9 rotations left...

Today I checked how much progress I've made through 4th year.  After this rotation, I will only have nine rotations left.  I'm pretty scared for some of them -- like equine medicine, which I have next.  It's not that I'm scared of horses... I just have zero experience with them and a bundle of allergies that attack when a horse is within a football field of me.  I keep telling myself that it will be a good experience, but I'm still quite unsure.  We've all had rotations that were not the most enjoyable and we all seem to survive.  If I can get through equine medicine, then I'll have two weeks off for Christmas.  It almost seems unfair to have another break so soon.  I just had four day off for Thanksgiving.  Like I said, ALMOST seems unfair.  I'll take all the breaks I can get.


This week I applied for a job.  Job searching is a task that makes me very nervous.  I'm worried that I will not find a job where I want to live.  After having a semi long distance relationship for the past three years, I'm ready for the distance to become shorter (or non-existent).  I don't want to be picky, but a job as a small animal veterinarian in the upper northwest corner of Iowa is not what I'm hoping for.  Or a job description that contains any of the following words:  cow-calf, feedlot, mixed animal, or an interest in reproduction.  I also do not want to buy the practice now or within the next five years.  Is that being picky?  I hope not...  I like to think of it as knowing what I want and being motivated to find it.

This week I also put a "FOR SALE" sign in my front yard.  It truly feels like yesterday that I was looking for a trailer to purchase as an incoming first year veterinary student.  It was such an exciting time-- going to orientation, looking at the school, looking at trailers... I had no idea what the next four years would bring.  I had no idea that I would come to love vet school so much.  I must say I loved it more the first few years than I do right now, but I think that's a good thing.  It's almost time to move on and that would be so much more difficult if I was as attached to this school now as I was in the past.  It has been an awesome four years.  I'm very glad that six years ago I decided to apply for vet school.  Even though it seemed sudden, it was something I had thought about for my whole life.  I was very happy the day I left Saint Ambrose.  The day I leave Iowa State will be full of mixed emotions.  I'm grateful for each experience I've had here and I'm excited for the future.