This is the first Christmas season that I am not on a "break." From the experience of my manager, she says that this is the busiest times at the optometry office because everyone is trying to use their flex spending dollars, and college students come back from school. Also some insurance plans start fresh in January. As a result of the winter rush, I'll be working almost everyday after my class finishes (Wednesday). There is also an additional staff person working each day which will help lessen the workload off of me.
Not having the luxury of a "break" to catch up with friends, enjoy the holiday festivities, and just relax, definitely reminds me how different life is after college. Working during the week and on Saturdays makes maintaining relationships and entertaining hobbies difficult. There just isn't as much time to do everything you'd like, and there isn't as much free time as you thought would be available when you're studying away during college.
But I guess sacrifices have to be made in order to make time for relationships. It just isn't as convenient as it was in college. There is definitely the need to be pro-active about organizing hang-outs with friends. So, I guess I'm pretty lucky that tonight I was able to celebrate my former college roommate's (Adam) birthday. It was a nice time to catch up, and laugh A LOT. It's always hilarious at the old jokes, and new ones that come up when Adam, Ethan (the other roommate), and myself get together. I think God definitely blessed me with the opportunity to live with these friends, and to have pretty much a stress free living experience other than the unmentionable roommate. But the laughs and the stories start from freshman year to the last day we moved out of our apartment.
From the time I graduated to the present, working and reality has definitely effected the attitude that I had as a new graduate. When I graduated, I had the idea that college changed me and that I should be a different person. But sometimes, change isn't always what is needed. I felt that as a graduate, that I needed to be more sophisticated and more serious. But the reality of living at home changed that. I wanted to be sophisticated, but that doesn't mean I have to lose what makes me who I am, and what shapes my creativity. Yes, I wanted to be more serious because I was an adult, but no one wants to be with someone who always seems to have no sense of humor.
Also after graduating, there were so many plans and things that I wanted to do with my year off, but when I started working I didn't know the reality of it and could not have predicted the situation that I am currently in. I guess the positives about work are that I am dependable, have responsibility, have learned SO much, and enjoy the everyday challenges. And the negatives are that there is less freedom and leeway(sp?) to manage and organize things to how you feel would be more efficient, and that I am so dependable that I often find that I need to shoulder more responsibility than I had originally imagined. It's good that I know most of the in's and out's of the office work, but when I'm the only one available to do all that work - it's a tough pill to swallow sometimes. Maybe two weeks ago, I found myself living to work, and that's not how I want to enjoy my life. I needed to try to fill my life with other things, especially time for God, and maybe my other hobbies.
The difference is that in college when you are running a club, you have the opportunities to make changes or improvements where you see the need, but there is not that type of freedom when you're working and pretty much starting from the bottom. But, I must say that my working conditions are not that bad. My co-workers are nice, and we go out to lunch and have great conversations. Sometimes the responsibilities are a lot to handle, and I wish there was just an extra pair of hands to help.
Any way, this holiday season I'm planning on buying gifts since I am actually making money. But I've been behind, and not really been active on buying items. It's also difficult to really think about what to buy for people if you don't want to just buy some generic gift. I was also hoping to snowboard this Christmas like I did last year with my cousins and a whole bus of Chinese people. Unfortunately, I only have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off for sure. I can just imagine the slopes at Northstar and carving down the trails.
Also things that I have to think about are travel plans next month for my interviews for optometry school. I received invitations to have interviews at Southern California College of Optometry and State University of New York School of Optometry. A wave of relief rushed over me when I got both notices because it was good to know that someone was interested in me. It was just such a long process to fill out the application materials, and making sure that the schools had what they needed. And to finally, have an interview was knowing that I'm one step closer to getting an invitation to go to the school.
I've also been meaning to write more especially some questions that pop into my head, but those types of posts will take longer because I need to think and possibly do research on those topics as opposed to updates on my life. Cheers to finishing my medical microbiology class this week, and friends and family reunions this Christmas season.
