I am soaking up my last free summer for the rest of my life. As I reflect on the last three years of my pharmacy major and prepare for the next three years of year-round classes, I cannot believe I am halfway done with college. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I rode up to Toledo with my dad from my small, rural hometown and hauled a truckload of stuff up to the 13th floor of Parks Tower. I was excited, scared and didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that I was supposed to experience the best years of my life, make new friends and learn a lot. Those are the three things that everyone told me I should expect; each seemed pretty vague to me at the time.
I have come to realize that these years will most likely be the best years of my life and I have made some really good friends here in Toledo. However, after three years of pharmacy school, I feel like I know about 5 percent of what I really need to know to be a pharmacist. Many older students have told me that you really don’t retain much of what you learn until you begin modules, so I guess I’m on the right track. But other than pharmacy-related material, what have I even learned in the past three years?
To answer this question, I have to compare the person I was three years ago to the person I am now. Before I came to UT, I was a shy and quiet girl with low self-esteem. Fortunately, I knew that I had to change my introverted ways in order to be successful at what I wanted to do. College has definitely forced me to break out of my shell. I used to be scared of asking questions or getting help if I needed it because I didn’t want to sound dumb. I’ve learned that you can’t always figure out everything on your own and that it’s dumber to not ask questions than it is to ask them. When you think of it that way, it’s much easier to shed your shyness.
In high school, learning most things came pretty easily to me (that may be why I hardly ever had to ask questions). When I got to college, it was a completely different story: I now struggle with many of my classes. There is so much information that you need to know for the exams, and I have to study really hard in order to understand certain things. So, another thing I have learned is that you have to be patient and diligent when it comes to learning. Intelligence doesn’t come quickly or easily.
If nothing else, I have learned how to work hard to reap the benefits years from now, which is an extremely difficult thing to do. Six years of school is a lot to handle, especially when the classes are hard, you have a lot of other things going on like work and trying to make time for friends and family. I had an exam the Monday and Tuesday after Easter Sunday this year, and instead of going home to spend time with my family like most other students, I was in Toledo, studying for my exams. Sometimes my priorities seem out of whack, but what keeps me going is the fact that my hard work will pay off in a few years.
When I think about it, I really have learned many things in my three years of college. Maybe I haven’t yet learned enough to become a pharmacist, but I have grown as a person. I have acquired the traits of perseverance and confidence that are crucial in my field of work. And, most importantly, I have matured in ways that I had never imagined — like becoming more extroverted. Three years can change you completely; it’s hard to explain in detail how much I really have learned. Who knows what I will be like and how much I will learn in the three years that I have left?
— Alina Knotts is an IC Columnist and a junior majoring in pharmacy.
Be the first to comment on this article!