Our Dental Journey (Part I)

I've been trying to decide what to write about for my blog post today and I found inspiration on another Dental wife's blog (thanks Kate!). She had written about the process her husband went through to get into school and it brought me back to how our own journey began.

JANUARY 2010- Switching to Dentistry
It all started just over three years ago in the shower (I don't know what it is about showers but don't you feel like that's where a lot of life-changing decisions are made?). We had just gotten married the previous month and he was about 3 weeks out from taking the M.C.A.T. to apply to Medical School. While taking advantage of his new marital privilege of having a shower buddy, Robbie confided in me that he was having serious hesitations about Medical School. He felt like it wasn't the right fit for his personality and that he was leaning more towards becoming a dentist.

It didn't take much convincing for me to be on board with that plan. I had always loved going to the dentist as a kid (I know, right?! I am a total weirdo!) and my parents are still good friends with my childhood dentist. Additionally, while I was in college I got to live with a dentist and his wife so I was able to see first hand the healthy balance of work and home that dentistry could offer

MARCH 2010- Visiting Dental Schools
We went on a little road trip down to Arizona to visit the schools in Glendale and Mesa. It makes me chuckle now thinking that we were so set on going out of state.

JUNE 2010- Taking the D.A.T.
It was actually a relatively easy change from pursuing Medical School to Dental School. Robbie had taken an M.C.A.T. preparation class and there was a lot of similar material on the D.A.T. (He was also thrilled at the glorious revelation that the test did not include a Physics portion). The only additional class he had to take was Microbiology. 

AUGUST 2010- I started working in a Dental Office
Not much to say except that this job was a complete god-send. Robbie eventually started working at this office as well which gave him awesome dental experience to talk about in his interview. 

SEPTEMBER 2010-Submitting His Application
He applied to 5 schools all together: University of Colorado, Creighton, A.T. Still, Midwestern, and University of Nevada. I vetoed a lot of other options (Texas, Missouri, Ohio, etc) mostly due to climate. I have curly hair and I absolutely hate humidity (I'm still amazed that Nebraska made the cut). I don't mind heat as long as it is dry (hence the Arizona and Nevada applications). In my heart I really did not want to leave Colorado. Every other state felt like a step down (no offense to other states, I've just lived here my whole life and I have a hard time with change).

DECEMBER 2010- One Interview Offer
This was a sad month for us because we received several rejection letters and only one interview offer (from University of Colorado). We had to keep reminding ourselves that this was the road God had called us down and that he was going to make a way for us to accomplish it.

JANUARY 2011- The Interview
His interview in Denver went relatively well but since it was his only interview we didn't have much to compare it to. The thing he loved most was meeting the students. It made him realize that University of Colorado was a perfect fit for him and that he wanted to go there more than anywhere else. 

APRIL 2011- The Longest Wait
The worst part of applying to Dental School I think is the waiting. You start to question what could've gone better, what you should've done differently, what will you do if you don't get in, why haven't they contacted you yet, etc. Four months of hell. Then one day Robbie called me at work to inform me he had received a letter of rejection. I knew it would not help if I cried even though I desperately wanted to.

I don't know what I would do without God's word in my life. There are so many moments I can look back on and remember the specific scripture that God used to speak life back into me. The one that carried me through this moment was Psalm 27:13-14.

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for LORD." -Psalm 27:13-14

I think that's a good stopping place for today. Sorry my posts get so wordy. I'll try to work on being more brief in the future!