What is it like in Dental School?
Dentistry is never easy. It takes determination and diligence to survive - what I need, at least. But seeing friends who survived both the school and the board exams motivates me to do better. Not only should you be good theoretically, but also should you do great practically. So far, this is what it is like in Dental School:
Your weekly allowance will never be enough
Doesn’t sound good, does it? But it’s true. The amount of money you spend for requirements is overwhelming. You are sometimes told to buy materials that are more than what you need, but don’t regret doing so; they can still be used in the future. Just always make sure you have extra for last minute announcements of bringing expensive materials.
Time management is everything
Some say being in Dental School won’t give you time to socialize outside school, because you have got to focus with school. (Or at least that’s what I’m told.) That is definitely NOT TRUE. We always have the weekend to enjoy, but it’s up to you as to how you’d like to spend it. If you wanna go out on Saturday night and there’s lots to do for Monday or the rest of the week, you can finish at least half on Friday night. However, it is entirely up to you how you’d want to manage your time. Remember to always know your priorities - Acads before lakads, as they say. Dental School will not be a hindrance to your social life if and only if you know how to manage your time well.
You’re gonna start asking yourself, “WHAT IS SLEEP?”
There will always be days that you go to school with literally no sleep with the amount of reviewers you have to study for a 5-item quiz the next day. YES, 5-ITEM QUIZ. Yet again, it’s always about time management.
It is OKAY to cry
Failed quizzes? Failure of submission? Not being good enough in lab activities? Finding out about a cancelled quiz you sacrificed sleep for? Getting called in class for something you didn’t do? Or are you simply tired of everything? It’s definitely okay to cry. Let it out!! But just make sure you have time to cry because you can’t let your schoolwork be left on queue. LOL!
Stress-eating is inevitable!
“I did my best, but I guess my best wasn’t good enough” or “When you try your best, but you don’t succeed.”- Every student’s favorite lyrics when they failed something and stressing out on it. But hey, FOOD IS LIFE. Eat anything you want to make you feel better and repeat to self, “BABAWI AKO!!”
There are 2 types of “friends”: REAL AND USER.
Be mindful of who you surround yourself with. Some people may take advantage of you for their own convenience - will make you think that you can lean on them, when they only lean on you and leave you when you have nothing to give. TRUE friends will always be there. In fact, they will find ways to make you feel better when you hit rock-bottom.
Believing that Dentistry is like playing a game called “Survival of the Fittest”