In what seems like only five minutes since I enrolled for my second year of Optometry, the first semester has almost come to an end. It has been an eventful few months and as much as I am loving every minute of university life, I do feel like I need the Christmas break to have a few days to recuperate! Since coming back, the number of new techniques we have added to our toolkit has shot up incredibly. We have mastered the slit-lamp and have tried our best on with the Volk (it is getting easier, but the assessment shakes that many of us get during our exams do play havoc when trying to get a sharp image of what you are observing!). I have tried my best to keep on top of the lectures, by writing up each module into an A4 pad and adding notes, but it is rapidly becoming a selective task prioritising any module topics that requires a bit more attention. In addition, the expected level of clinical ability has been raised considerably. Our assessment a few weeks ago involved having to perform a full refraction routine in 35 minutes - something that both scared us, but has also prepared us for the rest of the course, as well as for meeting the time demands of the pre-reg period. The weekend just passed involved visiting Centre Parcs in Longleat for the Student AOP Eyeopener Conference. We had various talks touching upon pre-registration period preparation, examinations, career advice and also a fantastic lecture-come-stand-up routine by the multi-talented Sarah Morgan. It was a real "eye opener" in terms of what being an optometrist can hold for our future. Academia, hospitals, industry, franchise, independent, clinical research and domiciliary were just a handful of the suggestions of where we may end up at some point in our career. Although the information gained from talking to all the exhibitors and absorbing the lectures, it was also a brilliant weekend socialising with fellow optometry students from all the universities in a non-formal environment (it is amazing how fighting through the rapids of the on-site swimming complex can bring people together!) The next few weeks will bring my first few attempts at refracting paid patients alone. I am very excited about this as it does feel like I am becoming a "real optometrist". I shall let you know how I get on! Jason