Twelve in Twelve

     Hopefully more like twelve for twelve! I recently set a GOAL to complete twelve races in the year 2012. It's only January 7th, and I'm already one for one! Despite the races name, the Frostbite 5K, a friend of mine and I signed up for the race and prepared for what we thought would be one of the coldest races of our lives. However, the uncharacteristically warm weather proved the name somewhat inappropriate, thank goodness. It was 53 degrees when the race started with sun shiny skies and minimal wind, and even though the race started uphill, it was still a total success. We both met and surpassed our original goal of 30 minutes and finished the race in 28:49. Not too bad considering we hadn't run in over a month!
     With eleven more races to go this year, I've made sure to sign up for several races at an early date. I am already registered for the Anthem 5K, the Rodes City Run 10K, and the Papa Johns 10 Miler, as well as the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon. And although finishing twelve races this year is a GOAL I have set for myself, I still find it necessary to set individual goals for each race as well. Next up is the Anthem 5K with a finishing goal of under 26 minutes. Meaning I have 56 days to shave nearly 3 minutes off of todays finishing time. What I think is an achievable goal with a little bit of work and dedication.
     On another note, I've recently started going to a yoga class on Saturday mornings. It's an interesting practice that I think I will really enjoy once I get the terminology down. If there is one thing I've learned from the two sessions I've been to, it's that you have to respect your body for what it can and can't do, all the while never losing faith in what you WILL be able to do if you just keep trying. I am defiantly not a flexible person and I have limitations that most of the other yoga goers don't struggle with. I think thats the beauty of it though. The fact that I have something to work towards has always been a GREAT motivator for me and being limited in my practice just means that I need to practice more. Not a bad reality to accept and apply to everything in your life!
     Lastly, I know it has been several months since I've posted anything on this blog and since we are talking about goals in 2012 I figure it would be appropriate to list some of the other changes I'd like to make this year. Besides keeping up with my blog posts, I'd also like to attempt a Gluten FREE diet, get more sleep, read more, and of course, my favorite, have more fun! So here's to NEW YEARS resolutions and to a fantastic 2012, CHEERS!

Days of The Week That Start With T: TODAY & TOMORROW

I've been thinking too much lately. Too much about TODAY. Too much about TOMORROW. So much that I haven't even been able to keep up with my own thoughts, let alone put them out there for someone else to try and run along side. Needless to say, this blog has taken the back seat on this ride called life and honestly I haven't even had time to check the rearview mirror. I don't really have time to check it tonight, but it's about time that I at least bring myself up to speed.

The past two and half months have been the busiest two and half months of my life. So busy that I cannot tell you where the hours have gone. However, I can tell you that I successfully finished my sophomore year of Dental school, ran the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon, took an unexpected trip to Wyoming, endured Endodontics root camp, started doing the 60 day Insanity workout, and somehow survived local anesthesia where we learned to give injections using one another as pin cushions.  Unfortunately, my time restraints are going to dictate the content of this post, so I'm going to do my best to break each of these down in a minimal fashion.

Finishing Sophomore year of dental school was enough of a challenge in itself, that I'm not even comfortable attempting to condense it for fear of depreciating it.

The mini-Marathon was an overall success and I finished in under 2 hours, which was well ahead of my original goal.

I found out on a Monday that my best friend, my person, was facing a possible breast cancer diagnosis. I  bought a plane ticket on Wednesday, and flew out to Salt Lake City the following Friday. Luckily,  "summer break" fell during that week and I was able to be there for the actual diagnosis. God has been answering our prayers thus far and for that I am humbly grateful.

Root Camp = Boot Camp. Enough Said!

Insanity might just be the best workout program ever designed for me. I'm only a few days into it, but I've already established a love/hate relationship with it, which we all know means that I'm addicted and that I won't stop until I've kicked its ass.

Thank God local anesthesia is over! Although my partners were amazing and nothing was too physically painful, I still have to admit that I didn't feel as much like a pin cushion as I did like a crash test dummy. As if I were getting into the car over and over again even though I already knew it was going to crash.

With all the pressure this pressure pot has been building up for the past 6 months, you would think I would be ready to explode by now.  Instead, I am finally starting to feel the pressure valves backing off. Yes, I know I still have to pass boards. Yes, I know I start clinic in just 4 short weeks. Yes, I have a bachelorette party to plan, Father's day to celebrate, a filling that needs replaced, and a Warrior Dash to complete. But I also know that my best friend in the world is starting chemotherapy tomorrow and she is not complaining one bit. I am also fully aware that TODAY was a productive day and that TOMORROW will lead me one step closer to celebrating my sweet sweaty success.

