New Beginning

My new classmates and I are currently a little over half-way through our first week as students in the Georgia Tech MSPO program, and I could not be more excited about what lies ahead of us. I admit that I am a little anxious about the amount if information that must be learned, the rigor of our schedule, and the reality of learning to work with patients for the first time. However, the slight amount of anxiety is far outweighed by a feeling of privilege to be here along with sheer joy that it has finally arrived. If you have kept up with my blog for any amount of time (all three of you), then you know the path that I have traveled – mentally, physically, and emotionally – on my journey to this point. As I have met my new classmates, soon to be my nine best friends, and as we have been introduced this week to the program for which we are here, I have become more excited each day with anticipation. There is some element of the already-but-not-yet feeling (for those PCAers out there that know the phrase), or the realization that I am here but that the road ahead is a long and potentially never-ending one. I am seeing the reality that two years of school followed by two years of residency will hardly scratch the surface of being able to learn all there is to know and understand in the field of prosthetics and orthotics. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to get started, and I am so thankful of the constant reminder that we are here to help people. This end goal is a refreshing one after working so hard in an environment that revolved around the almighty dollar for so long. Granted, the nuclear industry is focused on safety and other very important goals also, but at the end of the day if the dollar isn’t there then the plants wouldn’t be either. I am seeing in the world of prosthetics and orthotics that the dollar is important to the extent that everyone will hopefully be able to feed their families, but otherwise the focus is wholeheartedly on serving people with limb loss or muscle/nervous deficiency. From what we have been told so far, our class will hit the ground running next Monday morning, and we will hardly breathe again until our graduation, which will be one year and nine months from now. Thankfully, we have been given the motivation to jump in feet first and embrace this challenge with all that we have and are. I fully intend this to not only be my second but also my last and best career. Let the journey begin!