Summer Part I was wild. I bought a ticket to a place halfway across the world where I didn't speak the language and almost nobody spoke English. I traveled through 3 countries, hitchhiked over countless miles, traveled by plane, overnight train, bus, marshrutka, and group taxi. I hiked, got lost on the side of a mountain, got fed all kinds of delicious food, got lost/abandoned at a late-night border crossing (I got held back for screening. My ride did not), and got rescued by some kind soul. The two times when I really was kind of lost were the two times I got picked up by people who spoke perfect, beautiful English and got me on my way.
It was incredible. I have all sorts of stories, and maybe I'll write some of them out here. We'll see, because we're now in Summer Part II: I came back. I filled out a ton of paperwork and have more still to go. I built myself a desk. I've ordered a million colors of whiteboard marker and I'm trying to get organized. There will be one last jaunt north to visit friends and then, second week of August, school begins.
I. am. terrified.
Who decided this was a good idea? Am I really capable? How is this possible? Someone read my transcript and my essays and decided yeah, I trust this person with a human life?
I really am excited. It's not all fear, it's just... it's unbelievable. I know that lots of people want to become doctors and spend their whole lives working towards it, but for me, it's just the last couple years. I didn't go the normal path. A couple years ago, I went back to school to even see if this was possible. I wasn't even willing to admit that this was the goal, but here I am.
I'm not ready, but I'm getting there. This is going to be an adventure.
Monday, July 17, 2017
Friday, May 26, 2017
Saddle up
I'm in.
I've had a week and a half to process it, but it still feels unreal. I'm a non-trad (or a non-traditional student, for those of you who aren't in the mire of med school applications), and when I went back to school to complete my pre-reqs, I was sure I would fail out. That was the point: rule out med school, move on with my life. I didn't even allow myself to dream that this would work.
I'll start school in August. Until then, I'm traveling, working on some fun projects, and curating a really thorough Amazon list of school supplies.
I'm so excited and grateful for the chance. I'm grateful for the people who supported me. I started out with all of 2 or 3 people in my corner. People have added themselves to their ranks: people I know in my day-to-day life, people from school, even people from the internet. I've needed the cheerleaders, and I was unspeakably proud to be able to give them the good news.
I'm grateful that this has happened with my grandfather still around to enjoy it. My grandfather's a retired doctor. He grew up poor in the rural South, and when he decided to pursue an education he had to do it for himself. College, WWII, more college. Med school, rural practice, residency. Both of his sons grew up to become doctors, but I'm the first in my generation - the first 'grand-doctor', as my grandma put it. My grandparents played as much of a role in my early life as my parents did, so I am close to them and close to his stories. When I decided to go back to school, he made a rare exception to his general refusal to talk on the phone to tell me that if I decided to become a doctor, I'd be satisfied with it, he guaranteed.
Thinking about it helps me set aside the frenzy and the continuing waitlist suspense. I'm going to be a doctor, just like my grandpa. I am so freaking proud. A little bit terrified, but proud.
I've had a week and a half to process it, but it still feels unreal. I'm a non-trad (or a non-traditional student, for those of you who aren't in the mire of med school applications), and when I went back to school to complete my pre-reqs, I was sure I would fail out. That was the point: rule out med school, move on with my life. I didn't even allow myself to dream that this would work.
I'll start school in August. Until then, I'm traveling, working on some fun projects, and curating a really thorough Amazon list of school supplies.
I'm so excited and grateful for the chance. I'm grateful for the people who supported me. I started out with all of 2 or 3 people in my corner. People have added themselves to their ranks: people I know in my day-to-day life, people from school, even people from the internet. I've needed the cheerleaders, and I was unspeakably proud to be able to give them the good news.
I'm grateful that this has happened with my grandfather still around to enjoy it. My grandfather's a retired doctor. He grew up poor in the rural South, and when he decided to pursue an education he had to do it for himself. College, WWII, more college. Med school, rural practice, residency. Both of his sons grew up to become doctors, but I'm the first in my generation - the first 'grand-doctor', as my grandma put it. My grandparents played as much of a role in my early life as my parents did, so I am close to them and close to his stories. When I decided to go back to school, he made a rare exception to his general refusal to talk on the phone to tell me that if I decided to become a doctor, I'd be satisfied with it, he guaranteed.
Thinking about it helps me set aside the frenzy and the continuing waitlist suspense. I'm going to be a doctor, just like my grandpa. I am so freaking proud. A little bit terrified, but proud.
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