One Semester (Almost) Down

I sit here plotting out my schedule for the next fourteen days. Finals are approaching and I need to develop a battle plan to not just survive, but conquer my upcoming finals. It's hard to believe the the first semester has almost come and gone. The excitement of being in pharmacy school wore off weeks ago, and now I find myself aching for finals to end.

To everyone who said I couldn't do all of this this semester, I have but one phrase for you: Go to hell. This includes my school's Academic Office and our class adviser.

My schedule for the vast majority of this semester consisted of:

7:20am - Crawl out of bed
7:50am - Drive to campus
8:20am - Hop on the campus bus
8:50am - Class
11:45pm - 20 minute break for lunch
2:25pm (5pm on Tuesdays, 6pm on Thursdays) - Class ends
3pm (5:30 on T, 6:30 on R) - Go to work
11:30pm - Get off work
11:45 - Get home, say hi to the wife
12:00am - Burst of studying
2:00am - Bedtime

And this doesn't include the 9am to 11:30pm shifts I would work on the occasional Saturday. Yes, for the first two and a half months of pharmacy school I averaged working 50+ hours a week.

Did it suck? Damn straight it did. Did my grades suffer? Not really. Am I glad it's over? Hell yes I am.

This semester has been hell. Luckily my wife has been awesome throughout this, which I mentioned a few weeks ago, and we have everything ready for the arrival of Phathead Jr in about a month.

I have cut back to a mere 33 hours a week, which is roughly what I'll be maintaining next spring. I've tested out of one class, possibly two, so my schedule will be a little lighter. There will be no rest during winter break with a newborn in the house, but I like a challenge.

People in my class and online ask me all the time how in the world I do all of this. Truly, I do not know. I think I've conditioned my body to get used to this sort of thing over the past few years. I'm probably one of the least stressed out students in my class namely because I've been through much worse.

In 2-3 weeks time, this semester will end and I can prepare for the spring. I will be a much, much better student than I was this time around, namely because I know what to expect.

Plus, look at it this way, only 1255 days to go!