I have to admit, the first year was tough.

I had been out of school for more than 10 years before going back to complete the necessary pre-requisites for this program. I naïvely thought that those courses had prepared me mentally for a grueling program such as this. I was wrong, and I wasn’t the only one!

I can honestly say it took me the entire first year to get into the proper groove of managing my studying and personal life appropriately. Now that I am in that groove, life is a lot less stressful. Don’t misinterpret that though…I still study, a lot…as in, all the time. But I’m able to enjoy the little bit of time I have outside of studying without stressing, because I know exactly what needs to get done and can plan around it.

So, my biggest piece of advice to new and future students: Hang in there. It gets better.  You got this!

One of the things I have prioritized making more time for are the clubs on campus. Last week I went to the Rehab Club for the first time. It was so fun! We played a version of Twister, and learned about different ways of incorporating the biomechanics of it into rehab. I know I have said it before, but the clubs on campus are an incredible addition to our learning and education. I am going to try to be better at exploring more of what they have to offer.

While I have been busy at school, back home in Maryland, my baby brother (the youngest of the six kids) graduated from community college. As the President of the Student Government Association (at a school with over 50,000 students), and as the speaker at graduation. I was really sad to have missed it, but my family face timed with me so I could not only see the speech, but also feel like I was sitting with the family during the event.  Even my dog Lilly sat in my lap and watched it with me.