Rose, Bud, Thorn:

As a new tradition let me quickly state what I thought was the highlight of the term, something that is a start of something new, and a lowlight.

Rose: Adjustment to Dental School

The first semester was slow at first but picked up towards the end. I didn’t do terribly but felt like I was still finding my rhythm. By the second semester though, school got more into a regular cycle. This didn’t mean it got easier, but more that I felt more in control of what was going on around me. More about this is below.

Bud: Self-reflection

As I now have gotten accustomed to life in Philly (to a degree), I think the part of focusing on myself came naturally and is developing. Some topics I have gone and thought about are finding a balance between work and play, what it means to be a good friend/family member/person, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and using that knowledge to my advantage. This is a deep topic that is difficult to describe, but I know that it has improved a lot over the last term and a couple of years.

Thorn: Passing of Grandma

It feels like a floodgate of family events have happened recently, and this adds to that. As I heard the news it really demonstrated how strong a language barrier can have in a family. Also, how life just keeps on going no matter what happens. During this time, I had a couple of tough exams, and it was a struggle to focus on both with conviction.

Lab Struggles:

The lab struggles and difficulty adapting still hit this semester. If I had to say one thing that was the most difficult, it would be drilling in the lab. It is a bit frustrating as this is the main thing I will be doing as a dentist. But I’m keeping an open mind about improvement and that it will get better with time. One reason why I can keep this mentality was I did see a slight improvement with the challenge exams. The first two went as I had thought with resistance against making the product I wanted, and the grades showed. However, by the third and last exam, I got back a report card that wasn’t perfect but highlighted that I had improved.

*How funny that I'm still being scored the same at 23 as I was in first grade*

By the last few weeks in the lab, I wouldn’t say it was beautiful work but some aspects began to click and I could slightly understand by muscle memory what holding the bur perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth felt like. I want to be more organized next year in the lab so hope to use some boxes and others to sort my instruments by procedure and make my work area cleaner and easier to set up.

It looks as though next year as a D2 will be filled with various labs, so I’m hoping the reps will allow me to improve day by day.

Burnout:

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but by the last month of dental school, I just felt done. I had never felt this way before so something to note. Before in high school, college, and even my first semester here I would feel stress and frustration but never to this extent. To describe how I was feeling, I would be sitting in the library studying and suddenly just pause and ask myself why was I going so hard. I felt lethargic, my motivation was lower than it had ever been, and I had moments of dread that there was another month left. It was not a good headspace to be in, but I wanted to show that dental school isn’t all daisies and sunshine. Some days I would wake up and feel like I had barely slept even though I had. I don’t think I overcame it before the end of the term, so it is something I need to look out for myself next year with a very busy schedule. What can I do to prevent this and manage myself in the best way?

In contrast, there were moments (probably for a good month) when I felt I was on top of my game. I switched my sleep schedule earlier than I have done for school. Rather than stay up and study until 11 or midnight, I would call it quits at 10 and fall asleep. Surprisingly, this made me more productive. I actually got more sleep this way, even though I set my alarm for 5:30. This gave me time to go to the gym, study during quiet hours, and attend class. Not sure why, but this just worked better for me, and is a technique I want to readapt to some capacity next year.

Cadaver:

One of the things we as a class got to experience this year was working with cadavers. This was a switch in the schedule as rather than just having the single pre-clinical lab drilling, we would also have a four-hour session at the medical building two times a week to dissect a cadaver. It was 100% a unique experience and actually wasn’t as bad as people may think. There was an odor but not in a fleshy sense. It was more chemically. This lab definitely tied into the time l experienced burnout, which made it harder by the end of the course. It was the hardest exam I have taken the semester because it was a continuum of anatomy without the colors. It did tie so much together and gave me an appreciation for how complex the human body is. And that was only the head and neck. But we will be back next year, so maybe I won’t be as excited next time…

Navy/Military:

As promised, I want to share what the HPSP looks like for students who are thinking about it or are currently on the scholarship. This semester I really didn’t have to do much with the military. Of course, I had to submit the term billing form to get the fees paid for but after that, the only thing I could think of is that you need to be on active duty. You can either do this later in the summer between D1 and D2 by going to ODS for the applicable officer training which lasts five weeks or be on school orders for 45 days. I chose the latter.

