Licensed... what's next?

Today was a great day- I found out I passed the boards for physical therapy!

It was an overwhelming feeling, but kind of anti-climatic. I checked my boards in the morning after receiving a couple texts and facebook messages from friends saying "results are up," just as I was about to leave for work. I quickly logged on to check. My heart was in my throat as the page loaded.... at first it was hard to find the six little letters I'd been waiting for: passed! I was ecstatic and relieved and giddy all at once. This huge rush of emotion hit me that all I'd worked for the past three years had culminated in this: I'm now a licensed PT. Then I had to drive to work like any other day. Like I said, anti-climatic.

Now that I've passed my boards, I'm already wondering what my next goal should be. I've been waiting for the day when I could stop focusing on studying to focus on other things! I have several ideas, but I want to think through them all and focus on a few things at a time. In general, here's what I'd like to do:

1) Fitness goals: I really want to try CrossFit, run another marathon, and do an un-assisted pull-up.

2) Healthy eating: I've been looking into Paleo and I like the simplicity of it, but like a lot of diets it's just a little too extreme. I want to start phasing out junk food and start eating healthier until I'm eating about 80/20 Paleo.

3) Travel: My plan is to take advantage of opportunities around me and the ability to stay with friends in order to travel cheaply. Several possible opportunities: Savannah, GA; Edmonton, Alberta; and an African safari.

I'm trying to decide what to focus on first. I want these goals to be FUN not stressful, so I don't want to take on too much. At the same time, I'm really excited and want to do everything all at once! For now, I'm taking a moment to enjoy free time that's not filled with PT books.

The Job, Boards, and Life

There's a reason I haven't posted at all in July until now. Actually, two reasons.
#1) I started working full-time
#2) I've been studying for the PT Boards

Either one by itself wouldn't have been so bad, but putting both together has been kind of overwhelming. Starting a new job is stressful enough, especially since it's my first full time job. I've been treating patients on my own for the first time, as well as learning the ropes for scheduling, billing, and documentation. There's definitely a learning curve. There were a few days early on where I felt so inadequate and incompetent, I was convinced I'd entered the wrong career. Now it's gotten better, and I'm slowly gaining confidence; although I'm not nearly as efficient as my colleagues yet. That will come with time and experience, I'm sure.

The rest of my time has been spent studying. Let me just say that it's incredibly difficult to study
three years worth of information in one month. It was hard to know where to start, and what was most important, and which facts to memorize. And I just plain didn't want to do it, especially when I was tired after work.

Yesterday, I finally took the boards. Hopefully, this era of my life is over. I'm tired of studying to pass a test. I'm tired of learning information that someone else thinks is important. I want to learn about things that interest me. I want to have time to pursue knowledge that I think is meaningful. For many years in college, I didn't read (other than books for school). I love to read, but so much of my time was already taken up by reading textbooks, that I didn't have time to read about other topics. And I always wanted to take a fun class like cooking or photography, but my major was demanding and I never seemed to have time for that stuff.

So, now is the time. I'm done with school, but that doesn't mean I'm done learning. I want to make it a goal to experience new things. I want to try new recipes, different workouts, maybe join a team just for fun. I don't want to become lazy and complacent, now that I'm "settled" here in Richmond with a job. I always want to be looking for the next challenge, and I never want to be scared to venture out into unknown territory. I'm excited for new opportunities and new adventures!