This month, resilience was a recurrent theme that kept emerging from different people and situations at ICO. Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt, bounce back, and recover when life sends challenges your way. Inevitably, everyone experiences challenges and rough patches at some point in their lives. However, not everyone is able to handle these challenges with grace and positivity. Today, I will share with you two people that have made me reconsider not only the way

Fourth year at ICO has been a whirlwind so far! It feels like it has been progressing slowly, but going quickly at the same time, if that makes sense. I was able to spend my first quarter back home in Ohio for my VA rotation. It was very nice to hang out with family and friends again after being away from them during school. It was also nice to comprehend what seeing patients on a regular basis while trying to balance life is like. I am now in Denver with a slightly different

I am now almost half-way through my first quarter here at ICO and it has felt like a roller coaster with many highs and lows. The first thing that immediately stood out to me was the academic pace here. ICO is well-known for its rigorous quarter-based system, but I didn’t really understand how difficult it could be until experiencing it firsthand. Having 2 exams a week on top of classes, labs, and assignments is tough. It definitely tests your endurance and perseverance. Whil

Five weeks of optometry school down! That means fall quarter is already halfway over. I've taken my first exams for each of my classes, and I'm starting to get the hang of things. Some days, I feel totally lost; other times, I am comfortable with everything I'm learning. With everything that optometry school entails, it can be difficult to reflect on the journey. I took some time this week to think about some of the most important lessons I've learned so far. 1. Every Class i

With the start of optometry school interview season, I thought I would write a post on what my Interview Day experience was like at ICO. Here is a step-by-step breakdown, from beginning to end: Traveling Once I received my invitation to interview, I booked a flight from Tampa to Chicago. I flew in the day before my interview and stayed at a hotel in the South Loop. I did this because I wanted to scope out the South Loop area; I thought I would rent an apartment in that neighb