While on school orders, you just do what you are usually doing, which is being a student. You do need to submit a document to sign up for the period in which you want to be designated, but it’s straightforward. The biggest benefit you get is the active-duty benefits which I will go into in this upcoming post (to be hyperlinked). I really did not do anything out of the ordinary that a regular student would have to do.

One year in so far, I still would accept or apply to this program in a heartbeat.

Ergonomics Club:

This will be a quick paragraph. I recently got into being involved in this club as it is an important aspect of dentistry that I want to be more vocal and knowledgeable in. One of the biggest problems with dentistry and general dentistry more specifically is the toll it takes on the body. All the bending of the back, twisting, and sitting in a chair compounded by the daily stressors of patient care and working on production adds up. How we can as students create good habits and use technology and instruments to our favor is what I want to share with the rest of the school.

Secretary:

Unlike other positions, the term of secretary doesn’t last long, a whopping 1 year. This inherently meant that I needed to decide whether I wanted to run again. There was a lot of reflection: was this role what I initially thought it was? Did I achieve what I initially sought to do? Did I enjoy it? And most importantly, will I run again? Let me break down each of these.

A Shift from Initial Impressions

My initial thought of what I would be doing was making weekly newsletters for the class and attending meetings with academic affairs to address concerns of the class on their behalf. The first part was done relatively successfully. I decided to make from scratch my own template for newsletters which fueled me as I could have individual input into how news and announcements were shared within my cohort. As this went by week by week, I slowly picked up smaller projects that I thought would benefit the class, each to varying degrees of success.

Some of the ones that worked out well were guides for laboratory challenge exams, where we were graded on the quality of varying preps and restorations, and study guides for an exam. As the information tended to be scattered throughout handouts, emails, and spoken comments in lectures, it was helpful to consolidate the information in one spot. On the contrary, the idea to make an archive of important posts was difficult as it added a lot to my plate and was tedious to compile each week.

The largest shift from my first week was beginning to recognize that besides the newsletters, the position is what you make of it. I could have easily just done the bare minimum and just made the pamphlets to send out but felt I had the capability to do more. A good life lesson of how you are in control based on your actions was highlighted once again, and I made another note of it as secretary.

Goals are Hard to Achieve

Along the same thought, I also had events and tasks that I thought I would do but ended up not being the case. For instance, the task of going to academic affairs for the students never occurred. Not sure why I never got to it, but I saw the president of the class begin to put that work on their shoulders even though it should have been a split effort. Additionally, I oversaw organizing and running the meetings monthly on behalf of the board, which turned out to be sparser and more sporadic than I would have liked. The town hall meetings I wanted to attend and document, were often missed.

Reflecting on this, I begin to realize that even as a professional in training – there will always be ways to grow. Taking this from next year whether in this role or in general, I wish to be more organized with what I want to accomplish and know when to prioritize.

Mixed Feelings

Like what I said about initial impressions, what stood out to me and made me consider not running again was the work. It was not a matter of laziness, but whether those blocks of hours on a Sunday morning or afternoon were giving me personal satisfaction and making me feel like I was growing. At times the positives were fleeting and hard to identify. To be honest there were thoughts of pessimism where I thought I was doing dirty work for the class and was doing work the school should have been doing for us. However, I believe the tough times always look more difficult at the moment. Now as a year has passed, I truly see that the work I have done has helped many students and if I were to continue, for another year ahead.

