Rachel Ryan, ICO Class of 2024

Optometry school takes a toll on everyone. No matter how good you think you are at stress management, it can still be both mentally and physically exhausting. It is so incredibly easy to put your own needs on the back burner in order to get through the week: staying up later than you should, not eating right and not exercising enough. But, your body keeps track of how frequently you do this and sooner or later you could end up completely burnt out. And what good would that be for anyone?

Having said that, your own wellbeing is probably the least of your worries as you chug an energy drink at 1 a.m., trying to keep your eyes open long enough to study for your morning pharmacology exam. Wellness is all about balance: putting in the work to get the grades you need while also carving out time to unapologetically take breaks away from school. There can be such a fine line between these two things, but it is important to walk that line. Nothing else matters if your mental health is not in a good place.

There is no shortcut to this path we have chosen. We have all consistently shown up trying to improve ourselves little by little, despite the challenges. And hopefully, one day all of this hard work will pay off and we will become great doctors. But, we will not be in the space to reach our greatest potential if we habitually neglect ourselves. We need to take care of ourselves throughout the transition of student clinician to doctor for the sake of our future patients. After all, they need us.