I was born in Buffalo, NY and have yet to leave. I grew up in the Irish Catholic part of the city (South Buffalo), and went to St. Ambrose for elementary school, and Mt. Mercy Academy (girls only) for high school. South Buffalo was a little world of its own, comprised of a community rooted in Irish heritage, where you could find a bar, pizzeria, and Catholic Church on almost every corner. Now most people have moved out to the suburbs, and South Buffalo seems to be taking a slow downward spiral. It is so disheartening to see that it has changed so much in the last seven years, but alas, on to bigger and better things.
I did my undergraduate at UB, getting my degree in biomedical sciences (basically a pre-dental curriculum), and went straight on to dental school after graduation. Dental school. Hmm... how can I summarize without griping. For whatever reason, I constantly feel compelled to try and make those who aren't dental students realize how grueling it really is, but I've finally realized... no one will ever understand unless you've gone through it.
My favorite question I get asked when people ask what I'm studying at UB - here's how the conversation usually goes:
Person: What do you go to school for?
Me: I'm in dental school.
Person: Ohhhh... so you're going to be a dental assistant?
Me: No, I'm...
Person: Oh! You're going to be a dental hygienist? That's it!
Me: No... I'm going to be a dentist.
Person: Wait, what? You mean you're going to be an assistant or a hygienist, right?
Me: (flustered) No, I'm going to be THE dentist.
Person: (confused) Okayyy... so, how long does that take? A few years?
Me: Yeah, it's pretty long actually. I had to get my undergraduate degree first, that was four years. Then I had to apply to dental school, then I had to get accepted, and dental school is another 4 years. So that's eight years of college total.
Person: So will you be a dentist then? Like a REAL dentist?
Me: (gritted teeth with a manic smile on my face) YES.
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| I'm pretty sure I look like Trollface by the end of the above conversation. |
It's insane to me, in the world we live in, no one in their right mind can fathom that, 1.) anyone would want to be a dentist, 2.) a woman can be a dentist, and 3.) becoming a dentist requires some pretty unyielding, long years of studying, doing work on mannequins/fabricating crowns/dentures/partials and treating patients, all before you even get your DDS!! (Catches breath...) Phew. Yay dental school! Hah.
Some of my favorite dental meme sites (if you're a dental student, or a dentist, you will 100% appreciate these!):
In all reality, sifting through the memories of unending studying and dwindling elbow grease, I really am enjoying my (almost) career. Especially now that I'm in my fourth (and final) year, and can say, yes I've done a bunch of fillings, placed crowns, made dentures, and have done root canals, I'm feeling pretty accomplished! I can imagine I'll feel like Wonder Woman once I actually graduate (in 313 days, woo! Yes, I've had a countdown going since I started dental school in 2009).
After all of this, I cannot hesitate to mention the most important person in my life, who has been there through all the nitty gritty with me, my boyfriend of almost seven years, Alexander (I call him Xander). We met through a mutual friend right before I started undergrad. My friend told me, "Hey Kim, I know this guy who's going to start dental school at UB this fall. I asked him if he would meet up with us so he could give you a tour of the school and some information." I am the weirdo child who wrote in her kindergarten journal, "I want to be a dentist!", and actually followed through.
A HUGE thanks to the universe, and my friend Jenn, for aligning the planets that day, because over the next year we became friends, and later began dating. Moreover, we got each other through life from that point on. Without Alex, I would have never had the focus and drive to understand exactly how hard I had to work to get accepted to dental school, and to have a direct view into the career, see exactly how challenging dental school would be, and make important connections with professors in the school to show them that I was meant to have a spot in their school. If I never met him, I highly doubt I'd be where I am today. I'd like to think that although I didn't contribute much to his actual school career (how can you mentor someone who is 4 years ahead of you in school?), I did keep him sane as much as I could, and offered my entire support and encouragement.
So there you have it, my life in a brief summary (super boring? I hope not :-/ ). Alex has been out in the "real world" working as a dentist for the last three years, while I've been shoveling through the huge manure pile that is dental school. We live in a studio apartment with our English Bull Terrier, Poppy, bull in a china shop, and two adults, it's comedic really. Watch the video below the photo of Poppy to find out why.
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| Poppy's way too cool for the rest of us. |
Note: This video does not feature Poppy, however all Bull Terriers do this silly thing called a hucklebutt - random excitable burst of energy that results in lots of tail wagging, running in circles and sprinting back and forth, please enjoy!
Thanks for giving a read! Goodnight!
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