Another Go

In the end, I decided to run again. I thought some would be interested in running against me, but in the end, the position ran unopposed, and I fought the most difficult battle against ‘abstain’ on the ballot. Perhaps it was a sign that the class liked what they were seeing and wanted the new status quo. This does not mean I will ease off, as I still have a few ideas that I wish to implement. And with a new schedule for next year, certain information and changes may need to be emphasized.

The main driving factor for staying and running as secretary was the incoming class, the D1s. I want to be that person whom I wished I had come into school. That person and the information I thought was missing. Surprisingly, there are a lot of logistics in a dental school, and as a student can be quite overwhelming. Where are things located? Tips for classwork and lab? Who to go see for help? With this next year, I want to make the transition easier on the incoming class as well as help the current class I serve. Here’s to round 2.

Ski Trip:

Near the beginning of the term, a group of friends and I went to do a day ski trip at Blue Mountain, in western Pennsylvania. It was a pretty clear day but with an impending snowstorm for the late evening. I enjoy skiing, as it reminds me of home, so when someone suggested the trip, I was ecstatic. It did cost a bit more than I was used to but sometimes is worth the experience. One word to describe the mountains is, wow. The hills in Minnesota are mostly man-made as the elevation is relatively flat. This made it so an average slope could be finished in 30 seconds or less. Well, when I got to Blue Mountain, my jaw literally dropped. I had to crane my head to see the peak of some of the slopes.

Holy cow, it was cold but so, so fun. I did spend the day slower than I would have normally, as I was helping a couple of friends learn to ski for the first time. By mid-day, though, I was on some of the bigger slopes. Well, I should rephrase. All the slopes are big and windy and will take you a good chunk of time to get down. But the blue squares and black diamonds gave you SPEED. Being able to ride a lift and spend minutes on a hill was a new experience and one I wish to go back to.

The biggest problem though came around 4-5 PM. Do you know that impending snowstorm? Well, it was not impending but imminent. The snow fell hard. We stayed for maybe another hour and a half to maximize our full day passes but then decided to head back home. The return trip should have been an hour and some change but… it was nearly 3 hours. The snow was probably the worst I have seen it fall in recent memory. The snow would melt and freeze onto the windshield and fog it up, making it nearly impossible to drive. The friend driving was probably looking out an 8 x 8-inch square. No car on the road was following the correct side of the street. After some experimentation, we solved the fog problem, but it involved heating the whole vehicle on blast. With all the winter gear on, I was cooking. I sat there trying to ride out the time, my mind only focused on cooling down. We eventually made it back home safely and finished the night off with a late-night Taco Bell run.

Tours, Tours, Tours:

As the living situation changed for next year, I had to look for a new place to live. Luckily, I did end up finding a group of roommates for next year who will be two classmates from my year. During the early months of the term, it was a whole bunch of looking at apartments and comparing them to one another. The biggest problem though was they all wanted earlier lease start dates like April or May, which was difficult as the three of us had leases ending in July. We did end up finding a place a little after spring break. There are some pros and cons to the place, but I will put that in a future post once I move in.

Cabin Fever:

Come to think of it I have not been in a cabin since around 7^th grade as a wee little boy scout. This streak ended in February as there was a weekend cabin trip. I initially had no clue about this trip with friends but was invited as they were making plans. It was a good idea. After a block of exams, we would drive up to the Poconos, stay in the cabin and hang out, and return the Monday before the first class at 10. Well, this good idea turned out to be a great one; to me, anyway.

The trip began with an early Saturday morning drive starting at 7 am with my roommate and his girlfriend. It was still the middle of winter, but the drive was fair as there was no new fresh sheet of snow, and the roads were not icy. We were unsurprisingly the first to arrive, and after a quick run to the grocery store. Had a quick lunch of packaged sushi which was a pretty decent deal. The three of us then sat around, explored the inside of the cabin, and chatted for a bit as we waited for the rest of the group to come. It was kind of a busy day, but relaxing as it was with friends and in nature. Just what one needs after exams.

