Wow, this is my last semester here; time has flown by so quickly! As I look forward to finishing my undergrad time at Cal, I also can’t wait to start my new plans after I graduate. First thing on my to-do list: SLEEP!!!! (Yes, this merits four exclamation marks.) I’m actually going to take a year off before heading to optometry school in order to enjoy what precious time I have before another four years of school. So how did I decide upon optometry school? That’s a great question….my story goes like this:

As a freshman, I needed a few more units to add to my schedule so I decided to take a vision science freshman seminar (Vis. Sci. 24). We would just sit with the professor and dispel eye/vision myths that we all thought were true. Like, sitting too close to the TV, lasik = perfect vision, etc. –very casual and fun.

This sparked my interest in vision and eyes. Then, a series of events took place that sealed my interest tight. My mother was bordering on being diagnosed with glaucoma, but by working with her optometrist, she was able to prevent the disease. I started thinking to myself, “Wow, this person was able to catch certain signs that prevented my mother from potentially losing her vision—that’s pretty amazing.” I hadn’t thought about my vision and how precious I value it until someone I knew could have had it taken away.

Then, I started going to some Foresight (pre-optometry club on campus) meetings and different representatives would come and try to “sell” their campus to us. After researching optometry as an occupation, I started to understand how valuable optometry is to a community and how interesting their job is. Then, I started shadowing/interning at an optometry office. This was the best-I learned (and still learning) what it takes to be a great optometrist, and how rewarding it is to run an office.

Now, I’m actually working at that office and having a blast. I look forward to work every week, and have a blast when I get there. Next year, I will be studying for the OATs (optometry admission test) and applying to different optometry schools throughout the nation, and hopefully get into a normal sleeping cycle!

Is optometry for you? Want more info? Come share your career plans with us during the PAL office hours! I would love to hear about your future plans!