Change

I was offered a dental hygiene job with Heartland Dental Care in the summer of 2008. In order to take the full time position with Heartland, I had to quit my job at the dental office where my Hygiene career began. I'll admit to this day I was intimidated. I was worried I would regret leaving the job I had become so comfortable with for one that I knew was a world apart from where I'd been. Working in private practice for three years meant that I had heard a lot of things about corporate dentistry and their so called "drive thru dental practices" with elaborate treatment plans and money hungry motives, but I took the job anyway.

I am so glad I took the job. The opportunity Heartland gave me turned out to be more than just a job. It changed my life. In the short year I worked with the wonderful people at Lifetime Smiles, my attitude and perspective completely changed. I learned about dentistry, team work, life, and myself. I established life long relationships, experienced both personal and professional growth, and developed an even greater passion for dentistry. I loved my job, my patients and my co-workers/friends. In December 2008, I was accepted to the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. After almost four years of practice I had finally found my place in the dental world, but I had to make a choice. I chose to quit my job and go to dental school, and then I cried.

I really cried. I cried so hard I couldn't drive home. I pulled over in the Meijer parking lot and sobbed for an hour. I didn't know how I was going to leave something that was so important to me. Like I said before, Heartland and the people there were a big part of my life and I felt like I was letting everyone down. Letting down my team, my patients, and myself. I walked away from something I truly loved in order to gain something I truly wanted. I made a choice and that choice brought me here.

Here I am about to finish my second year of dental school. Here I am thinking about all the change I have been through and all the change that is coming my way. Here I am blogging about the past in order to try and sort out the future, or to at least soften its fearful features. Here I am with the world in the palm of my hands, the world with all of its opportunity and choices. Here I am wondering what choices I should make and what kind of change my choices will bring...

Clean Slate

It's the first day of March and I love it! I love the first day of any month. There's something exciting about it. Something fresh and clean. Maybe it's the obsessive compulsive nature in me, but I have always appreciated the closure of the previous month and enjoy the anticipation of what the next month might bring.

February was a short month, no pun intended. A short month that required a lot of hard work and determination, but one that also allowed for some quality self-reflection. I registered for the mini-marathon, the triple crown of running, and boards. I made plans to cash in my birthday present, two plane tickets out west, for an overdue vacation in August. I also started this blog, ran the first of the three crown races, made a full gold crown, had an endoscope, ran three consecutive eight and a half minute miles, met some new people, aced all of my exams, ate at new restaurants, planted seeds for a new friendship, killed an orchid, and started working on a gluten free diet. So although February may have only lasted twenty-eight days, they were all full of that sweet sweaty success that I feed on. 

My favorite of February's successes drives my excitement for the clean slate and fresh scent of March, the success of inadvertent self-reflection. A few days ago, a new friend of mine inadvertently unlocked the doors which were barricading me from myself. I felt awakened, as if I had been sleep walking my way through dental school. I felt exfoliated, as if I were shedding the skin of whomever the strangers I had been wearing. I was already aware of how my attitude toward and false perception of life here in Louisville was affecting me and my ability to enjoy it here, but I was oblivious to the consequences that my character were facing. Oblivious to the fact that the people around me were conceptualizing the person they THINK I am. I am nothing if I am not unforeseeable, but I cannot blame them for assuming certain explanations for my apparent lack of interest in them. Which is precisely the reason I am breaking out the eraser from my life survival kit. An eraser to remind myself that March is a new month and that I can start out on a clean slate. That I can erase this pseudo hermit from my life and start developing the relationships I have missed out on thus far.

It is the first day of March and I love it! I love March for all of its opportunity and room for growth. I love March for its fresh scent and clean slate.

If You Don't Run, You Rust

I cannot believe that it has been two weeks since my last post. Two long grueling weeks, with less than acceptable hours of sleep and most definitely less than acceptable miles under my belt. Sleep and running just do not fit into a schedule that includes exams in Pathomedicine, Fixed Prosthodontics, and Pharmacology, as well as a nearly impossible full gold crown project, all packed into just seven short days. The good thing is, I more than survived the two longest weeks of dental school thus far, I conquered them. My efforts are positively reflected in the exam grades I have received and I'm confident that my crown will pass the test as well. The last two weeks may not have been sweaty, but they were, without a doubt, successful. 

In the midst of the madness last week, I took most of the day off on Saturday to attend a memorial service for one of my best friends grandmother, Virginia. Anne, "Wools," and I have been close since our cross country days in high school. She was my maid of honor in our wedding and means the world to me. She did everything she could for her grandmother and I always enjoyed visiting Virginia with her. The service was peaceful, sweet, and full of love and appreciation for her. It was a heart warming experience and I'm truly glad I was able to be a part of it. I am thankful for the opportunity to support Wools and for my husband, Cal, for driving me to Indy and back so that I could make the most of my time on the road. 

