From D1 to DR: I like 2015

Hello folks! Ok first: sorry it has taken me forever to write a new blog post. My ideal situation was to write a couple of posts over the holidays and one right on Jan 1st to start the new year right! Well...I ended up studying a lot more than I thought as our program literally shoveled so much information into us before the break. Second: Thank you to all of my followers that write me saying such amazing things, you make my heart feel warm and fuzzy :)

I am currently back in Toronto and the weather is -16 (Celsius for you Americans :p) and with the wind chill it feels like -30. Yikes! The ONE time I have to take the bus is today, as Stephen is gone to work from 7:30am-7:30pm...poor guy. So I have a 10-12 min walk today to the bus stop in this ridiculous weather, and they are even saying that frostbite only takes 8 minutes today...8 minutes?! I will definitely have to bundle up.

These holidays were absolutely amazing. Since Stephen and I missed last year because of our travels throughout New Zealand, it was nice to be home with our respective families. This was actually the first Christmas where I had time off. Throughout university, we had to be back on campus for Dec. 26th, as basketball practice for us started on the 27th. This week of practice was always dreaded as the entire time everyone was home for Christmas, you could not help but think of all the food you are eating potentially might end up on the basketball court after shuttle testing. *shiver*...I DESPISE shuttle runs. I think I have PTSD from college basketball...I am not even lying. I remember one year we had a game on December 22nd, and since Canada had a huge snow storm that year, I only got to be home until the 25th and leave on Christmas night to stay in a hotel in Watertown, NY and then take the bus that next morning and anxiously await those dreaded practices. Not fun.

Since having 10 days off for Christmas this year, I honestly did not know what I was missing. I loved every second of being home and it was such a relaxed atmosphere in the Cronk household. I got to help my Dad put the horses in the barn, brush off snow and ice from their backs, go over and see our oxen team Duke and Leroy, some 4-wheeling, and enjoying a couple winter campfires outside. I really am lucky to live in such a beautiful place. While I was home, I decided to study for the sole reason that as soon as we came back we had a group quiz and an individual quiz that Monday. I got the grades last night and I did well, so my studying paid off! (except for Physio, man is it tough!)

Our first big exam is Jan 23rd, which accounts for 25% of our grade, and previous students have said to MAKE SURE to do well on this one, as it only gets harder with time. I am trying to understand each lecture as it is being taught that day by going over it at night. This week we have night classes, which actually are harder because we do not finish until 9pm. So from 4pm-9pm I am sitting on my butt and not moving, just writing. I am going to do a quick home workout today or power yoga, have not decided yet, but knowing myself I will need to do something before sitting that long. The material we are learning is actually really interesting. I had no idea that I would love learning about the spinal cord this much, and how different somatosensory pathways innervate various parts of our brain depending on the type of signal. I had no idea that the spinocerebellar pathway dealt with proprioception ("position sense") and that it has its own specific pathway in the brain. Really cool...or maybe that is just my nerd attribute coming out :)

Just before the break, my good friend Joe started this amazing blog GetLivin, which beautifully captures the stories of some amazing people. Joe asked me awhile back if I could write my story and submit it for presentation on his blog, and from the overwhelming, heart-felt messages that I have received from it-I am SO happy that I did. Thanks Joe! The link is right here:

https://getlivinblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/emma-cronk/

So just click the link and have yourself another read if you would like. Or bookmark it and read it at a later time, and find yourself engulfed by some amazing stories on there. Also, you can also follow the blog on Instagram and facebook, just search GetLivin. For those of you that have Instagram, I also just got it and my username is: @d1todr, feel free to follow!

Alright peeps, I need to officially get ready for this freezing weather outside! I have about an hour of reading left to do for class, home gym time for about 45 min, then to get ready and get bundled! Wish me luck!

And as always, here are some random pictures :)

Bye for now,

-E xo