White Coat and Clinic FLOW!!

I'm halfway there!

HEY GUYS!! So I said I was going to write a quick post on White Coat Exam and White Coat Ceremony! So here we go! On May 12, 2011, I received my White Coat. So what does that mean?

In a nut shell, you are required to take an Exam that is formally called the "Clinic Privileging Exam." So this exam is the end of your 2nd year, and simply you have to give a full eye exam while being watched by one of the doctors. Ok sounds like no biggie right...umm NO!

So up until that point, you have been practicing all of your different clinical skills and learning to not only do every test, but in a efficient manner and to record it properly. So it is essentially a culminating exam that is supposed to prove that you are ready to see real patients! Yup. So my White Coat Exam was on  April 21st... Needless to say, I passed and I got my white coat! Woohoo!

It's a big ceremony, my mom, dad, and aunt came to St. Louis to watch me get it! Woohoo! It was just a really great and exciting day. I felt like I finally successfully crossed over a huge hurdle. We have been looking forward to white coat, since first semester first year. It is all really surreal. I find it hard to believe that I am a 3rd year now.

This summer in clinic I have started seeing patients. It is extremely weird, because I just sometimes feel like I have NO IDEA of what is going on. Also it is weird to me that the doctors trust me enough to leave me to do all of the tests and just "report" back my findings to them. They do double check some stuff, but for the most part it is just me!! Aaah...so scary.

I have had some great patients so far. My 2 favorite have been a 9 year old boy and this lady that got into a motorcycle accident and now can't see out of her left eye. Very sad, but I am glad that I was able to help them see. Optometry has been a lot more than I have expected. Honestly a lot more complex, intricate, and REWARDING! I have definitely chosen an awesome field and I am so glad.

Here are some more pictures as promised:

Getting my White Coat!

"I be up in the gym, just working on my fitness"

What up!!! I got my White Coat Yall!

Mommy and Daddy

Until Next Time...

It's Been a While

So it is nearing the end of the month and I only have 2 blogposts for June...Yeah I've been slacking. And I don't really have an excuse because I haven't really been doing anything this month. It has been officially summer for 2 days now, and I have yet to do summery things like go swimming or have a picnic in the park. Oh well.. I'm actually surprised that I am up this early. I was really restless last night (I couldn't sleep), but finally I dozed off...

Last weekend I went to NY for my granny's 85th birthday party. I had a really good time. :) Every time I go to NY I confirm how I could never live there. It's a nice place to go visit and come back to ATL. But then again, who knew I would be going to school in St. Louis... lol. I have no real plans for today except to wash my hair, which can sometimes be an ordeal, but then other times it is really easy.

As you can see, I changed the template to my blog...I like it. I can't believe I actually decided on a design, since I can be so picky and indecisive at times.

I'm really excited about the trips that I have coming up. This weekend I'm going to Chicago, then in a couple weeks Myrtle Beach with my Line sisters, then Puerto Rico...woohoo! Even though I am excited about the trips, I don't want my summer to start winding down. I am excited about moving into my apartment... Unlike Atlanta, St. Louis is an old city so they don't have many new housing/apartment developments...which sucks. But the place I decided on, isn't exactly new, but it has most things that I was looking for. Maybe next year I will move into the loft that I want. I have a lot of things that I want to talk about/post, so hopefully this is one of many posts for the day. Until Next Time...

Do You Know What Today Is?

It's my Blogaversary!! Ok well actually yesterday was my blogaversary...but better late than never. So basically it has been a WHOLE YEAR since I started this blog. Isn't that crazy?!? Like I have referenced in many other posts, I often start things and don't finish them...so I am really glad that I have kept up with this blog, especially through my first year of optometry school...

Right now it is 3:30 in the morning and I can't seem to go to sleep...ugh! (Maybe it is from all that sweet tea I had at my sister's house)...but I must say today was a good day. Hanging out with family is always great! Early in the day I saw Sex and the City 2 with my sisters...the movie was...umm...aight.. It was a little too real for me. Too much real not enough fantasy. But I enjoyed it none the less...

I have been meaning to make a new "logo" for my blog..Honestly I want to just revamp the whole thing, but it is soo time consuming, to get everything the exact way that I want it...with the right shade font and what not, so I've been putting it off.... I just need somebody to hook me up with photoshop. But honestly, if I was to put photoshop on my netbook, I am pretty sure it would stop working..lol. I have NO IDEA why I am so wired this early in the morning...

