Hello everyone,
Last Friday was the Promotion Parade in honor of retiring faculty & staff. With this, the new Corps officers were named for next year. It was exciting, not just because it was the last parade of the year, but to see the new officers take command in their designated positions.
Finals went quite well for me. Although last Saturday was Reading Day, a day set aside in the academic calendar for pre-finals studying, I was very unproductive. However, I did not have any finals until Monday--so Sunday's studying made up for it. I woke up early on Sunday & went pretty much break-free except for meals until 2300. At that point, I decided it was time for bed & crashed. I woke up on Monday morning at 0800, showered, went to the mess hall for breakfast, and then sat there & studied some more with a group of nursing majors until our first final at 1130.
On Monday, we had both the Med/Surg & Health Assessment finals. Quite frankly, I wanted to rip my hair out at 1700 when I was done with the second exam. I don't know why they scheduled 2 finals back to back, but I guess it happens like that every year. Oh well--at least on Monday night I was able to go to bed thinking "2 down, 2 to go."
Tuesday was spent studying for my A&P final that was on Wednesday. When I started at page 1 of my notes for the semester, it really hit me how much we covered this semester. My professor's idea of that class (which is spread over 2 semesters if you take both A&P I and A&P II) is to build a functional human being from scratch, starting with the underlying chemistry. Last semester we got as far as a body with bones, muscles, and limited nerve function. This semester encompassed everything else: blood, immune system, intake/elimination, reproduction, etc. Long story short, it was A LOT to study & I went into the final not sure how I'd do. Nevertheless, I did pretty well, despite the huge headache I gave myself while studying. In the words of President Schneider at the Promotion Parade, A&P is "the course that separates the girls from the women and the boys from the men!"
After A&P, I decided I needed a break from studying, so I packed up my room. I didn't realize how much more stuff I had at school this year than last year. Then again, as a nursing major, I had 2 tubs full of books & binders--that made up a lot of my belongings, a lot more than last year. Once I packed up everything in my SUV, the rear end was really weighed down. My dad joked by saying "Gee, Holly, you really wanted to test out the back springs on this [car] didn't you?"
Finally, Thursday came...last final, moving out, and going home. While I was taking my Nursing Research final, I kept looking at my watch thinking "I have [x] hours until I'm home...wahoo!" Immediately after I was done, I was out the door. It was a long, tiresome semester & I was VERY eager to get home.
So, here I am. I'm sitting at home with the whole summer ahead of me. What's in store for my summer? Well, seeing as how I was only home for 3 weeks total last summer, I plan on enjoying as much as I can of it. BUT, I have a lot of work to do...
On Monday, I will be heading to the nearby community college to sign up for summer session Microbiology. Hopefully, I will land a part-time job. I have an interview tomorrow for a personal care job (I wanted to find something healthcare-related), so hopefully I'll get the position. I'll also be working out a lot this summer. I'm slotted for a staff sergeant cadre position for next year in the Corps.
I've got 2 years down, 2 to go. That's a scary thought. Next year, my class will be the NCO's of the Corps. It'll be my class's junior ring countdown. Wow.
This may very well be my last post ever. I have really enjoyed writing this blog for the past 2 years. I hope it was informative & helpful.
Respectfully,
Holly