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I Graduated from Physical Therapy School!

Physical therapy school flew by so quickly! I have recently re-read a few of my first blog posts from my early school days (Orientation, 10 Things I Learned in My First Semester), and I can’t believe how much I’ve grown in the past three years.

I still remember being afraid to raise my hand and ask professors questions, mostly because I was worried that I would sound stupid in front of my peers. I remember feeling terrible at making small talk with all the patients I interacted with, especially if everyone was talking about sports or something I knew nothing about. I remember how excited I was to finally buy a Netter textbook, and how I loved to marvel at the pages of beautiful artwork.

Fast forward three years…

(and by “fast” I actually mean painfully slow)

I had been looking forward to graduation because it would be an awesome time for my family to see Maryland for the first time. We were able to spend 1 week in Washington D. C. and were grateful to spend our time in a lot of cool museums and historical buildings. I hadn’t seen my family since Christmas break, so it was so cool to see my 2 year old niece and see how much she had grown!

 

Graduation Day

My 2 sisters and niece were unable to attend graduation because Hurricane Florence was expected to reach the eastern shore of Maryland. Our graduation date was pushed back 7 days, so everyone had to change their travel plans and a lot of my classmates’ family members could no longer attend.

I didn’t cry at graduation like I thought I would, especially because I’ve cried at graduation the last 3 years. I definitely had to hold back tears a couple times.

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It was a weird feeling to see all my professors, classmates, , and their loved ones. It was a mixture of “hellos” because we just spent the last 4 months apart during our full-time clinicals, but it was also full of “goodbyes” because I knew that I was about to embark on my road trip back to California.

I gave my parents a brief tour of the physical therapy department, and saw the effects of 3 years on the group assignment that I completed in my 1st semester. The other boards have been replaced each year, but ours is the smallest and at the very end of the hallway… So it’s been through some rough times. Click here to see the original project, and what it looked like after 1 year.

Although this finishes the end of my PT school journey, this doesn’t end my desire to continue writing and helping students. This is just the beginning of the rest of my career, and I’m so excited to start exploring!


What are you looking forward to the most after graduating PT school? Leave a comment below!

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4 Comments

  1. Channa

    Congratulations!
    I think I’ve been following for two years now and I am so happy that you made it through the program.
    You have given me a lot of tools to prep for PT school and what to expect (although it will be different based on the school I attend)none-the-less thank you.
    Please continue writing because I’m still on my journey to be a physical therapist and I think your blog is helping me not to give up!

    Thanks Katie

    • Katie - My Road to PT

      Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate the sweet comments 🙂

      I am definitely going to keep writing! I’ve had a long list of 30 blog posts that I want to write, and it keeps growing longer! Please let me know if there’s anything you want me to write about. I’m always open to suggestions! 🙂

      Best of luck with everything!