Now that I’ve completed my first semester of dental school, and I’m a couple of months into the spring semester, I can now reflect on my experiences of D1 so far. Upperclassmen were right, D1 is a beast. I don’t know what I expected coming into this first year, but it was not this. I think the hardest part about D1 was not necessarily the course load (though it was heavy) but rather the learning curve associated with adapting to a new environment and being a dental student in general. I didn’t know how to study as a D1, or where to get help when I needed it. Somedays, I felt like I didn’t belong. What if I wasn’t cut out to be a dentist? It wasn’t just a matter of learning how to study or sticking to a schedule. I questioned whether I even had the hand skills to be a dentist. Simply having these thoughts every day, compounded with the never-ending tests and projects was difficult to say the least. Because of this, my first semester was characterized by the need to stay afloat, to just scrape by with the grades I needed to stay in school. After a rough start to the semester, I had dug myself a hole. I felt like I was running a never-ending marathon in the pursuit of points, just to pass my classes. So, you could imagine the relief that washed over me after finals week, and more importantly passing my first semester of dental school. Although I did spend most of my break sleeping, Netflixing, catching up with family and friends, the whole lot. I made sure to take some time reflecting on my semester and what I can do differently to feel more confident and assured about myself and my capabilities as a student dentist. Often, there were times where I would dread getting out of bed, putting on my scrubs and going to school. I hated feeling that way. I wanted to wake up every morning and feel excited about where I am and what the day had in store for me. After all, I’m pursuing my dream of becoming a dentist — that’s something to be excited about! Taking the time over the break to reflect on the challenges that I faced that semester and to establish goals for this upcoming semester made a world of a difference.
Fast forward to second semester. I feel like the tone of D1, for me at least, has completely changed. I have a newfound feeling of excitement and confidence now towards school. Granted, not having to be around cadavers all day might have something to do with it.
The labs that we are taking this semester: operative, occlusion and dental materials are interesting and bring me steps closer to achieving my dream of becoming a dentist. Enjoying these classes and finding out that I am somewhat decent in drilling gives me the assurance that I do belong at the school and have indeed chosen the right career. And that is such a powerful feeling. More importantly, from my D1 experiences so far, I learned that if you try your best, surround yourself with positive energy, celebrate your victories (no matter how small) and approach each new day as an opportunity to better yourselves, then you’ll realize that D1 isn’t so bad after all.
- contributed by Naomi Hoang
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