I'm Out of the Race.

[FantasyVesperia]

This is the same reason why I didn't continue track & field. I was a sprinter and I was pretty good. The reason why I quit was mainly because of the competition; people pushing you to become even more better than the person next to you. All the hard work wasn't worth it.

So, I'm out of the race. I'm finished. I knew and everybody around me knew that becoming a veterinarian is a hard task. Compared to other students who wish to take the same route are either way more qualified than me or probably deserve it way more than I do. They have the minds for it, the talent for it and the drive for it. All the things I lack.

Pursuing veterinary medicine is hard, you have to shape your life around it. You need thousands of hours of vet experience, thousands of hours of animal experience, hours for research, top grades, and etc. I know I'm still in high school, but I can't use that as an excuse to not think about the future ahead. It's hard shadowing or interning with veterinarians and finding a job associated with one. I applied for a veterinary assistant job in August and didn't get it. Another high school student got it because of his experience in vet med and his animal experience.

I've come to a conclusion that I'm not academically nor mentally fit for this type of profession. So, right now I'm keeping my options open. I have no clue what I want to be at this point . Maybe I'll try nursing, my mother always wanted me to go in that field, it sounds pretty cool too. Speech pathology is pretty sweet too, I had to see a speech pathologist in elementary school for my speech issues.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[tennisgrlcc]

I just want to say that it is totally ok not knowing what you want to do or being unsure. I think a lot of us get into the thinking that we have to know what we are going to do and a lot of that is competitiveness and just normal human fear of the unknown. One thing is that I'm sure not every practicing vet knew when they were in high school that they wanted to be a vet. Just like not every practicing doctor decided they wanted to be a physician in high school, some people don't decide until senior year in college, I know one doc who went into engineering then went back to college then med school. Yes, the road to becoming a vet is difficult, there's a girl in my high school who wants to go to veterinary school and is having trouble getting volunteer hours at veterinary offices or shadowing vets. It's a competitive field, but not impossible. But like you said keep your options open, try different things. You said maybe you could be a nurse, try volunteering at your local hospital, or urgent care, maybe shadow a doctor or a nurse. You could even try volunteering at a dog wash or pet spa place. Colleges like to see variety. Keep your head up

 

[Doudline]

Are you for real?
Giving up before you have even started is not going to get you far in life, honey.

 

[FantasyVesperia]

Are you for real?
Giving up before you have even started is not going to get you far in life, honey.

I'm not giving up, I'm taking myself out early because already I'm losing interest in the profession and realizing that it isn't for me. Call it what you want, but this decision was already made and I've talked about it with my counselor.

 

[BioBeaver]

Are you serious?! Come on Fantasy, you're better than that!

First, how can you be sure these other students are SO much better than you? None of you have taken any pre-reqs or even taken a class on a college campus before. If you're judging from high school performance, you and I both know that it shows no correlation to no you do in college. Why are you worried about the other kids to begin with? Your goals are your goals, stop comparing yourself to others for a second and just focus on being the best you can be.

You think being a speech pathologist or a nurse is easy? It certainly won't be if you're so willing to give up before even trying. Why not take a year as Pre-vet and see how you do? There's no harm in pursuing your dream, and if you still feel like you can't keep up, THEN you can quit. But don't sell yourself short before you've even begun.

 

[whynot7]

Honestly, nothing worth having is easy to get.
However, it is totally understandable that you can change your mind about things. Take your time. You're still in high school, you have time to decide what you want to be. In fact, explore everything! If you don't, you'll always wonder if there was something else that you would have loved even more than being a vet.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose to do

 

[FantasyVesperia]

Are you serious?! Come on Fantasy, you're better than that!

First, how can you be sure these other students are SO much better than you? None of you have taken any pre-reqs or even taken a class on a college campus before. If you're judging from high school performance, you and I both know that it shows no correlation to no you do in college. Why are you worried about the other kids to begin with? Your goals are your goals, stop comparing yourself to others for a second and just focus on being the best you can be.