After seven days of maximum stress and minimal endurance to spare, our class decided to have a party to celebrate the end of the insanity which had consumed us. Thursday afternoon drug itself out as if we were third graders on the last day of school. As if the bell were about to ring and all seventy-nine of us would be free for the summer. Dr. Mattingly was lecturing on treatment planning, but all I could hear were the lyrics to Tom Petty's Big Weekend:

I need a big weekend.
Kick up the dust.
Yeah a big weekend.

If you don't run, you rust.

We ran alight. The class party was Friday night which started with beer pong and Jenga and ended up at Molly Malones, a cute little Irish Pub on Bardstown Road. Saturday, Cal and I literally kicked up the dust at the National Farm Machinery Shows tractor/truck pull where we were very excited to see our friends take first and third place. Congrats Van and Curt and everyone at Haisley Machine! Needless to say, it was a great way to shake off the residual stress from the weeks prior and overall one of the better weekends I've had since I moved here. A good sign that my attitude is in fact changing and that enjoying life as a dental student isn't impossible. I am looking forward to a light week at school and catching up on my mini-marathon training. Looking forward to running to keep from rusting!  

"Attitude is a Choice"

Although I love Dentistry, I can't honestly say that I've loved dental school thus far. Maybe if I were younger, or less influenced by life's experiences this place would be a little more palatable. Or maybe, I should just change my attitude and smile about it.

I applied to dental school for several reasons. The most important one: knowing that if I were successful at accomplishing such a daunting task, I would never have to work another day in my life. It might sound cliche to you, or even unrealistic, but as stressful as practicing Dental Hygiene could be, I never woke up thinking, "I don't want to go to work today." I loved my job. I loved my patients. I loved being trusted, having people depend on me, taking care of others, making people smile. My goal was to never feel comfortable in my work, but to continue to master it everyday and to continue to grow as a person and a clinician. That's how I ended up here. The ladder was only so high and although I knew there was still a lot of ground to cover, I also knew I wouldn't be satisfied. So I wrote this:

     I once read a short story about a man who encountered a young boy while walking on the beach.  The boy was tossing starfish off the beach and back into the ocean.  When the man asked the boy what he was doing, he told him that the tide had gone out and that if he did not get the starfish back into the ocean they would die.  The man responded and asked, "There are hundreds of starfish along the beach, what makes you think you can make a difference?"  As the boy tossed yet another one back he replied, "I made a difference for that one." This story is an example of why I want to be a dentist and why I am applying to dental school.  I am applying because I desire and anticipate the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people I encounter throughout my dental career. 

     I began my career in the dental field when I was accepted to the Dental Hygiene Program at Indiana University-Purdue University of Fort Wayne in July of 2003.  After completing the program with a 4.0 GPA and graduating with highest distinction, I obtained my dental hygiene license from the Indiana State Board of Dentistry in June of 2005.  I then began working as a dental hygienist in two general dental practices.  After spending a short period of time in these offices I was fully aware that I was not satisfied with limiting my dental career to hygiene.  It was not long before I began obtaining information on applying to dental school. Today, I am submitting this application for the 2009 admittance cycle with perseverance and great determination.

     As a practicing dental hygienist I find the greatest pleasure in my work comes when I am able to make a profound difference in my patient’s lives, by providing them with care that will last them a lifetime.  I achieve this by educating them on the importance of oral hygiene, changing their outlook on the purpose of dentistry, motivating them to make their oral health a priority, and by providing the best care I am able to provide them every time they are in my chair.  I enjoy establishing personal relationships with my patients, challenging cases and patients of all ages.  I ensure that my patients receive the kind of care that I would expect for myself or my family and I take pride in my work.

     Although I have a great passion for dentistry and for the people I encounter in it, I am also passionate about many other things in life.  For example, I was recently married in May of this year and am excited about my role as a wife and future mother.  My husband and I have two dogs, a yellow lab we call Luke, and a yorkie named Leia.  In the summer I enjoy camping, fishing, riding my LTZ 400 Suzuki ATV, and most of all boating where I enjoy my newest and most challenging summer hobby, wakeboarding.  We take at least two snow skiing trips a year and love to go ice fishing in the winter.  However my favorite activity is one that I enjoy year round.  It is my ongoing training in Brazilian Ju-jitsu.  Training in Ju-Jitsu fighting keeps me in shape, helps me to relax, and provides me with a means of self-defense and self-discipline.

