the last year of dental school

All smiles because today was my last first day of dental school with kicking off my senior year. It's finally here! 

I remember thinking that this past week before becoming a senior was such a hectic one because last week, I extracted 10 teeth with an alveoplasty and continuous locking sutures, delivered my first completed denture and started 3 more, did a pulpectomy (type of root canal) on a pediatric patient, and saw emergency patients too--all while studying as much as possible for my national board dental exam. Yet, all of that was a drop in the bucket compared to how crazy things are about to be. I'm terrified and excited all in one for this final year of dental school. There have been so many moments during the process where I doubted if I could make it through. But getting to this point is proof that I am worthy and I am capable of becoming a dentist. Now, there are only 366 more days left and I better get to it because there is a lot to do. 

friday favorites 04.20.18

Just checking in after having been missing in action around this space all week. It has been a busy one, but in a good way. 

friday favorites 04.13.18

Just realizing that today is Friday the 13th, which feels about right because I have the bad luck of kicking off a weekend full of studying. In fact, it's only 7AM and I've already done a few hours worth of cramming this morning. 

Let's just hope that this is the worst of my luck today since I'm spending the day on an emergency pediatric dental rotation where anything can happen. But first, a few highlights from this week.  

exploring the big easy!

The big easy truly is the perfect way to describe New Orleans. Husband and I are always so stressed out and on the go, so it was amazing to meet up in NOLA and really take a few days to enjoy the laid-back easy-going lifestyle here. 

We flew into NOLA late Thursday night and had a nice long weekend there, which was plenty of time to explore this unique city. We slept-in every morning, strolled & biked the city streets, and ate more than our fill of all the great creole cuisine. 

Here's just a peak of our time in New Orleans! 

a glimpse of mardi gras

We may have missed out on Mardi Gras, but we still managed to get the best glimpse of it while we were in New Orleans. 

We got to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the massive warehouse where they build and store the parade floats for the year. This was definitely a favorite stop during our time in NOLA. It gave us such a great perspective on this city and its traditions. 

I've always thought of Mardi Gras as being a crazy time and it definitely is. But there is so much history and pride and culture that goes into this parade too. 

extractions

Sorry. I know this pic is a bit graphic. GROSS were Husband's exact words. Ha! But it's what I do and I'm extremely proud of it. I was up early this Saturday volunteering at a free dental clinic extracting teeth.  

All the volunteers put in an 8 hour day and even though I was exhausted, it was literally the best possible way to spend my weekend. It's indescribable how amazing it feels to provide medical care to so many people who really need it and couldn't afford it otherwise. Nothing that I could have possibly done with my Saturday was as important as volunteering today with relieving so much pain and getting rid of disease. I truly feel so lucky to be a dental student and to be honing skills that are valued. I cannot wait for my next opportunity to volunteer this summer when I'll be headed on a medical mission trip! 

happy weekending. 

friday favorites 04.06.18

This has been an interesting week to say the least. It started out with a dreamy weekend in New Orleans and hit it's low point when a patient vomitted on my yesterday---ironically, I wasn't even touching them at the time. So yeah, like I said. It's been an interesting week. 

dental school lately: vol. 4

This update of dental school lately is long overdue. I've been so busy and overwhelmed and it's only going to get crazier over the next couple of months. 

My last and final year of dental school kicks off at the end of April, which is hard to believe, but so exciting too. So while things are a bit more manageable right now, it's good timing for a dental school update. 

Easter in New Orleans

I think it’s safe to say that Husband and I had a pretty untraditional Easter weekend living it up in New Orleans. But nothing about our lives right now feels traditional, so why should this weekend be any different?