One down, one to go!

I am nearing the finish line of what will probably go down in history as the WORST semester I have had since going back to college.

Anatomy.  The very word causes my shoulders to tense.  

It's not that the course materials are not interesting- I find the body and all of it's systems absolutely fascinating!  It's simply the amount of information that you cover and are expected to remember (ha, ha) in such a limited amount of time.

Once again, it blows me away to look at this text book sitting on my desk and realize that we have now covered everything.  I am in no way an expert on the body now, nor do I remember half of what I have learned.  Most of the topics we covered just barely scratched the surface of what there is to know.  Amazing!  And even more amazing is that there is still so much that we don't understand or comprehend about the body- things are being discovered and understood more every day.

The amount of time that is required and recommended that you put into this course also takes it's toll.  I think that is why a lot of people are caught off guard and end up needing to take this course over again.  I am not sure that many other classes are this intense- as far as prerequisites go.  But I surely felt it, as did my poor family.  I think I cooked meals only two or three times a week this whole semester.  The fast food industry has loved that fact.  I have not.  It makes me feel guilty.  But no one has complained.  Is that saying something about my cooking?  Hmmm.  The housecleaning left something to be desired as well- but I'll leave it at that.

I took my final in lab last night.  I'm not sure how I did, but regardless, it is over.  No more lab.  I was so happy to walk out of that lab after handing my test paper to my instructor.  Se la vi!  

I did have a interesting experience as I was taking the exam though.  We rotate through several stations where we answer two or three questions before moving on.  As I was taking my turn at the cadavers, I paused for just a moment and said a little thank you in my heart for the three individuals who donated their bodies to our lab.  As I stood there, paying my respects, thinking that these people were someone's grandparents, mothers, fathers, and friends, I became a bit emotional.  I think my instructor thought the tears were because I didn't know the answer to the exam questions, but they were really tears of gratitude for those bodies who were before me.  I can not tell you how much of a difference it makes to look at an actual body when compared to a picture in a text book.  They are such a valuable tool.  I was always so glad to see the respect that was shown to the cadavers by the students and instructors.  

As I walked away from this exam, I felt grateful for what I have learned, for the experience that I have been so blessed to have, but most of all, grateful to be done!

I have one more final to go and then I will close the book on this chapter of my schooling.  What's next?  Physiology!