Summer Experiences

In the spirit of the holiday season- enjoy a wonderful piece about the importance of taking time for the non veterinary related things in life!

By Chelsea Mason

Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

This summer was one of the most exciting and memorable of my life.  I spent most of it travelling with my boyfriend and expanding my cultural horizons.  He is leaving for a seven month deployment in September, and it was our goal to do as many fun and interesting things as possible before he leaves.  We went to countless vineyards, farmers markets, fairs, and festivals.  We went blueberry and blackberry picking, tried some new restaurants, and even made up a few interesting recipes of our own.  Though we had a blast doing everything we could in our area, the most memorable experiences were the road-trips that we took.  In June, we drove to New York to fulfill my lifelong dream of seeing “Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway.  It was incredible! Before the show, we toured the whole city. We went to Times Square, Central Park, and even had lunch on the roof of the Met.  At the show, we felt almost like celebrities; dressed to impress and sitting in the front row.  Afterward, we went to a swank rooftop bar, and someone actually asked me “who are you wearing?”  It was an amazing experience that I will always remember.

Our next adventure took us to Asheville, North Carolina.  Asheville is high on my list of places to move after graduation, so I wanted to go get a feel for the area.  We got to experience Asheville’s culture by taking a walking food tour of the downtown area. What better way is there to learn about a city than walking around and eating?  The main purpose of the visit, however, was to visit a successful veterinary hospital in the area.  The doctors and staff that I visited with were very welcoming and accommodating.  I toured the clinic, went in an exam room, and observed an ultrasound.  They are a teaching hospital, so the doctor performing the ultrasound quizzed me on anatomy the entire time. Thankfully, I remembered a lot more than I thought I would.  I was very impressed with the hospital as a whole, and definitely found a place that I would like to do a clerkship my fourth year.

Our last road-trip took us to Washington, D.C. to see “Wicked” at the Kennedy Center.  That was quite the trip, to say the least.  What should have been a three hour drive took five because we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic the whole way.  We planned to have a picnic dinner by the reflecting pool once we arrived. Unfortunately, no one told us that the reflecting pool was under construction and was nothing but a large stretch of dirt.  We survived the 100 degree temperature long enough to see the Lincoln Memorial, then had to go to the theater drenched in sweat.  To most people, that probably sounds like a terrible day, but when we finally parked at the theater we just looked at each other and laughed hysterically.  The show was incredible, the best of any that we have seen so far. And luckily, the trip home was completely uneventful.

Though some might argue that I should have spent this summer doing more veterinary-related things, I wouldn’t trade the wonderful experiences that I had for anything.  I have the rest of my life to be a veterinarian and experience all there is to experience in that field.   So I chose to spend my summer exploring with my best friend, opening my eyes to the world around me, and making memories that will last a lifetime.  I have no regrets, and I would encourage all of my peers to do the same.