We are wrapping up the final few weeks of Phase 1, which is the basic sciences courses. This is another exciting milestone we are about to pass.

This was my second 4^th of July holiday living in Illinois, and while I hope I make it out to Navy Pier for Fire Works before I leave, I have a great view of the fireworks from my on-campus apartment. I live in Lincoln Hall, and I can literally see three firework shows from the comfort of my air-conditioned, mosquito-free, comfy couch! 

I went to St. Louis this weekend with a classmate, Karolina, for a couple of seminars. When we had originally signed up for these seminars, we didn’t think we would have any exams the following week, since most exams are around week 5, 10, and 15. With this falling between weeks seven and eight, we thought we would be clear. We were wrong. Karolina had three exams week eight, and I had five! So, during the five-hour car ride, we made sure to get in as much studying as we could, fully knowing we wouldn’t get in much over the weened due to the seminars.

As Naturopathic Physicians, we will have so many different tools in our toolbox. I strongly believe that we need to have an understanding of every single one of those tools, even if we choose to focus primarily in another area for our practice. National University does a great job at providing us with the resources and opportunities to learn about these different modalities.  Not only does our required coursework educate us, but there are also several clubs and organizations on campus that help further our education and application of many modalities we can use in our future practice.

I have to admit, the first year was tough.

We did it! We are done with Anatomy and went on a well-deserved break!

I try to be positive most of the time. But, let me tell you…Week 14 is the absolute worst during third trimester! The good news is after this week, anatomy is done, since the written exam and the lab practical both happen during Week 14. However, that also means it is a very intense week of anatomy exams. I figured this would be a good time to talk about the awesome tutoring resources available to students. 

I finally made it downtown to see the green river! For a history on the green river in Chicago, click here: https://chicagoist.com/2016/03/16/st_patricks_day_history.php . It was pretty cool.  I went the day after they dyed it, so it had started to fade a little, but it was still neat to see, and I didn’t have to deal with all the people on St. Patrick’s Day! It was a win-win! Plus, I normally walk along the riverside on my way to church on Sundays anyway.

When I was originally looking at naturopathic medicine programs, I was shocked to learn that some schools don’t do dissections in a gross anatomy lab, yet over the last year, I have come to really appreciate my time there. Arguably, I am appreciating it a little more lately as my time in there is almost complete. I have four weeks left of dissecting, and I can honestly say I am going to really miss it.

A few years ago, I made a new year’s resolution to not let my fears stop me from doing anything. Literally, on New Year’s Day, I took my niece and nephew to a children’s museum in Baltimore. That day they had some reptiles for the kids to touch. One of the reptiles was a snake. I am terrified of snakes, and don’t even like to look at them in pictures! But, I knew I had made this resolution, and I was determined to TOUCH the snake! I did it! I’m thankful for that opportunity because it ended up setting the pace for my entire year. Anytime I was afraid, I would remind myself that I touched a freaking snake, no amount of fear could keep me from doing anything!