I think it is always important to never lose touch with things you used to enjoy. One of the main reasons I had pursued many jobs that dealt with graphic design and the web at UIC is because I was incredibly in love with coding my eighth grade year. In high school I never got a chance to continue that interest, but I did get to explore my love for basketball (it’s a shame I didn’t keep playing because I was getting really good!). I also took a lot of art classes in high school, for the reason that I thought I was going to do architecture before changing it altogether to medicine.
However, within the past month I was finally hit with the realization that art was not something that I wanted to pursue as career. The main reason I had all these jobs was not only to have that creative outlet in my life, but also to have that possible switch back to what I had originally wanted, a career in art and technology. The purpose of the jobs, for me, was to ultimately confirm that my past interests in them did not outweigh my interest in medicine. The struggle I have had in the past two years was, as you may have guessed, keeping a strong balance between the two sides of me: the artsy, free-spirited one…and the thinking, realistic one (I guess you can equate this to left vs. right brain fighting each other, haha). You’d think having both of the worlds would be nice, and it is, but it’s incredibly difficult deciding what you want! To be a doctor, you really have to devote your whole life to do it. And honestly, if I want to be there, I’ve got to start devoting more time to studying harder in my science classes and the MCAT exam. I am also considering the MD/Ph.D., but I think I will have to do some more research myself to really understand what it is to be a Ph.D. candidate as well. These things take time, but in the overall span of our lives, it is not much. The first week of my winter break actually consisted of commuting every day to the research lab to conduct qPCR and I did that and RT so many times that my PI called me a “qPCR queen.” XD I tweeted about it and got some new followers from biotech companies. Funny!
My Canadian co-volunteer teacher requested a drawing from me in the form of mail, but I'm kind of lazy and really bad about sending mail unless my life depends on it so I just sent this through FB. At first I wanted to draw her doraemon because I know she loves that character but it started to look really terrible and then a light bulb appeared in my head and BAM! Really silly cartoon versions of us in our bright orange AID Summer shirts. I miss her!<3
The grades came out for this past semester and I did well! I got a B in organic chemistry lab, but it’s only worth one credit so it didn’t bring my GPA down too much. I was expecting an A until halfway through the semester my TA got a lot stricter with his grading and then the lab practical was an absolute fail. :( BUT YAY! I’m done with organic chemistry forever (except for what I need to know for the MCAT). I am super happy that I received an A in biophysics and it’s given me a super confidence booster for next semester when I take on biochemistry, genetics and homeostasis! I am also taking an Asian American Studies seminar led by Karen Su from AARCC and we’ll be reading about the “super” model minority of Asian American doctors from their own books. Exciting! I thankfully did well on all of my other finals (abnormal psychology, Polish and nutrition assessment). I also completed my honors activity by translating a short story from Polish to English titled Chcę Być Koniem, which means “I want to be a horse.” My Polish instructor said I really captured the sense of Mrozek’s sarcasm! Woohoo! (:
So I’m not sure if I had confirmed with everyone about my plans for next semester, but here it is! After going through my dilemma and contemplating my options, I have made it clear to almost everyone affiliated with me and my “art outlet” what it is I want to do with my life and that’s medicine.
- Classes: ASAM 105, BIOS 452, BIOS 220, BIOS 240
- Jobs: Research, blogging, possibly tour guiding and web designing at campus housing (still debating)
- Extra: Health Activism Committee, MCAT Kaplan prep course
- GOALS: Straight As and at least a 30 on the MCAT.
I’m hoping for the best! =)
I guess I kind of went off topic from the title, but basically I wanted to remind everyone that they should do something they love! <3
I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and will enjoy a wonderful new year! :D
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