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.

The DVM Class of 2017 has kind of earned a reputation of being the type A overachieving sticks in the mud type people from the class above us.  Every year the CVM has a big BBQ where the 2VMs challenge the 1VMs to a dance-off.  And apparently they always make a video for that challenge.  Their video was a pretty awesome bachelorette themed video (somehow only one girl was in the video even though the school is like 80% female).  But in that video, there was a hint of our overzealous studying.

So we decided to make a rebuttal video.  Just to show them that even though we can be crazy intense with our studying, we like to have a little fun every now and then too.  Enjoy!

All right guys.  I know that was a while.  But a whole lot went down since I last wrote last year.  That whole getting unengaged thing can be kind of a bummer.  So naturally I didn't really feel like writing and as a result, this place has been LAME.  Sorry about that.  Thankfully, lots of REALLY COOL EXCITING things have happened to me since then.  And I'm just going to have to catch you guys up on that as we go along.  So get ready. Here it comes.

First off, I graduated from BYU with Honors in Biology.  That was a long time comin, but I loved my time there and made some really great friends that will stick with me for a long time.

Secondly, this past summer I was hired as one of this year's Eco-Explorers at Utah's Hogle Zoo!  And I LOVED it!  There's something amazing about standing next to an adult African elephant or looking into the burning eyes of an Amur tiger that just gets your juices flowing.  As an Eco-Explorer, I had some amazing experiences with some of the coolest animals in the world.  And what was even cooler is that I got to share them with people and help them to see why these animals are important and what we can all do to help save them.  It was pretty awesome.  But since each of these experiences deserve their own post, they're gonna be coming interspersed with other posts from the other awesome life event that has happened since then - VET SCHOOL!

That's right.  I'm a first year veterinary student at the one and only Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  It's incredible.  Now that I'm here, living the dream, I can tell you that all those classes I took at BYU to fulfill every prerequisite of every veterinary school in the United States have been well worth it - and that they have truly pointed me towards my calling in life.  I love animals.  I love medicine.  This place is perfect.

I also got into North Carolina State University, University of Wisconsin, and the University of Illinois.  But when I came here for my interview, I felt this is where I was supposed to go.  And now that I'm here, I can safely say that it pays to listen to the Spirit when He's prompting you!  God knows what He's doing and I'm grateful for my time here, what I've learned so far, and the friends that I've made.

So stay tuned.  It only gets better from here.

As I read A Grief Observed, I was most impressed by the honesty and down-to-earth goodness of the relationship between CS Lewis and his wife Joy.  I loved that they could joke with each other, that they shared the same brilliant minds to analyze literature, and just that they fit so well together.

 He caught my attention when he mentioned that they were completely open with each other and had always known the less-than-glamorous parts of each other.  I love it because that's what a marriage is supposed to do.

We get together because we love each other.  That love eventually pushes and challenges us.  It gets us to grow.  And as both parties grow to become better they find themselves coming closer to the Lord and closer to each other.

Even after her death, as he struggled with intense grief, his love for her pushed him to grow through it - to push past his illusions, to rebuild his faith, and to bring him back to happiness.

I love the seasons and I'll probably write about them every time they inspire me.  There is something so spectacular about the first changing leaves and the first real coat of snow.  Today as I looked out around me I couldn't help but be grateful for the beauty of the place I live.  It snowed a lot last night.  In one evening the world was transformed.

 The last leaves clinging to the trees are now covered in a world of white.  The trees themselves have taken new shape.  Some of them have broken with the weight of their new decoration reminding me that snow is a mixed blessing.  It nourishes, beautifies, and hydrates.  But it also freezes, breaks, and kills.

There is a real deadly beauty to the snow.  I suppose that's why we find it so beautiful.  The things in Nature that impress us most are always the ones that scare us a little.  That's why we call it majestic.  This wondrous dichotomy has impressed others before me.  I think Rg Gregory effectively captured the beauty and danger of snow when he wrote his Images of Snow:

The most profound imagery for me in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the un-dragonning of Eustace.  After a brief conversation with Aslan, he realizes he has to remove his skin.  He does so only to discover another layer beneath.  This goes on and on until it seems almost hopeless.  Aslan then informs Eustace that he's going to have to let Aslan help him.  Aslan sinks his claws into Eustace's tough dragon skin and tears it from his body.  It's excruciating but exhilarating.  Eustace looks into the pool before him and realizes that he has been set free.  From then on out, Eustace is a changed boy who will come to play important roles in further Narnian stories.

Repentance is exactly the same.  Very often we realize that we need to change and begin to make efforts only to find further difficulties revealed.  It is only when we let the Lord take charge that real change actually begins.

     The magical world of Narnia exists as a place of ultimate freedom. Within it, there is a nature with an openness not found in our world.  Here fairy tales and imagination blossom in a more transparent yet more concrete way.  Right and wrong appear more distinct. The possibilities within Narnia appear endless.  The honesty and the other-worldliness in Narnia create the real growth the Pevinsies experience.  To truly embrace Narnia is to be un-fettered. This world holds us back.  Every day we are bombarded with messages that we are not good enough, smart enough, or attractive enough.  Before long, a chain of doubts, insecurities, and proprieties find the Gods within us crammed into neat little boxes.  Entering Narnia changes all that.  Narnia is a place where divine potential is unleashed.