Being in vet school can be extremely challenging at times.  From Monday September 23rd to Monday September 30th I took five tests.  Yes, you did read that right.  Five.  Three one-hour histology tests, a four-hour anatomy test, and a physiology test.

Those days it all seems too much.  You wonder if you're even going to make it through.  Then you get your grades back and it's almost as stressful as when you were studying for and taking those tests.  We're veterinary students.  We all want to excel.  And when you get a grade you aren't completely pleased with, it's hard not to get upset with yourself.  Those crazy days studying and those days you wished you had studied more can really get to ya.

But thankfully there are other days where you sit in histology and are amazed at the beautiful complexity of the equine hoof.  Check out the picture above.  That is a cross section of the microscopic anatomy of the hoof wall.  It's beautiful.  It's wonderfully adapted to a life born on four toes.  And it's easy to see how a slight mess up could cause some real problems.

Today was one of those days where I just sat back and thought, "I'm in vet school.  I DID it.  I'm leaving the dream."

My day started out taking care of TJ, one of A&M's blood donor horses, for my clinical correlates class. He was a little spirited as we took him out to his paddock this morning cause he just wanted some grass. Classes started out with learning about how cool the equine hoof is in histology lecture.  In physiology we learned how to interpret electrocardiograms.  In anatomy we dissected the abdominal cavity and I finally could clearly see the different ligaments of the uterus.  Then in histology we looked at the microscopic anatomy of hooves and claws.  It was awesome.

By the time I was back out there to bring TJ in for the night, I had a whole new appreciation for his feet. Who knew that there was so much awesome in his toes?

Life is full of awesome opportunities.  The trick is to give them our all in our pursuit of them and to enjoy it while we're at it.