That’s what it feels like. I’m surrounded by a sea of flashcards, notebooks, and mass quantities of information. My math and micro test loom like sharks circling while I hold my fear in so they can’t smell it.
The past two weeks look like a tornado unexpectedly tore through my life. CNA 2 class ended which means I have my evenings back. However, I’ve since been playing catch up with micro and math, studying non-stop until the wee hours of the morning. It has not been easy. I’m tired. Really tired. The kind of tired where I’m mentally exhausted as though my brain has been in sprint mode. Microbiology is interesting, to say the least. We’re learning all about bacteria and viruses. I’m no germaphobe but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me think twice about touching a public doorknob. Our bodies are amazing machines in that we can fight off all the harmful things both inside and out of it. Seeing E. coli under a microscope was fascinating and disturbing all at the same time.
I can’t say I’m thrilled with our instructors. Our micro professor, while funny, is a hot mess. His lectures are scattered, his notes totally and utterly disorganized. It’s as though the
Our math instructor is super particular. Even that is an understatement. I definitely lost the instructor lottery this term. But that’s how it goes sometimes. This term has been about adjustment. It’s been completely and utterly out of my comfort zone. What worked to study previously did not work for micro so I’ve had to pivot and redirect my focus and study methods several times to be more efficient in taking in the high volume of information in a short period of time. Inside my head, I want to scream. I miss the warm, fuzzy AP study zone where I had a routine. In hindsight this will be a good lesson. The nursing program is fast and furious. It requires being self driven and the ability to flex. I have to have this skillset or I’ll sink.
In less than a month I’ll start working two days a week and will again have to readjust. As much as I hate it, I also appreciate that I have the time to test run new study techniques between now and the fall when the program would begin. I’m grateful to have such an awesome study group- who works hard but knows when to laugh and when we’ve “hit our wall” after hours of studying.
Time to dive deep again. See you when I surface in a week.