My life has been crazy since I wrote my last post. First, I finished my final exams and got all my grades. What a relief to be done with this long, brutal year. I was generally satisfied with my grades, although I was disappointed I didn't do as well as I wanted on my last final. It's really tough to study for exam 5/5, especially when it contains more material than any other final exam. I didn't get to spend as much time on new material as I would have liked, which probably accounted for my less than stellar grade. The only thing that matters in the end is that I passed all my classes, and I successfully managed to do that, and next year I will be a fifth year senior. Bring it on pharmacy! I've made it this far, I'm going all the way!

After finishing my last exam, I went out for a celebratory dinner at Weber Grill downtown. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Weber Grill is an amazing restaurant, and it's become one of my favorites in Indy. I went with my mom, who is visiting / helping me pack to go home, and my friend Kate. Kate is an amazing friend, and has been by my side through thick and thin this semester, and I'm so glad I got a chance to celebrate the end of the semester with her. We both had margaritas, which was fitting because it was also Cinco de Mayo!

I would have loved to sit down and relax the day after being done with school, but it wasn't meant to be. I had booked a number of appointments. First, I had to head down to Community Hospital for a physiotherapy appointment for my back. I'm really excited that I've finally got the opportunity to get better! Then, my mom and I made a quick stop at McDonald's and headed up to Zionsville, Indiana for an appointment with my doctor. I would definitely recommend checking out "downtown" Zionsville. It's very small-town America, filled with cute shops to check out. While we were there, I went into a yarn shop and bought some bright red yarn because I'm going to learn to knit this summer. Then, we went into a cross stitching store, because my mom and I both love to stitch in our spare time. When we got home, I had to do some of my new physiotherapy exercises, and in the evening I got to go out to dinner at Melting Pot with my friends Kim and Natalie. We've had annual dinners for the past few years, and I had really been looking forward to catching up with them. We ordered the Italian themed cheese fondue that also contained sundried tomatoes and basil...it was sooooo good!

Yesterday, my mom and I spent some serious mother-daughter time together shopping. I had to get some white shirts for work, and I found a lot of good-fitting options at New York and Company at Castleton Mall. I also really wanted to get a couple of casual dresses for the summer, and I found exactly what I was looking for at a store in Broad Ripple called Pitaya. I found multiple dresses that I liked, but I picked my favorite two. One is purple and the other is blue, and I am in love with both. We went to Brothers in Broad Ripple for dinner, and then headed home for a relaxing evening. Finally some time to sit down and chill out!

Today, I had another physiology appointment and then I headed home to do a little more packing. Basically, I'm throwing all my summer clothes and a few cooler-weather clothes into a bag. When you're leaving for three months, it's hard to predict exactly what you're going to need. The weather at home is significantly cooler than Indy is right now, and I need to keep reminding myself of that while I pack. My mom and I are going to be packing up my goldfish, Tom and Jerry, this evening. That's right...my two goldfish are going on a cross-continent road trip! My dad has been setting up a tank for them at home, and is ready to receive them on Sunday evening. Each fish is going to be in a 2 gallon jug, and they'll have oxygen tablets in the container. Hopefully I don't get too much trouble when I take them across the Canadian border, but we've checked it out with the Department of Agriculture in Canada, and they've said that it should be okay.

Tomorrow we're heading out on the road bright and early. It's going to be a two day trip, and we'll be stopping in Wisconsin tomorrow evening. Some of the roads that we take to get home are closed, so we will be taking a few detours. Should be an interesting time...

So my senior year is over. I can't believe how fast this year has passed, and I am in shock that my incoming freshman class is graduating and entering the real world. Are we old enough for that already!? Didn't I just graduate from high school not that long ago!? I'm glad to have the summer "off" (after all, I will be working a bit to make some cash), and I get another year to hang around campus. Pharmacy students are lucky ducks in that regard!

I've really enjoyed blogging this year. It's made me look at my life from a different perspective...I'm always thinking "what would a high school student like to know about my life this week?" and it has made me remember why I was excited about college when I was in high school! I hope that I've been able to be helpful to a few people, and hopefully I've shed some light on the life of a pharmacy student. It's not always easy, but in the end the hard work pays off!

This is going to be my last post. Thanks to all my readers for your interest!

Signing off,

Ashlen