Desperate Persistent Tears

When I started school this year I didn’t realize that DPT stood for desperate persistent tears…

But if my experience the past couple months has taught me anything, then this is the best reflection of what grad school is.

Now, of course I am being dramatic, but I have seen more grown adults cry after taking exams (even ones they passed with A’s) than ever before because no matter how much you study, work, change, or learn, there is always things that go completely differently than you expect. It is intense to say the least.

For me personally, it has been one of the greatest 4 months of my life. I have cried many tears of struggle and an equal number of tears of joy. It was a month into the semester when one of my professors pulled me into her office to discuss why I had not done as well as she expected on a quiz. I explained that I had gotten married just two days prior and the quiz had not been my priority that week (surprise! I met a man and got married this year! 2021 has been quite the year for me; two of my biggest dreams have come true;) She expressed her congratulations and asked me what I thought about not only getting married, but being married during the first semester of grad school and how that transition would affect my studies going forward. To be honest, I didn’t really care. I knew I wanted to marry Coleman and I knew that God wanted me to also. So, its effect on my education was the last thing on my list of concerns. But her question got me thinking. And I would go on telling everyone I knew that getting married 1 month into this intense, time consuming, stressful, and life-changing program was the stupidest and smartest decision I had ever made.

Yes, planning and executing a wedding while trying to take in the firehouse of information I was learning everyday was not my smartest move. It made it very hard to focus and very hard to be motivated to do anything but be with the man that I love. But the brilliance of the choice far outweighed any consequences. Through this difficult program, I now had a partner. Someone to make mac and cheese when I am too tired to think about eating something other than strawberries. Someone to walk through each lecture with and practice each skill I learn on. Someone to hold me when I forget my medicine. Someone to tell me I am beautiful when I haven’t shaved or put on makeup in three weeks because I have been too busy. Someone to support me financially when I can’t work for the next three years. And someone to make hard decisions about my future with me.

I love being married. And more I love being yoked to a man who loves me with every of his hearts, all of his ventricles, and each of his pores (It is quite sexy when he uses “anatomy terms” for me lol).

This semester has not only been academically trying, but I have been dealing with medical issues (as usual), got in a major car accident on the freeway, had a small housing crisis, have been continually dealing with effects of the pandemic, rehoming my beloved dog, and other hard things. But even as I write this blog, those things pale in comparison to the joy I feel sitting on the couch next to my beloved husband and holding his hand while we talk about our dreams. My goal is to share more of our story and my experiences over the last year in coming weeks. Not only do I think it will be helpful for newly weds, people with trials, anyone who loves a good love story, DPT students, etc, but I know that I need to share my story more for myself. I miss gifting myself the ability to look back on important learning moments of my life. So, I hope to share with you again real soon. Till then!

Love,

Zoralei Dayley <3