Good teachers

I am currently in the midst of the agony that is more commonly known as finals. This is my second and last week, but after starting out strong, at this point I'm burnt out and just dragging myself to the finish line.

But thank God for understanding teachers. For example, I had an exam this morning at 8:00am and set my alarm clocks accordingly the night before. However, tell me why I wake up, and IT IS EIGHT O'CLOCK. In blind panic I make my roommate drive me to school, hoping that I have enough time to take the test, if I can even take it at all. One of my classmates calls me asking where I am, and to hurry up.

As soon as I make it to the test room, the only proctor I see is one of my favorite teachers, Dr. J. He's this little old man who talks really fast, so sometimes it's hard to understand him, but gives great instruction. And needless to say from this episode, he is exceptionally kind. He gives me an individually prepared exam, and starts going on about not to worry, I have plenty of time, that I only lost ten minutes, and makes sure I'm all settled in. I can honestly say it made a big difference in how I took the test, as opposed to interacting with someone who might have been irritated that I was late.

Afterward, when I turn in the test, he tells me, "Did you have enough time? We were all so worried and wondering about where you were, but I'm glad you're fine."

Yeah. We need more people like this in the world.

Tuesday morning verses

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.
Psalms 31:24

Just some verses from the past couple of days that have been particularly strengthening and peace-granting.

Word of mouth failed me

Happy belated Thanksgiving! For some reason, I had the BEST time being at home this vacation. I feel so refreshed, smothered by family love, and (somewhat) ready to tackle the rest of the semester. About to do some damage control.. hee. -__-

Anyway, I usually only start watching Korean dramas after hearing about them from friends who are really into this kind of thing, but I randomly discovered and got into this one drama called Love Rain/사랑비 that is so good! It's surprising to me that I haven't heard a single peep about this drama from anyone (I even recently asked someone about a good drama to check out), even though it seems to be pretty popular and I think one of the better ones out there this year, if not in a while. Though I will say I liked the beginning 1970s storyline more than I'm liking the current day.

Thank goodness it's only 20 episodes.. otherwise I would be in big trouble.

Mid-semester reflections

It's been awhile, blogosphere.

I'm officially on fall break after taking midterm after midterm after midterm. Seven to be exact. That number goes up to ten tests during finals. :O

I knew going into it that this would be a hard semester, but I still feel like a hot mess, while my classmates seem to thrive and stay on top of things. Though I know I shouldn't compare-perhaps there are some who are ducks in a pond, paddling hard underwater while looking cool and collected on the surface.

It just seems like the minute I think, okay, I know what I'm doing, everything falls apart or some random curveball gets thrown at me. I'm tired of it. This two-day break isn't enough to recover from all of that.

But maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I'm not failing anything, and if I stay focused I can probably do quite well this semester.

I think the number one mantra I need to remember is that school is not my life. My worth is not in school and grades. It doesn't matter what others think of me.

Sometimes it's difficult to remember the above when I'm in that competitive, dental-y environment 40+ hours a week though.

Nightdreaming

Perhaps it's the dull thump of this techno-like music I'm listening to subliminally seeping ideas into my brain, but I'm imagining that the view outside my window looks like this.

Thanks Google search. And Hong Kong for this gorgeous view.

Oh, radiology. Why can't you be more glitzy and glamorous? 

Changing last names after marriage

I just read a blog article about whether a woman (or man marrying a woman, as the article added) should change her/his last name after marriage.

Until recently, I'd always thought that if I do get married, I would definitely take my husband's last name. Just out of tradition, and wanting to create a family unit with everyone sharing a single name. 

However, the blog made me realize that there is now a part of me that perhaps would like to keep my last name. It's unique, and is one of the only ties I have to my Japanese heritage, which is all but non-existent in my life. Plus, once I start working, I would prefer to be called by my current last name because I earned my degree as T. CurrentName, not T. NewName. Is that selfish? >_<

So I thought that maybe legally I would keep my last name, to use professionally, and then use my husband's name socially. But then it made me kind of sad that we would die with different legal last names. I know it wouldn't be true at all, but it makes the marriage sound a tiny bit fraudulent/less valid to me. 

Anyway, this is not something that I have to worry about anytime soon so these are just random musings of a sleepy T.

My life in gifs

2nd year
whatshouldwecalldentistschool:

It started like this

Then the information overload felt like this:

Now every night feels like this:

The amount of info you retain by the next day is this:

Your attention span is like this


And all you need is this

How it feels to be in dental school
whatshouldwecalldental:

How It feels when you’re accepted

How it feels once you’re in for a few months.

Yep, pretty much sums up my life these days. Thanks whatshouldwecalldentistschool and whatshouldwecalldental for commiserating with me! The little sense of humor that has all but been sucked out of me (by dental school, of course) appreciates it.