OT

I’ve never been very good at keeping resolutions so this year I decided to do something different. Each month this year, I am going to choose a quote and have it as my “quote of the month.”

My quote for January is “you are exactly where you need to be!”

I go back to college this month and haven’t sat in a classroom since May. It’s been a long time. And I’ll admit that I have mixed emotions about going back. I am so ready to graduate and move on to the next chapter. But this month, I will remind myself, you are exactly where you need to be.

When I am moving stuff into my apartment and feeling nervous about living away from home again, I will tell myself, you are exactly where you need to be.

When I’m sitting in a classroom, feeling antsy, I will tell myself, you are exactly where you need to be.

And when I desperately want to be done school and start my career as an OT, I will tell myself, you are exactly where you need to be.

I always knew that I wanted to go into a health profession. When I was little, I preferred to watch “doctor shows” over usual kid shows. My mom is also a pharmacist and encouraged me to consider a health career.

When I was in high school, I started to look into different health careers and consider my possibilities. I didn’t want to go into a career involving needles and I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in school. I eventually came across OT and started to read more about it. I liked that it looked at the whole person, helped them do what was important to them, and only required a Master’s degree. My mom helped me set up some days to shadow with OTs she knew and I attended an OT exploration camp for a few days one summer, at a college. These experiences helped me realize that OT was the perfect career for me.

My senior year of college, I chose to apply to combined 5 year BS/MS programs. I chose this route because it would save time and money, as well as the stress of having to apply to graduate programs later. I applied to 5 programs and was accepted to all 5. (When I got my first acceptance, I could not believe it was true and emailed the school asking if it was correct, it was!)

At the end of my 4th year, I graduated with my BS in Health Science, with a minor in psychology, and then completed my Level II Fieldwork rotations in a SNF and outpatient pediatrics.

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I am now about to start my final semester of OT school and will graduate in May with my Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. After that, I will study and sit for the boards and then can begin working as an OT!