A sequence of events for that Saturday was watching an hour or two of curling (which surprisingly was the event of choice to watch for the winter Olympics), throwing a frisbee around on the bendy road with slivers of ice patches and no gloves, going out to the local restaurant/beer garden, coming back to play games (pool, darts, foosball, a wickedly long game of checkers), and a night where I was stuck in the cage. I then fell asleep in the room with all the bunk beds, which I nicknamed the barracks. There were six of us in there, what a time.

The next day was more relaxing but busy in its own right. I remember that I woke up early to crank out a newsletter and to study for the next exam. Well, the studying lasted a good 20 minutes as the cabin atmosphere made it difficult, but the newsletter was sent. As people began to wake up, I made a few of us some sunny-side-up eggs and bagels on the industrial gas stove. The morning was slow with a lot of us tired from the night before so predominantly was filled with sitting around watching more curling. A group of them went to go on a hiking adventure for an hour or two. It was so slippery, and I couldn’t find the trail path. What was really nice though, was the random picking up of a log, talking to friends and some classmates I had not talked to before, and just waddling around with little stress in mind.

As we were split from the other group which remained at the cabin we ate a late lunch at a family-owned Mexican restaurant. Definitely not your typical eatery. Food did come out a little slow, but there was a tablecloth to draw on, and the food was a good quantity. Ended up eating some al-pastor tacos. The rest of the night went by in a blur. We first restarted the fire, which was much easier this time, and played a round of Telestrations after dark. As it was Super Bowl Weekend, that became the focus of the night. I elected myself to reheat leftover fries in the oven. We then played a game of cranium or something similar before the game started. The Super Bowl was on, we had pizza and wings, and it was then nightfall. We had one last journey onto the semi-frozen lake and cleaned up the Air B&B.

The next morning, we got up again around 6, and yes again we were the first group to leave. Had some Chick-fil-A on the way back which was probably the best sandwich I had gotten from them to date. Something about freshly made chicken at 8 in the morning hits differently.

A quick two days in the cabin, but it was a great distraction. It put me in a reset mode with more fervor to continue the term. Little things like being out in nature can have a great effect I have learned.

Spring Break:

First few days in Philly:

I wanted to start my spring break relaxed so decided to stay in Philly for the first few days before doing anything else. I didn’t want to go anywhere too far as I waited a bit too long and the plane tickets were up, plus I didn’t know anyone else who would maybe want to tag along. I definitely wasn’t relaxing as I was supposed to though. Immediately after the exams and the start of spring break, I went on a cleaning spree. Cleaning the kitchen, my room, and my bathroom, took away the first day. The second day was then followed by deciding to do a rearrangement of my room, which was needed. I finally got to put my desk in a reasonable spot, and the room looked more open and inviting for me to study. These days blurred by.

Day trip to DC:

Midweek, a friend and I went on a trip to Washington DC by car. It was a gorgeous day, the first day that really felt like spring. It was so warm; I wish I had brought shorts. We started the day by actually visiting my college chemistry professor's house on the outskirts of DC. It was a short visit but was sweet. We caught up a bit, got a morning mimosa, met her dog Copper once more, and had some home-cooked pancakes. A lot of times relationships with people you meet get lost along the journey, so this was warming to have. After we left her home, we went into downtown DC where we acted like tourists. It was my first time, so I was excited to see all the museums and historical buildings.

The museums were vast and a good time to explore. We got street food for lunch. Untimely for us, the cherry blossoms still had not bloomed and the NASA Space exhibit was closed, meaning my freeze-dried ice cream would have to wait for a future visit. This was a trip my middle school did for 8^th graders but was an elective. I never got to go on that trip, so it was an experience to see all of it firsthand. The two of us took a break to go study (yes, I know it’s spring break), since more exams were around the corner. The night ended with a nice bowl of ramen and a smooth ride back to Philadelphia.

