Excited!

I'm feeling a little dorky for this, but today I had a class that got me really excited for my (financial) future! I knew going into this that I would have a great career, but this class will also teach us how to invest our money to secure a great financial future. How to set goals aligned with our values and how to achieve those goals.

My biggest career goal as of now is to own an optometry practice. I thought that goal would be far down the road (10+ years after graduation, but apparently it can be a reality in half the time. There is a credit union for optometrists that helps doctors to buy practices--even with student debt still outstanding. The credit union helps along every step to help ensure success of the practice. It would be great to own a practice around 5 years out of school--I'll be 33. Even more ambitious would be to own several practices and to really make a business out of it. I never really thought about that until today, and it really seems like something I want to investigate further.

I am so excited. I think this class (and the subsequent classes) will be vital to the eventual success of my career--just as much as the "optometry" knowledge.

My future is mine to mold and create. I hold the potential and I will have to be the one to capitalize on that potential.

I am so filled with hope! I need to make sure that I have goals in place to focus on when things get tough in school (which will happen soon, I'm sure!)

Gasp! An Update!

Well, I've just finished my first week as a Professional Student. It was a bit tedious at times, but mostly enjoyable. Orientation was overly long and could have been converted into a few hours, rather than two days. The highlights?

1. Study all the time and don't fall behind.
2. It's going to be harder than anything you've done before.
3. I am now part of a huge family--OSU's College of Optometry faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

They told us the above about eighty billion times. I feel like most of us get it--no slacking off like we may have done in undergrad.

We also had a day of "diversity training", which while mildly interesting, also seemed to be a bit wasted. Such is life!

All negatives aside, I'm really excited to finally be HERE in my life. I haven't quite grasped the fact that I'm going to be a DOCTOR, but I'm getting there. I think it will really sink in during the spring of my second year, when I start having patients. (Come one, come all, I'll accept volunteers!) By the time I get my degree and license, I will have seen anywhere between 1800-2000 patients. That boggles my mind!

So that's my life now--studying! Currently my classes are Human Histology, Pathophysiology, Optics, Genetics, Optometry Career Options and Financing, and a survey class of the profession. It seems like a lot, but the last three courses are "baby" classes. It's the first three that will occupy all of my time!

Off to study. Whee!