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10/6/2021 - Post #5
Hi! :)
It's been a while since I posted on here - school and summer kept me super busy! I finished working at my co-op in August, and started classes in September. I wanted to talk about that transition a bit, because I wasn't expecting it to be as strange as it was for me.
My co-op definetely didn't feel like an internship or student job - I was commuting, working full time, getting my paycheque bi-weekly... everything you might expect from an "actual" job. Of course, this is the point of co-op (that you are a full time, full responsibility employee). Pretty fast, I got settled into the routine of waking up, going to work, coming back, and doing it again. I lived on campus, so I still felt somewhat connected to the community, but I have to admit I neglected some of my other comittments - not going to all club meetings because they were late and I had to be up at 6:00, not seeing my other friends on co-op as much, etc. Soon enough, this just felt like my new routine as opposed to a work experience in my greater university journey. I got really attached to the place and to the work I was doing - even more so becuase this co-op is what made me realize I want to be pre-dental. I will always be grateful for that realization!
But because I got so used to it, in the last weeks, myself and my co-op co-worker (say that 5 times fast) were feeling a little down, a little reminiscent - excited, but sad to leave it behind. It went so fast. Of course, we were just a pair for 6 months out of the 6 years the practice I was working at had been taking students from NEU. But this experience was very important to us, and we definetely had a little cry on the last day. It was weird to go from a job where I had full responsibilites, as much as a "full adult", and go back to school.
But after I finished work, I found myself off put by the idea of going back to classes. Maybe that was because work was left at work, but school follows you home - in the form of extracurriculars, clubs, studying, and homework. It had been nice to take a mental break from online classes, and the strain of being a pre-health student in general. For me, it couldn't have come at a better time. But I found myself more nervous than normal as the 1st day of school approached - would I still have the same study habits? Same results? Would I enjoy being back in the academic environment after a welcome break?
I had anticipated this for me, and what helped me was doing an asynchronous class during the last 4 months of my co-op. I did advanced writing in the healthcare profession, and it helped me ease back into the rhytm of doing assigments, collaboarting with my classmates, and being in a class. I also ended up taking a FULL break - no work, no school, just time with my family. These two things helped me get back into the academic mindset.
I think a good way to put it was that when I was on co-op, I had daily goals that were different than the ones I had had through high school and my 1st year - I had goals of being a good provider, a good team member, learning about clinical skills, creating relationships, and more. I just needed to shift my mindset back to where it was before, and now that I have been in school for a month, I can say my worries were slightly unfounded.
I feel like that sums it up!
Until next time,
Marcie :)