The first semester has finally come to an end and I think it is fair to say that the term went by fairly quickly. The Optometry course load kept me busy throughout the term and it made time go by quickly. Now that the term is finished we have roughly a month off for Christmas break. I decided to fly back home to Toronto for Christmas and will be spending time with family and friends here.

Although I am looking at spending time with family and friends I will also be spending a large amount of time studying for examinations in January. Once the Christmas break is over, I will be writing about five examination papers as well as doing a focimetry assessment. The Christmas break will not be all fun and games. Throughout the term, I tried to stay on top of my course work doing all the assigned questions and maintaining my notes; I am finding that this work during the term is making my studying a lot more easier as I am just reviewing all the work I have done throughout the term and making sure I understand all the material. This also saves a lot of time and made my studying more efficient. If I hadn’t done this work during term time I believe my studying would be more stressful during this break as I would have a lot more work to do.

If I had to give anyone advice about the first term studying optometry I would advise them to always stay on top of the work. It is easy to fall behind as there are hardly any assessments at all in the first term and this can make some students relax a little as there is nothing to worry about until January. By always doing the assigned work and creating detailed notes throughout the term I believe you will be more prepared in December when you are studying for the January examinations.

I’d like to wish everyone who is following this blog a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I probably will not be writing until the New Year as I will be focusing on my exams. Good luck with your UCAS applications as well!