Well I guess since it IS my blogaversary I should reminisce on the past year...Hmm...well this time last year I will say I was in a much different place. A lot more apprehensive about a lot of things, and in a weird way I was "dreading" starting school, but mostly I was dreading moving away from my family and friends. But now that is out of the way, it's cool. I have grown and learned soooo much!

When I decided to start a blog I had no idea what I was going to name it...so I just started searching the internet for something that will lead me down a creative path/outlet...and from all of my randomness I came up with "Reason to Believe"... I think it was mostly because I think there are always "so many reasons to believe that everything will turn out fine." Often times I worry about what will happen next in my life or if I make one bad/good decision how it will affect something else...but honestly I feel like I have been blessed with so much in life...yes I have lots of inner battles and struggles, but at the end of it all, I still have a Reason to Believe... you might be thinking "What do you Believe?"(that is the point)...you can believe ANYTHING you want or you put your mind to, but first I think you need to believe in yourself! The world is yours for the taking... I hope that made sense...Gosh I am getting sappy, maybe cause it is so early in the morning.

Anyways...HAPPY Blogaversary to me! This is completely random, but check out "Nessa," I put her in that
cute dress, big floppy hat, with a parasol..Figured she'd look cute for the blogaversary too. *wink


1. Toms Shoes follow up
2. 1 year blogaversary (Recap)
3. First Year of Opt school (Looking Back)
4. Diversity/ Janelle Monae
5. St. Louis/Midwest
Until Next Time...

Stressed? Study Says Calling Mom Helps

So I am currently taking an extended study break before I head to the library because the final I had this morning drained me. I decided to check out CNN and they had this interesting article about how calling your mom actually lowers your stress level and releases oxytocin,"the bonding hormone", (which I can go on and on about because I learned about it in A & P).... Anyways, just thought it was interesting. I generally call my mom a lot, lol..but since it is finals week, and I am stressed out of my mind. A whole lot of mom calling has been going on. lol. Well here is the link to the article...and some excerpts that I thought were particularly interesting...

It's a situation every mother has been through: Your child is stressed out or upset, but she's at school or summer camp--too far away for you to give her a hug.

That doesn't mean she can't be comforted, however. According to a new study, talking on the phone with Mom is nearly as good as getting a hug for helping stressed-out kids calm down.

At least for young girls, talking on the phone with their mothers reduces a key stress hormone and also releases oxytocin, a feel-good brain chemical that is believed to play a key role in forming bonds, the study found.

"Mothers know without being instructed how to soothe a child," Campbell says. "They know because they come from a long line of women whose genes remained in the gene pool because they kept their kids alive. The challenge is for scientists to illuminate how mothering works--and that's where oxytocin comes in."

Even though Pollak's study was conducted on young girls, the findings are relevant for older children and even adults, Dr. Strathearn says.

Oh and I love the fact that CNN decided to include a picture of a black female with a fro on the phone...lol. CUTE! Until Next Time...

Mise a Jour

I just wanted to make a quick update post...So April has been interesting...it has finally warmed up here in STL, but I think it has made me just start to experience "cabin fever" again. There is less than a month left of the semester, wow...it definitely doesn't feel like it. I still have another round left of exams and then finals. I can't believe I am almost done with my first year..so crazy! This summer I am working in one Optometry practice downtown. I am trying to get another job though so I can have quite a bit of hours and gain a lot of clinic experience so that I can feel more comfortable in my Clinical Opt classes.

Hmm..so much has been going on this month. I am definitely in a more peaceful and content place in my life than I have been in a while. I joined FTMBC, which is the church that I have been going to in STL since September. It was weird because I didn't go to church that morning with the intention to join, but all of a sudden I found myself walking down the aisles..yup. I have been doing alright in my classes. I still miss my family and friends like crazy, but I not as much as last semester.

I have  just been working on a take home test for most of the day. Last night I hada small gathering at my place. We watched Hangover and I Can Do Bad, All By Myself... I made some BBQ nachos that were delicious and I used my blender for the second time ever to make Margaritas... It was fun, needless to say I didn't get out of the bed today until the afternoon. :-) Well that's all I can think of for now..Until Next Time...

1 semester down, 7 more to go...

So I finished my first semester of Optometry school and I must say that it really was quite a journey. In terms of academics, I am pretty sure that I came out with above a 3.0 this semester!! woohoo!! I just wanted to list 5 things that I could not have made it this semester without...


5. Baked Goods

When I was stressed I definitely baked, whether it was cookies, muffins, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, etc. It made me feel better and they sure did taste good. I'm not sure how I didn't gain a lot of weight, maybe all of the stress balanced it out.





