, going to deep with my pulpal floor, and being. uber. slow. There'd be days where I'd be questioning myself about whether or not I could do it. Granted, I always put myself into perspective, took deep breaths, and moved onward to the next day to try again. By the time our final practical came, I got over most of those problems, with the exception of my pace. I'm still on the slow side, but hey, I'm a student, I'm learning here! I'm hoping I'll be able to take time every once in a while to just sit in the sim lab after hours and go over and practice things again. I am confident I will become the best dentist I could possibly be, and I know I have the determination to put forth the effort to get there.

Now, D2 year... is going to be madness, as far as I can tell. For our 8 weeks of a summer session, I'll be in school basically 7 AM - 5 PM, every day! And that's just school! There's even a day that my schedule technically didn't have a lunch period scheduled in, so they had to shorten the clinic time by a half hour to give us a 30-minute lunch. (Granted, there are also a few days in the week where we will get a one hour break in between, or maybe even a three hour break!... However, I don't know what I'd be doing with myself exactly with a 1 hour break because God knows you can't get much done studying-wise with just an hour. Three might work.) On top of school, I am sitting on the boards for three different student organizations at school. Where do I fit in time to go to the gym? To volunteer at the Humane Society? To cook? To sleep? To breathe? I guess I'll figure it out... But then there's also the prospect of NBDE Part I -- aka board exams! Anatomy, histology, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, dental anatomy, occlusion, pathology... They say you'll be given a lighter course load some time in the spring semester, but, knowing me, I need to start studying bit by bit now. (Note: I am not a gunner. I have heard people use the label with my name before, but they seriously misunderstand me if they think I am a gunner. I am a slow learner. I need a lot of repetition. A LOT. Because I understand how my learning style is, and I know how critical everything we're learning is to my career, I appear to be studying often or earlier than a lot of people. This is NOT because I'm a "gunner." I do not intend on specializing. I simply intend on being the best dentist I can be. With the amount of debt I'm piling on, I want to make the most of it. -- And if you think my involvement in all of the student organizations is a "gunner" move on my behalf, you've got me all wrong. I like to help out. It's a simple reason, but I'm a simple girl. Really. (And I have somewhat of a Type A personality, so there's that...)

This is only my second post. I really should contribute more. I'm thinking of a list of things I need to do on a weekly basis, including:

1. Blogging once a week, probably at the end of the week. Perhaps listing a few goods of the week, a few not so goods of the week, and a random photo or two in my Flickr arsenal with something to say.

2. Gym! Krystal and I had a good pattern going before finals and the break. Now with our crazy schedule, we've got to figure out something new. I do think we should make sure to work out Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, though. One or two other days in the week and we'd be good. :) -- Also, when my WDW Annual Pass expires at the end of August, I'd like to start signing up for a few races here and there again. Ultimate goal is to run 1) the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler (with Scott!!!!) and 2) a runDisney half marathon at WDW before I leave Florida.

3. Studying for boards. I'm thinking for this first half of the school year, I can be tread slowly and lightly with this, possibly studying for 2 hours per day on the weekend, if not more. I'll play around with the timing of things in the beginning and see where it takes me. 

4. Cooking in preparation for the week. Let's face it, I won't have much time during the week, so I need to meal prep. I got quite lazy with cooking by the end of the school year. I need to get back on track and take the time to get back into the kitchen.

5. Visit my parents at least once a week while they're here staying in Bradenton. 

I was fortunate enough to have Scott visit me in Florida for about two weeks. I had to semi-ignore him for the front end of his trip because of my finals, but we had an absolute blast at WDW over the next week. I think it was our most successful trip yet. :) I'm sure he'll blog more about it soon enough. 

Points to note about our trip are:

Day 1, Monday, Epcot -- Despite a bit of room chaos at the hotel, we made it into the park and did just about everything we wanted to do, even though we came in after noon. Crowds were light, making it an enjoyable trip that gave us room to breathe and low wait times. :)

Day 2, Tuesday, Magic Kingdom - We got to ride 22 attractions in the day (well, some were ridden twice, so those iterations are included in that number)! To me, Fastpass+ has been working well. While there were kinks to be had in the beginning, they're doing a good job ironing things out. It's great being able to change my FP+ reservations on my phone if I need to (and I did do that a handful of times). The fact that you can reserve any additional FP+s after you've used your three for any attraction at any kiosk is such a convenience. Scott and I wouldn't have been able to ride that many if we were on the old Fastpass system. I think in the long run, it'll pay off. (They could still stand to not raise prices though... ;__;). I'm looking forward to a future trip to homebase (aka DLR) some day, but I can't help but think, "Damn, that old FP system is gonna slow me down..."

Day 3, Wednesday, Disney's Hollywood Studios - A slow day with a great awakening. 

Day 4, Thursday, Disney's Animal Kingdom - We kept it short and sweet, saving ourselves for...

Day 5, Friday, Magic Kingdom - The "Rock Your Disney Side" 24-hour event!!! :) Six words to sum it up: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Soft Opening!!! 

Seriously, I had the greatest time. Having such a fantastic time with Scott.... it left a gaping void when he left. On the ride to the TPA airport from Orlando, while Scott was sleeping in the car, a song I'd never heard of before came on the radio, and it's stuck with me since. It's a sweet song about long-distance love, and it felt so fitting yet sad in the moment. Here's the music video, which features Darren Criss (from Glee) and Jessica Szohr (from Gossip Girl): 

"When life takes its own course

Sometimes we just don't get to choose

I'd rather be there next to you 

Promise you'll wait for me

Wait for me 

Wait 'til I'm home

All I have is this feeling inside of me

The only thing I've ever known

If only New York wasn't so far away

I promise this city won't get in our way

When you're scared and alone

Just know that I'm already home"

- A Great Big World, "Already Home"

 Future Scott and Shelly

To my shoulder to lean on, I love you. 

XO,

Shelly