Midterms are over! That was quite possibly the most intense 2 and 1/2 week time span I have ever had in an academic career. Finally, as of 10:30 this morning there are no more midterms to be taken and just grades to be given.
Midterms started with Structure and Function, which was not a midterm you could really study for- all you could do is go in with the knowledge of how to make a flow chart based off all the case history they give you. I was not very comfortable going into that midterm, but in the end the case flowed smoothly and I got a grade I'm happy enough with that I am not fussing at all over that class. That was the only midterm the first week, and it's a good thing- because I needed that weekend and time in between to study for the rest of them.
From that point forward the following week, we had a midterm Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Friday again. Not to mention for the most part we had a regular full schedule of classes so somedays I was in school til 4:30 and then had a little time to prepare for the next test. Needless to say I learned a lot about how I need to prepare differently for the finals.
The next midterm in line was for Anatomy and that consisted of a laboratory potion which was practical identification of things like muscles, tendons, actions/origins/insertions of muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. It was not the easiest test I've ever taken that's for sure. I left hoping to pass it, which I did but not with a grade I am happy with and for the final I will need to work extremely hard to get a final grade I do like. We have to pass both the lab and the lecture components of the course even if our combined total for the class is passing. The lecture portion of that exam I felt confident when I left that it went well, and even though my grade wasn't as high as I had hoped it was actually pretty good, and I know where I can improve on it for the final.
That Wednesday's midterm was Animal Productions. The material for that class is not new material for me really, but what I wasn't expecting while I was studying for it was the level of detail we needed to remember to answer some of their questions- I expected broad understanding type questions and was a bit surprised to find details like numbers required. The grade on that exam was actually one I was a bit happily surprised with; while it is not my favorite number it is also one I am quite confident I can use to bolster my final grade.
Friday was immunology- which was a test I felt uncomfortable with. It's not a secret that he doesn't do much to alter his exams from year to year (at least not a secret to us students), and so for years now the questions have circulated so we can get an idea of what is going to be on the test, but that doesn't ever mean you feel like you can trust he won't change a test, so I did study quite hard for his exam. The material is dry, it is difficult to follow his notes, and there is a TON of information to try and recall. His test is also all short answer/essay and he is someone who grades by looking for keywords, not necessarily reading every answer to determine their validity. The test he used was recycled material BUT all the same the grade I got was more because I worked hard to try and remember it and less because I memorized the answers off old tests. In fact, my grade is fine by me, but probably not nearly as good as it would have been had I just memorized old answers and used them.
Monday brought Physiology. I expected this test to be the most difficult one I would face-- rumors from years above us were that his tests were difficult and not many people did well. I studied hard- even got up early to study the morning of the test which I don't normally do because I have always felt that if I didn't know the material by day of, I wouldn't learn it. Grades were posted today-- he announced in class on Thursday that overall grades were great- many people had 40 or more points out of 50, several had between 30 and 40... and just 3 people fell below that. I won't say what my score was...given those statistics I wasn't overly thrilled with my grade, but I also could have done worse and I didn't fall into the below 30 out of 50 category.
Tuesday was Animal Behavior. The test is not one I anticipated being difficult because I have taken more than one behavior class in the past. The difficult aspect to that test was trying to weed out what was important enough for them to test us on. Out of 100 or so pages of material there were 8 questions and so even though they were short answer questions you still had to have some degree of knowledge from what they presented to pass. I felt ok with the test when it was done, but I do not have the grade for that yet.
Finally today was Histology. Last midterm! I had a little more time to prepare for this test than the others given that we had our previous midterm on Tuesday. I also felt fairly good about the material presented in the lecture/labs. I have always liked histology type things. I had to take the written portion of this exam first and I am not sure I have ever had multiple choice questions quite that difficult before. I think i did ok on the written portion of the exam but it was by and large a struggle. Then came the lab practical- he took slide images, put them on powerpoint and then asked for identification. Sounds fair enough right? Well, for starters some of the images we only got to see at one power (on the microscope)-- which is sometimes ok but other times I need to see them at all the powers to make my full determination. Some of the images were tough to distinguish key features on. Some of the images I am not sure I had ever seen things like it in my life. I am not very confident about how this portion of the test went- and I have heard from years past he purposely makes his exam very difficult- well he succeeded. I imagine grades will be back sometimes next week.
Overall, I am stressed about a few classes but I know how to make my adjustments, I know better what to expect, and I know I am not going to allow myself to struggle-- if I find I am behind I will just seek out help. I would like to say that I am confident I will yank some of my grades up by several points but if the best I can do is pass by the skin of my teeth, I will take it and move on.
Outside of midterms I have had some great experiences lately. Last Sunday I offered to volunteer at the Humane Society microchip clinic. Myself and one other student spent three hours chipping dogs that came to the local pet store. It was nice to be active with animals again, and it was nice to get to know someone from another year at school- and a break from studying! Sunday night my very nice landlords invited me over for dinner at their place. They cooked a beautiful turkey meal and all the fixings with it- I really enjoyed it and they are very nice people! They filled me in on their newest horse that they purchased at the yearling sale and it was nice to get to learn a bit more about them, the area and things on the island. I'm grateful to have nice landlords! Tuesday at school I was chosen in a lottery to participate in an equine endoscopy wet lab. It was a great learning experience! I don't have much experience in general with large animals, but we learned what a general endoscopic exam entails and what we were looking for. It was a lot of fun too! Tuesday morning I also had my shift down in the small animal clinic playing with the blood donor kitties-- it was nice to cuddle with some super nice and cute cats! Lastly, this weekend I get to participate in a feral cat spay/neuter program. This is set up so a 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st year student are in a group. We are responsible collectively for sedating the cat, doing a physical, blood draw, vaccines, anesthesia monitoring, and surgery. Even though this isn't new territory for me I still am looking forward to seeing how it is done here. The 3/4 years do the spays but the 1/2nd years usually get to do a neuter! I am looking forward to it- and meeting new people-- but as usual before any new experience I am nervous. I am sure it will be fine!
I hope that this weekends weather holds as I would like to do some island touring tomorrow as well, both on foot and in car. It's been chilly here, but decent weather as far as rain goes. Hard to believe November starts this upcoming week!
On a final note, I have decided that like the season things in my life are changing. Some of it has been gradual, some of it has been quick, and some of it has been not by choice. In particular some friendships I've discovered are not what I thought, and others are stronger than I ever imagined. It's funny how life sometimes shows you things when you step away and take a look from a new place/light. In the near future I'm going to make changes that I want, that will lead me to being the happy person I want to be. I am not going to be the one always making sacrifices, and I'm not going to be the convenience friend any more!
Happy Halloween friends... hope it's a ghoulishly good time :)
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