4. Twitter

I know you are probably wondering why Twitter...well..mostly because it reminded me that not everyone's life completely sucked. lol. And it kept me connected to the outside world that is easy to forget when you are in class from 8 to 3, and then study from 4 to 11...It was also a quick, mindless study break every once in a while. And tweets were just something fun to do.



3. School Supplies (Notebooks, Pens, Highlighters)


Honestly in all of my years of schooling, I don't think I have ever been through the amount of school supplies that I went through this semester. I had to throw away several pens because I used all of the ink, went through numerous highlighters, and several notebooks. It was so absolutely absurd to me, but I did what I had to do, whether was recopying all of my notes, several times...drawing diagrams and what not.




2. Coffee!

 As one of my previous post already describes. Coffee was a lifesaver...man! In undergrad I definitely enjoyed coffee, but not every day or in the morning because to be honest, I didn't have that many morning classes in undergrad. But this semester I pretty much had to be in class at 8 am everyday. So coffee provided me that extra jolt that I needed to concentrate in my first class. Also it smelled and tasted so good.



1. My Phone

 This is a way of saying that my family and friends definitely kept me sane. I spoke to my mom soo much. I had a lot of bad days, and whenever I called her she listened to my silly problems. I looked forward to speaking to my sisters every week and my friends were also soo great. Even the random text messages really made me happy. All of this was made possible because of my phone. :-)


Until Next Time...

Giving Thanks

I have so much to be thankful for...I was initially going to list out things that I am thankful for, but honestly that would take too long! I would honestly say I am happy right now, which I am thankful for it in itself. I am surrounded by amazing people that I love and inspire me everyday (even if they don't know it). I hope everyone enjoys the time with their loved ones. Somehow I got suckered into making "sides" this thanksgiving. That should be interesting...lol. I know everyone eats and enjoys turkey, but honestly the first thing I reach for/get is ham! Yes...I like ham more than turkey, hence the pic! Oh and I usually don't send out mass texts on thanksgiving...but I felt compelled to this year so I did. I think it was important to tell my friends that I was thinking of them, often people underestimate the value of friends.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.  ~Melody Beattie

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.  ~William Arthur Ward

Until Next Time...

le sigh...

So in a weird sort of way, the more things that I have to do, the more time I seem to have to create out of thin air..Anyways.. basically I'm saying I have waaaaaaayyy to much to do to be writing this blog post, but I have to keep doing something that I "enjoy" so I don't officially go crazy. This weekend I went home, which was absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It was the break I needed and I feel as though it rejuvenated me, and gave me gusto to continue my journey. Anyways, I'm back now. :( I was sooo sad when my plane landed yesterday.

So my first round of exams went pretty well. I know that I could have done better, but I'm not completely mad. Next week will be crazy again! Neuroanatomy exam, Anatomy and Phys exam, Optics Quiz, Epi Exam, and A & P lab quiz...yup...ca-razy.

I'm trying to figure out when I am going to go grocery shopping. I finally caved in and I'm going to buy a coffee machine. I almost poked my eyes out this morning. I was sooo tired. I couldn't even put my contacts in, I rushed to class. And there was my Optics quiz sitting on the table...ready for me to take. I think I did alright though, made a couple of stupid mistakes..

Anyways...I'm just trying to hang in there. The original reason I started this post was to discuss me being stubborn. I am extremely stubborn, although I have gotten much better. Anyways...I'm being vague. Oh and this is also random, but I listen to Ashlee Simpson when I'm frustrated.lol. This song is soo me...

I walked a thousand miles while everyone was asleep
Nobody's really seen my million subtleties

Got stains on my t-shirt and I'm the biggest flirt
Right now I'm solo, but that will be changing eventually, oh
Got bruises on my heart and sometimes I get dark
If you want my auto, want my autobiography
Baby, just ask me

I walked a thousand miles to find one river of peace
I walked a million more to find what this shit means

Until Next Time...

Random Hair Narrative

So everywhere I turn I see another natural woman or someone who "professes" that they are transitioning or someone who is just thinking about it. It makes my heart smile. :) As most of you already know I'm moving in 2 days...woohoo! So I'm not going to lie, before I leave the house sometimes or when I just wake up, my hair might look crazy (don't get me wrong, I'm still sexy fine). Anyways...so my dad has been eyeing my hair a lot lately. He isn't entirely convinced about this natural thing (even though my mom is "natural" too, but her hair is wavy and curly and it lays down (unlike mine)).

