Some days are just like that.

There’s no way around it: When you’re a grad student trying to balance life, work, school, and volunteering while also waiting on pins & needles to hear about whether you’ll be matched to an internship that will allow you to complete your training and sit for the licensing exam, some days can be tough.

Yesterday was bordering on being one of those days. I was really busy at the clinic, preoccupied with the exam I had in the evening, stressing about class and work assignments that had magically piled up overnight, and operating on not enough sleep. By 3 pm, I felt myself about to slip into “is this worth it????” territory despite my best efforts to “stay in the room” as I typed up notes from the morning sessions.

And then, as if on cue, my supervisor came in with a patient I’d seen well over a month ago, just so she could tell me how great she’s been doing with the changes we’d discussed last time. The smile on this woman’s face was the best reminder I could have asked for about why I do this stuff.