Cha-cha-cha changes

In February of 2000 my mom told me that her good friend Michelle’s fiancé (at the time) Rick was a vet in town and that he needed some help around the office. At the time I was 17 with a newly acquired license and a very thirsty Towncar so money in the bank was gas in the tank. I agreed to check it out for the day. I worked my first day in khakis and a sweater, a day that ended with me assisting Rick in amputating an injured duck’s wing. The next day I was due to work I was very late and Rick was upset, I didn’t really realize that I had an actual job. Soon I purchased my first pair of scrubs and I found myself falling in love with the profession.
On April 9th of 2010 I worked my last day at San Roque Pet Hospital, perhaps hanging up my scrubs for good. I have worked at 7 clinics, for 17 doctors, and put in countless hours over the past decade. For now I have no plans to start a new job at least until after June. When I do get another job it will most likely not be as a vet tech either. At this point I feel like I’ve taken this avenue as far as it will go and with the exception of an extremely unique opportunity to learn more I will retire from being a vet tech (Bret Farve rights reserved). Perhaps the next time I go to work at a clinic, with any luck, it will be as a DVM. In the mean time I will be looking in to volunteering and other avenues for me to learn and work with animals. The money I’ve made as a tech has allowed me to support myself while paying for school. It has supplied me with countless stories and a large photo album that most of you have been subjected to at least once. I am proud of my work and will always cherish the people, clinics, patients, and stories that make up all the fond memories. One random opportunity I stumbled upon in high school has led to the discovery of a lifelong passion and perhaps a career. Thank goodness for that because without a goal/dream to drive me all these years who knows whether I would have kept going. Even though the road to vet school is hard I have always considered myself lucky to at least know my path.
Walking away from the only job I’ve ever done is pretty scary but it is the beginning of a period of big change. For ten years my life has been centered on two things: getting my degree and getting everything I could out of my years as a vet tech. I am looking forward to something new and a chance to miss net medicine in my time away from it. Now these two journeys come to an end and the ultimate goal of applying to vet school is on the horizon. It’s funny to think about how important my work and my school were to each other. Without my love for vet medicine who knows whether I would’ve had the motivation to go this far in school. Without vet medicine I may not have been able to pay for school. Getting a tech job in Santa Barbara was crucial to me being able to move here and eventually go to UCSB. Getting a degree from UCSB is a big step toward someday becoming the vet I found out I wanted to be when I was 17.

Songs:
Roll With The Changes- R.E.O. Speed Wagon
Changes- David Bowie