So my first year of PT has come and gone in what seems like a blink of an eye and an eternity at the same time. I can without a doubt say that this has been the most stressful 9 months of my life with these last three being the absolute worst. Many times throughout the term I wanted to give up and go home. I've never been so stressed and tired on a consistent basis and I just began to question if I was smart enough to be a PT. It's hard to put into words exactly how I felt these three months but I'm blessed and thankful to have gotten through what should be our most difficult term.
There's no pamphlet on long distance relationships and the only thing you can really do is to learn from your experiences. I've asked friends who have been in long distance relationships and there's only so much someone can tell you. Actually, being in a long distance relationship is where you really learn how difficult it can be. Ashley and I had our share of disputes but these past few months have taught us about the importance of communication. When you're constantly seeing each other it's easier to relay feelings but when distance enters the equation you have to rely on phone, Skype and gchat communication. We've also learned about the importance of effort and sacrifice. It's easy for us to get caught up with our own lives and not think too much about the other person and what they're doing.
While these past three months have been extremely emotionally and physically stressful I've learned and grown from the experience. I'm thankful to have gone through everything because I believe I am a better person because of it. I've learned a lot about the steps I need to take to improve in being a student and I hope to continue to grow and improve. I'm thankful for my classmates, friends, family and God for helping me through this time.
For now, I'm extremely happy to be home and start my clinicals next week. I'm excited, nervous and anxious to be getting real hands-on experience. I'm also happy to be able to spend more time with my family and friends back home. I'm also happy to be able to eat some real Chinese food (yes I missed it A LOT when I was in NH.) For now I'm going to enjoy my time in Chicago with Ashley (I'm actually writing this while she's driving, we're on our way there now) and look forward to clinicals next week!