So a couple days ago he approached me and was like are you going to get your hair done before you leave, and I just looked at him...I didn't know what to say. He was like is it because you don't have money, I was like nooo it's not that...So the next day he left me a lump sum of money to get my hair done. Which is sooo out of character for my dad, he never breaches the "beauty" wall in my home (I guess cause he has 3 daughters and a wife). And then he NEVER freely offers me money. lol. So now he has been asking me when I'm going to get my hair done, but I'm pretty sure he knows that I'm not going to. And when he means get my hair done, he wants me to straighten it. My hair hasn't been straight in 2+ years...so that's definitely going to happen and I don't feel like sitting down for some microbraids, so I'll just twist it up or something. I hate having super long posts, so I think I'm just going to post this and then make a new post on what I originally intended this one to be before I got off on a tangent...Until Next Time...

Show Some Respect...

So I'm trying to figure out when I knew that I was different when it came to people passing...I just have a weird way of dealing with death. In fact I just try not to think about it, I know that isn't completely healthy, but it just seems to work the best. So seeing all the tasteless coverage of MJ's death on TV is quite ridiculous to me. The news coverage for the 48 hours seemed to be the most valid, but after that it just went downhill...I just wish that they could just respect him as the man, artist that he was..

Actually I do remember when I realized that I was different. It was a little over two years ago when my grandfather died. He actually died on the day that I crossed (became a Delta), my mom told me after my show...I don't even remember how I felt, it was just soo many emotions. Anyways...there were so many emotions that I felt in that one moment. It's not that I decided not to tell hardly anyone, it just happened that way. I just didnt want people feeling sorry for me or constantly asking about it, or how I feel. I just disappeared (like some people do after they cross) and dealt with it that way. I didn't want to go to the funeral because I just think it is an awful way to remember someone you care about. We did go to NY that summer, and when we visited his gravesite it was such a surreal experience. The air seemed really different, there was a really gentle breeze,and a sense of calm really came over me.

So basically I rambled on with that whole story, to talk about how I'm just different, so I was tired of all the coverage of Michael Jackson within minutes/hours of finding out he was dead. Can we just remember him for the awesome artist he was? Until Next Time...

I [heart] my Daddy!

I want to keep this post short, but I felt like it is necessary. It is Sunday (my second favorite day of the week), and Father's Day. Every time this "holiday" or "Commemorative Day" comes around, I am just so thankful for my daddy. Since I am the last child, I have always had a special bond with my dad. He is an amazing man, very hardworking, and vowed to give us everything he never had and more. I am just so grateful, especially in a time when people are growing up in single parent households.

Watching the relationship that my nephew and my dad have is so priceless! He calls him "papa" and he just loves my dad. I think it is amazing especially since he has such reverence for his own father. I don't take my dad for granted, especially since this is the second Father's day since my grandfather has passed. Fathers are so important for running of the society, and integral to the black community. Their love or absence have long lasting effects on their children.

So in order to not end this post abruptly, like I usually do...I'll share my top three childhood moments with my dad..

1) Riding on the lawn mower with him, while he cut the grass (that wasn't exactly safe, but it was fun..sometimes I got to steer..)
2)Listening to stories about him growing up in Nigeria
3) Watching Jeopardy and seeing how many questions I can answer (We have revived this tradition this summer..yay!)

Until Next Time...

Nothing Like A Mother's Love

Today I went to work with my mother. She is a research nurse and she is employed by Emory's School of Medicine but works at Grady Hospital. It was pretty cool. I got to see all of the staff (nurses, doctors, other folks) that I havent seen in a while. As a child, I spent a lot of time in her office, part of the reason why I knew that I wanted to have a career in the health field.

So today was interesting because my mother was pretty much a celebrity. I know that she is a very outgoing and charismatic woman, but it has been a while since I have had the opportunity to see her in her element. It seemed as though every turn we made in that HUGE hospital, she knew someone. And if she didn't know them, she decided to strike up a conversation with them.

The cool but weird part is whenever she introduced me as her daughter, they first knew EVERYTHING about me; the fact that I just graduated and that I was starting optometry school this fall (most even knew it was in St. Louis). I was like geesh. They asked about my sisters and my nephew and everyone...I was like wow...My mom clearly LOVES her family and she is sooo very proud of me (us). The second thing that everyone immediately said was how loving, caring, and funny my mom is. They kept saying how she is such a joy to be around...It made me feel really happy and every single person kept saying that I should be honored to have her as my mom.

As I get older, I have come to love and appreciate my family. They truly are awesome people and I am indeed honored to have them in my life, especially my mom, who keeps me sane. Even though I distracted her from completing most of her work, I left the day feeling very happy. It also gave me something to strive for and I hope I can be even half as charismatic and loving as my mom is. Until Next Time...