Life of a PT student

       I just completed my third week of school and my first exam yesterday. Minus the first week of school, the school year has gone by fairly quickly. Moving away was a difficult one for me, it was a challenge to leave all the familiarity of home for a place I had never been to. Throughout my transition from business to PT, I had always fully trusted in the plan that God had in place for me, I felt led to Concord, NH and this is where I'll be for the majority of the next 2-3 years.

           This transition has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has been a challenging one. I had always been more of a introverted person and coming to a new city knowing nobody has been an interesting experience. Being in graduate school almost forces you to be more outgoing because meeting and getting along with your classmates is important in both your academics and social life. The transition here has gone far smoother then I could have ever anticipated. In three short weeks I know the majority of my classmates and have become good friends with several of them. I've had the privilege of meeting people from all over the United States and it's been nothing but a blessing getting to know each one. I was also lucky enough to have two classmates live right down the hall who I get along with really well and study with almost every day. On a typical day, I'm in class for about 4-5 hours and have the rest of the day to relax a little and spend the majority of the night studying. I've learned more in the last 3 weeks than I did in an entire semester in any class in undergrad. I've never had to study this much but I've found studying for this material far better than undergrad. The professors are all extremely helpful and seem to want us succeed which is what had drawn me to the school in the first place.

           The cultural and environmental change from Rockville, MD to Concord, NH has required some adjusting just because I had grown so accustomed to home. Back in Maryland there are plenty of Asian people around and for the first time in my life I feel like a minority. There's only one other Asian person in the class which I am definitely not used to. Some random facts I've learned about NH, Dunkin Donuts dominates Starbucks, there's only one place to buy bubble tea, no korean bbq, sub-par Chinese restaurants, people love walking around with their shirts off (I honestly see it at least once a day), you do not need to wear a seat belt while driving, the state motto is "Live Free or Die."

            I know that this journey won't be easy but I know it'll all be worth it in the end. I know that I was accepted into Franklin Pierce for a reason and I have no regrets in coming here. Every week I have more thrown at me than I know that to do with but I'm taking things one step at a time. I'm trying not to get too stressed out about each class but do my best in managing my time properly. Also, a key for me studying successfully is to take naps before I study. Studying automatically makes me sleepy and taking a nap before hand makes me refreshed before the night ahead.

Here's before/after pictures of my room