I’ve been studying for most of the day and I’m feeling a little loopy. I started this morning by studying for parasitology. There are a LOT of organisms I have to know for the final. Luckily there are only a few organisms I have to know from previous exams. I can’t imagine how hard this final would be if it were cumulative. I think my favorite part of this exam are all of the tick species. Seriously, Amblyoma is a pretty cool name for a tick. I made some pretty, color-coded diagrams to help me remember the protozoa of interest and I’m feeling pretty good about my progress.
I took a brief break from studying to go shopping with Best Friend. Since she is entering her clinical year, she needed to buy some professional-looking clothes. I think she just needed someone to tell her what looks good and give her some direction. I was a HUGE nerd and I brought my pathology flashcards to the mall. Hey, if I was going to spend that kind of time sitting outside of fitting rooms, I figured I should do something productive. I learned about the liver and pancreas as Best Friend tried on clothes. It was a nice system.
Now I’m trying to solidify my new-found hepatic knowledge by looking at pictures of livers affected by various pathologic conditions. I really have to get started on toxicology. That’s the only exam for which I haven’t even begun to prepare. Finals feels so different this semester when I try to draw comparisons to how I felt last semester. This time, it feels like I have a chance to do well. Last time, it felt like there was no way out and no end in sight. This really is a welcome change. I just hope it pays off!