     I am currently a full time hygienist at Lifetime Smiles Dental Care in Marion, Indiana who is eager to continue furthering my dental education.  I will continue to practice dental hygiene with care and concern as I await acceptance into the dental program where my true passion lies.  I will strive to make a difference for each and everyone of the people I encounter in my dental hygiene career.  As a person who is compassionate toward others, I will continue to help those in need whether it be a patient or coworker, a church member or even an elderly person at the grocery store.  As a person who finds self satisfaction in helping others, I will continue to search for satisfaction.  I am submitting this application with great hope and high spirits that I will someday be able to provide the highest quality of lifetime care to all those in need.  Someday I will make a difference in more ways than I can even imagine. 

I submitted this, along with my application, and after nearly a year of anticipation, I recieved the good news. News that I was going to dental school. News that my dream was going to become a reality. News that in four short years, I was going to be back to work, treating people, making a difference everyday and loving every minute of it. The problem: I forgot to consider the time in-between. All that mattered was that I was in and that my hard worked had paid off. However, now that I'm here, I have to admit that the challenges I expected to find, are the smallest hurdles I've had to jump; the dead lines, exams, projects, time constraints, hours and hours of studying. These are the necessary evils I signed up for by coming here. The REAL challenges have be the ones involving my personal life; moving away from my family, quitting my job, moving in with a stranger, abandoning my comfort zone and exploring the zones of learning. The real challenges are the ones that I've let control my attitude for far too long now. I've refused to enjoy this place, to be happy here, to roll with the punches and soak up the experience. Instead, I've chosen to focus on the end, telling myself this is temporary and that it will all be worth it someday. 

Getting into dental school is the kind of good news that changes your future, but I've got good news that is going to change the present. It's changing, because I'm changing my perspective. Training for the mini marathon is reminding me of how much I truly enjoy life.  It is reminding me of why I am here in the first place, how hard I worked to get here, and the fact that I deserve to enjoy it.  After all, it is more than just four temporary years, it's four years of my life.

I've decided that it is time to stop dealing and start living, so today I'm making a choice. A choice to believe that attitude, is in fact, a choice. "Attitude is a choice, and I'm ready to choose the best for myself."

20 Weeks

Twenty weeks to be prepared for what I perceive as the last BIG hurdle between me and my dream. Twenty weeks to master Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Histology, and Microbiology all the while juggling Pharmacology, Pathology, and numerous other exams, quizzes, and projects. Twenty weeks until I take the National Board Examination part 1 for Dentistry.

I have taken a National Board before, back when I thought Dental Hygiene was the end of my college career and the beginning of my life outside of school. I keep reminding myself that it wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be, but somehow this doesn't seem the same. I had time, time to focus, time to think, time to breathe, time that I do not have right now. And even though the information was just as dense, I was using it everyday in the clinics. I haven't thought much about Microbiology, hell let's be honest, I haven't thought about it, or any of the other courses, since their respective finals. How could I? It's difficult enough to focus on the current ones; Pathomedicine, Pharmacology and Fixed Prosthodontics to name a few. I just keep hearing this semester repeat itself out loud saying, "Welcome to Dental school Jyme, are you prepared?"

I have been saying for months now that I am going to work out a schedule, make a plan, get on it, start studying, be productive and so on. However, here I sit, writing about how I need to work out a schedule, make a plan, get on it, ok you get the point. I am hoping that taking my daily journal writings, that only I know exist, and putting them out there for someone to read will motivate me. I don't know who reads blogs, or if people even care, but I figure that I type faster than I write anyway and I could obviously benefit from time saved. 

On top of scheduling for boards, I also registered for the Louisville Kentucky Derby MiniMarathon this week. I ran for the first time today since August and any distance really since June. It felt amazing! Just me, all alone on the treadmill, pounding it out. A good sweat never hurt anybody. I think running is my ticket to motivation for a lot of things in life. It's a big part of how I got here in the first place. I've been a runner since I joined the cross country team in the 6th grade. I was faster than anyone expected, even myself, and I ran my way to the top of every school record in both middle and high school. I ran solo at the State Championship my freshman year, wearing a shirt with my favorite quote on it. One by Steve Prefontaine, which most runners will recognize, "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift." I have always tried to apply this quote to everything I do in life, including getting into Dental school. In fact, I used it in my entrance essay for admission, but that's a story for later. 

Bottom line, it's time to get serious. Serious about studying, serious about training, serious about giving my best so that my gifts can continue to thrive. The harder I work, the easier it will be and the more I run, the more tickets to motivation I will earn.  

Twenty weeks full of training, studying, and dedication. Twenty weeks full of sweet sweaty success.