My Time in D.C.: A Story about Work-Life Integration

Kassandra Schneider, UC Davis

This past summer I had the privilege of attending the AVMA Convention in Washington, D.C. Eye opening doesn’t even begin to describe it - in addition to opening my eyes to the breadth of veterinary opportunities, I was also empowered to believe that these opportunities are within my reach if I simply choose to pursue them. I left with the motivation - perhaps even a compulsion - to do just that. At the same time, I went on this trip with my boyfriend; it was our first time to D.C. and to the East Coast in general. With so much to explore, we had an amazing time perusing museums, seeing the monuments, trying new foods, and going to comedy clubs and music venues. While I had an amazing time both attending the conference and sightseeing, it wasn’t always easy to balance the two. I’d like to share a few of the realizations I had along the way about work-life integration. These realizations can be applied to conference trips like this one as well as to general day-to-day life. 

1. Planning is just the first step in achieving work-life balance; adjustments will need to be made along the way and should align with goals for the experience and for life as a whole. Before the conference, I tried to plan my day so that I would attend a chunk of lectures, break for lunch with my boyfriend and perhaps go on a museum jaunt, then return to the conference and afterwards have the evening free for more sightseeing. For the most part, my planning worked out well, but some changes occurred while I at the convention. Sometimes I’d find out about an event that I just had to attend. Other times I’d miss a lecture because it took longer to walk back from the National Mall than anticipated, or that red-eye flight plus jet lag required that I rest. These changes mostly balanced themselves out, but I had to keep in check any changes with my original goals in going to D.C.: to nurture both my career and my relationship, to both learn and relax. Somewhere there has to be a limit - I could have easily attended every talk in the conference as they were all fascinating, but in doing so I would have totally ignored my boyfriend. On the flip side, I also could have spent much more time enjoying the amazing city, but it would have been at the cost of missing the incredible opportunity I had to attend the convention.           
2. Though planning and calculated adjustments are important to achieving balance, flexibility and a positive attitude when things go awry are equally important. The one time my boyfriend and I taxied to a tourist destination (since I had more talks I wanted to attend soon after), we ended up in entirely the wrong part of town. (It turns out there are four sets of street corners with the same cross street names in D.C., but that’s a rant for another time.) By the time we realized this, the taxi had driven away, stranding us in what felt like a random, middle-of-nowhere neighborhood. At first I was upset about wasting the cab fare, stressed about getting back in time for the conference, and a bit scared of being in an unfamiliar neighborhood. But throughout my freak-out, my ever-patient boyfriend kept repeating the mantra, “Turn mistakes into miracles,” and we would soon do just that. We discovered an amazing mom-and-pop Salvadorian restaurant that we otherwise never would have found, and my fear of the unfamiliar neighborhood was immediately assuaged by the homestyle service we received. After our delicious meal, we learned that the National Zoo was just a short walk away through a hidden gem of a nature park! On the way back, a kind bus driver even let us on free of charge (shh, don’t tell anybody!). While I was unable to attend the talks I wanted, this day ended up being one of the highlights of my trip. With many Type A personalities in the veterinary field, we often feel the need to have perfect control over all situations, but often the best things in life are unplanned accidents that are embraced with an optimistic, open mind.                      
3. Acknowledge that we aren’t any less for having different aspects of our lives. In a panel I once attended about being a mom in veterinary medicine, I was introduced to the idea that if you embrace motherhood, you need to come to terms with the fact that you will neither be fully successful in being a vet nor in being a mom. During this conference I got a sense of what the tradeoffs between work and personal life feel like. I knew I gave up many networking opportunities, yet I was also aware that I was passing up bonding time with my boyfriend. Despite the understanding I have for the sentiment, I also disagree with it: rather than believing I was not fully successful as a vet or as a partner, I instead felt I was fully successful as a human being. It sounds cheesy, but we aren’t made up of component parts - we’re whole people and our careers and our families are all part of us. Taking time to enjoy myself meant that when I was in lectures, I was fully present and squeezing everything possible out of the experience. Had I spent every moment at the convention, I would have become fatigued and probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the convention as much. In one of the conference talks, a museum curator of the “Outbreak” display discussed how she designed the exhibit with tourists’ “museum fatigue” in mind. Through the way I allocated my time in D.C., I avoided both museum fatigue and “conference fatigue.” There’s no shame in living a balanced lifestyle and we aren’t any less for doing so - instead, it gives us the energy and the passion to excel in all the important areas of our lives. 
4. Reflect on the experience and consider what may be done differently next time, while maintaining the perspective that there’s no single correct path. This conference was just the beginning for me - not the be-all, end-all. Next convention in San Diego I may go with classmates and do more networking. In other situations (perhaps if I bring kids, or have other work responsibilities I must attend to while at the conference), I may spend even less time at the convention. Every outcome is a success as long as it meets my current needs - we need to renounce the idea that there’s only one way to do things because in reality there’s so many paths. We know this inherently when we see our fellow classmates who have all taken different routes to achieve their own version of success. That truth doesn’t stop once you’re in vet school or once you’re out. My time in D.C. was life changing and modifications I make to how I approached the conference this year will not change the fact that my first trip was a complete success, with even its imperfections being a crucial part of the journey. 

I have nothing but good words to say about my trip to D.C. and the lessons I’ve learned will continue to guide me through my career and my life as a whole. I will continue to work towards work-life integration in order to pursue a more enriched and meaningful lifestyle, and I hope you will too!