Weekend in NYC:

I think there was a good one-day break in there but following this, I spent the next three days in NYC. Luckily my high-school friend was living right in Times Square, which was a win-win as I got to stay and catch up with him but also would be able to experience the city for more than the traditional day trip. On the first day, we went around and checked out the Intrepid Museum. But some of the big wins were finding the best tacos I have had to date and seeing the local Bryant Park and New York Public Library. The next day, he had to go in for work, leaving me to explore New York by myself. It was a bit lonely but really allowed me to discover things that I wanted to see and at my own pace. Museums were visited, a skyline was seen, and a lot of walking was done. One thing I really had not seen was the Brooklyn Bridge. Luckily, my friend got off work earlier in the afternoon and we were able to walk down the bridge at sunset.

The last day in New York I met up with a friend from the dental school and some of her friends. Not the nicest of days as it was raining with small hail pebbles. This made it an indoor day for sure. We started off by taking the subway to Flushing, off Manhattan island. The larger group definitely gave me more energy as the last two days of exploration were taxing. I believe the initial idea was to try a well-acclaimed restaurant in the city but due to hunger, was substituted with a dumpling place in the local mall. With the rain gone we started walking a bit around Flushing stopping by a dessert shop or two.

As we returned to Manhattan, we then convened with my friend so we could all explore MOMA. I don’t know how, but this became the most eventful part of the trip. I can’t remember specifically but the museum has either five or six stories, each with two wings or more. We asked one of the museum attendants what they would recommend and they told us that rather than doing what most people did (going from top to bottom) we may enjoy doing the opposite. So we did.

And we got to see not even one floor. As we were walking we got a public announcement from the building staff saying the building was now closed and everyone would have to leave. I was confused. Didn’t the museum close at 7? But it was only 4. Strange, I thought; it must be a safety thing. As we descended and followed the other museum-goers it got more and more chaotic. It truly looked like people were panicking. I took a video of the whole event, as the chaos ensued. I thought it was a bomb threat or something. But we were all confused. There was one floor where we got to see Starry Night. And of course, you can’t pass up the opportunity to see it. So I and other visitors lined up to take a photo of the work of art. Sometimes art trumps your safety; how amusing.

We finally got out of the building, where we saw cops lined up on the outside and an ambulance. To avoid any potential danger we briskly walked a few blocks and stopped to see if there was any news development. And on Twitter were reports that there was a stabbing of an employee. Wow of all the times and days, it happened on my visit to the museum. On the bright side though, it gives me another reason to keep coming back to New York.

The night was concluded by going to a restaurant called Tofu House where we met up with yet another dental student. It was a bittersweet ride back. I could finally sleep in my comfy bed, but this meant it was soon time for school once again.

Another Return to NYC:

This was another trip we had near the end of the semester. A quick day trip to NYC with the future roomie. Will have to retry Bleacker St. pizza in the restaurant!

Random Snippets:

I can’t write about everything otherwise this already long post will be a whole book. But to encapsulate other trips, moments, and food here are some photos that remind me of this semester.

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Birthday:

Oh and just for documentation purposes it was a good birthday; it was probably the first time I had celebrated in a while given the last couple of years and adjusting to college early on. To sum it up I was overstimulated by assortments of baked cakes.

Future:

Following the end of the term, we are now beginning the summer term. It is a great change of pace as it looks like we have two main classes but are only meeting handful of times a week. With this are two additional labs but must see what they are all about. Summer is just around the corner!

Some goals I have for the next few weeks are to relax a bit more given the feeling of burnout. I also want to relearn Chinese so have recently signed up for a tutor online. Let’s see how these two go.

If you got to the end of this and read all the nonsense I have put down, I thank you. Maybe you learned a thing or two, or just made you more confused. Either way, I will see you at the next one. Ta-Ta!

P.S. More incoming soon, just a lot of writing to do 🙂