It is hard to know what to expect from optometry school. We all have questions and we all try to compare it to past experiences. However, I have come to the realization that coming to optometry school feels like a restart in the best way possible. You not only get to decide the kind of legacy that you want to leave on campus, but also the kind of doctor you will be in the future.
There are many different aspects of optometry that you can decide to be involved in, and at the end of the day, it will absolutely be what you decide to make of it. Maybe there was something that you wanted to be involved in, during your undergrad, but felt like you couldn’t make time for it. Now is the time. You can decide if you want to use your gifts to serve others in your community by volunteering or you might feel really passionate about the profession of optometry and want to advocate for it. Whatever you decide to be involved in could alter your trajectory as a future doctor.
The campus community is another aspect where you can begin to build a legacy of your choosing. The community is quaint and intimate and you will get to decide the part that you want to play in that. You can choose to be a light in a place that is full of stress and worry. You can decide if you want to be the one encouraging others before an exam. Maybe you want to be the one that people admire for the hard work you put into studying. You and your peers will all be going through similar hardships, and you can decide the impact you will have on not only your own experience, but also others. Optometry school is hard, but the attitude that you have about it really can cause a chain reaction with those around you.
Everything that you are learning seems to have more of a purpose. When you’re learning about anatomy and diseases, you realize that committing yourself to learning this information and the role it plays in the lives of individuals around the world, can and will save a life. When you’re practicing clinical skills, you get this amazing realization that you will be performing these on real patients. You will be able to give patients a better quality of life. Optometry school is rewarding to know that what you’re learning will allow you to better care for people. You realize that everything that you are able to commit to memory in school now will only make you a more successful doctor.
I realized that being in optometry school in Southern California is such a gift. To have the passion, the intelligence, the financial means (thank you FASFA), and the support to be here is truly not something everyone gets to experience. So I hope that if you are given the opportunity to restart in optometry school, you remember that starting from the beginning can lead to some pretty extraordinary outcomes.