When I went for my interview at UCVM, I remember thinking that morning, randomly, of my friend Leah. Leah and her boyfriend Nick worked at the Greater Vancouver Zoo with me. The year that I moved to Calgary was the year that Nick and Leah moved to Edmonton in pursuit of Nick’s career as a pharmacist. Leah and I had taken an equine class together as well, so we had grown close during our time at GVZoo, but when we moved to Alberta on separate paths we lost touch. She had even baked this amazing cake as a farewell.
Randomly on March 26, 2011, while I was de-stressing with a little workout prior to my interview, I remember thinking, I wonder if I will see Leah today.
My mom had come to Calgary to support me that day. She drove me to the university for my interview, because my mom is amazing. When I walked through the doors to the hall at the University of Calgary’s Health Sciences building there was Leah. How I had the premonition that I was going to see her that day I cannot even tell you! Seeing her made me feel calm. Leah has a very cheerful spirit. She always has a pun in her pocket ready for you. I didn’t even know she was applying to vet school. Both of us didn’t really share a lot on our social media profiles, but here we were together again! We were in different groups, but just seeing her there made me feel at ease. Again, we parted ways and didn’t really hear much from each other. I wondered if she got accepted. I did not.
If we fast forward to August 27, 2012, it is the first day of veterinary school at WCVM. We are all excited and nervous, meeting our second year buddy that is going to help us through the day and maybe years, and meeting our classmates and soon to be new friends. Again, there is Leah. I had no idea she was applying to WCVM as well! I didn’t think her and Nick would be able to do that because of Nick’s career – but here she was! We were classmates again! Our WCVM classmates were baffled at how we already were so close. It was so reassuring that we were there together. We weren’t in the same alphabet group – her being at the end of the alphabet and me being at the front – this meant for all our labs we were in separate groups. In third and fourth year we hardly had any classes together, but we were able to help each other through school in other ways. She took care of Indi when I traveled and Roger came to visit me. Funnily enough, we both took to pole dancing as a means of fitness, even though we both likely haven’t had much time for it now.
Leah is back in B.C. and I’m over here in Ontario. I visited her a year and a half, almost two years ago now. She has a beautiful home on the sunshine coast and I miss chatting with her, hanging out, drinking tea together – like two little old ladies. I do have to say, I should message her today, because if I’m thinking about her – maybe there’s a reason for it.
