The Opening Ceremonies of the London '12 Summer Olympics will occur tomorrow! AHHH. I can't believe it's already here. I wonder what it's like to be even a spectator there. It must be a madhouse right now, full of energy. I can't believe this time four years ago, I was living in Austin taking CC 306M - Medical Terminology. #TimeFlies
The first summer session flew by as well. I miraculously made an A in organic chemistry I! Hah, another science A for the books y'all. I teetered back and forth between the second semester of ochem or physics and ultimately decided, I want to take neither. I want to enjoy the rest of my summer and don't want to be in lab or drive 30 minutes anywhere to spend five hours at night suffering through pedagogical incompetence. So I compromised: I'm auditing the second semester of ochem. I'm used to the instructor and I like the other students in class. I can still follow the material and it gives me something to do during the day and I don't have to be in lab. In the end, it's all just the pursuit of knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself. If I ever take ochem 2 or biochemistry, at least I will have seen the material once before.
I have found housing, thanks to the help of Michelle! I'll be moving in August 4th. I'm a little nervous but excited. New social situations are always laced with a bit of anxiety right? Hopefully the transportation issues to and from school won't be terrible.
I officially told my parents that as of right now, I'm not applying to med school. I'm going to focus on public health and see where it leads me. If the opportunity somehow re-presents itself, I may apply to med school later on but honestly, there's an entire world out there to discover: public health, policy analysis and global health... Medicine isn't really even in contention now.
Can you believe I said that? A year ago, my bags and boxes were packed and ready to hop on a plane to Northern California and I couldn't see myself doing anything other than seeing patients. Fast-forward a year - with actual everyday physician shadowing under my belt and a more realistic view of the realities of practicing medicine - and I've come to the conclusion that even if I did have an MD, I would do a residency in Preventive Medicine and not even practice clinical medicine.
What's the point of that?! I just took up a spot in a medical school class that someone else could've taken to become the next pioneering neurosurgeon or helped fill the gap in primary care in urban and/or underserved areas! Not to mention, I just don't want to assume the major risk that is student loan debt. I enjoy science and patient interaction - but those alone are not enough to undergo medical training. I think your heart really has to be in it, and mine simply isn't. Without that passion, it just becomes meaningless robotic movements that will lead to years of resentment, sadness and wasted time - and time is money. For me personally, the cons now far outweigh the pros of becoming an American physician.
The prospect of me not entering medicine is new and refreshing. I'm going to try my best to take advantage of all that the MPH has to offer - maybe do research and a thesis, an international practicum or internship, etc.
Lots of new experiences to come and hopefully, they won't be too overwhelming and will make me become a better person, and a more informed and productive citizen. More posts to come!
DHP