You think being a speech pathologist or a nurse is easy? It certainly won't be if you're so willing to give up before even trying. Why not take a year as Pre-vet and see how you do? There's no harm in pursuing your dream, and if you still feel like you can't keep up, THEN you can quit. But don't sell yourself short before you've even begun.

I see what you're saying, I do, but in no way did I say that speech pathology or nursing is easier. I was just exposed to those careers at an early age, my mother was in the nursing field. It's a hard decision and all the stress I've been going through isn't worth it.

 

[BioBeaver]

I see what you're saying, I do, but in no way did I say that speech pathology or nursing is easier. I was just exposed to those careers at an early age, my mother was in the nursing field. It's a hard decision and all the stress I've been going through isn't worth it.

Well it's your decision, and I understand its a tough one! Good luck

 

[Hillo]

I'd say that losing interest because you're around awesome people is silly... because some people bend over backwards and get into so much debt just to be around those high quality people (in Ivy Leagues, ect).

I have many similar stories like your track story, and finally after all these years, I've realized that all those people either are irrelevant or motivating. You gotta learn at least one thing from anyone who impresses you.

Ten years from now, you could be a veterinarian thinking back "Gosh, I'm so glad I didn't quit being pre-vet in high school."

If only you knew how physically, mentally, and socially "behind" I was three years ago...

But because you don't find the ups and downs of this path exciting and helpful to challenging yourself to improve and grow into one heck of a person, then of course chase after something that will.

The thing is you might not be better off chasing after nursing or speech pathology.

 

[JPodel]

I'd say that losing interest because you're around awesome people is silly... because some people bend over backwards and get into so much debt just to be around those high quality people (in Ivy Leagues, ect).

I have many similar stories like your track story, and finally after all these years, I've realized that all those people either are irrelevant or motivating. You gotta learn at least one thing from anyone who impresses you.

Ten years from now, you could be a veterinarian thinking back "Gosh, I'm so glad I didn't quit being pre-vet in high school."

If only you knew how physically, mentally, and socially "behind" I was three years ago...

But because you don't find the ups and downs of this path exciting and helpful to challenging yourself to improve and grow into one heck of a person, then of course chase after something that will.

The thing is you might not be better off chasing after nursing or speech pathology.

Dang I missed a lot

Hey you still have a lot of time to decide, for all we know, you might want to pursue vet medicine in a couple of months or so!!

Any decisions you make, we will always support you Fantasy Vesperia.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

I was sitting in my Bio class the other day when the professor asked us to raise our hand if we were pre-professional. There are three medical schools in my state, together, they enroll about 500 students I think. At least 150 people raised their hands, meaning, in just one classroom, I just saw a large part of my competition (even if only half are pre med). What do I do? Keep studying...if you want something, then do whatever it takes...tenacity and persistence are the keys.

Good luck, I know I bounced around a lot in high school and am not even sure where I want to go in medicine as a college student.

 

[FantasyVesperia]

Sheesh, you guys are too persuasive!

I gave it another thought, and I talked with a technician I'm friends with and she basically what you guys are saying lol. She asked if I considered a career in veterinary technology. I thought about it and I was truly stumped. So it's between vet technology and the DVM. Anyways, thanks guys so very much, I promise I won't have another breakdown again, I promise. Thank you so much. If I do it do a Internet slap or something.

 

[JPodel]

NO slaps hahaha. Just take your time, go relax a little bit, take a vacation or go lift. While doing those things, think about what you really want!

You got this buddy!

 

[Dr.TobiasFünke]

This is the same reason why I didn't continue track & field. I was a sprinter and I was pretty good. The reason why I quit was mainly because of the competition; people pushing you to become even more better than the person next to you. All the hard work wasn't worth it.

So, I'm out of the race. I'm finished. I knew and everybody around me knew that becoming a veterinarian is a hard task. Compared to other students who wish to take the same route are either way more qualified than me or probably deserve it way more than I do. They have the minds for it, the talent for it and the drive for it. All the things I lack.

Pursuing veterinary medicine is hard, you have to shape your life around it. You need thousands of hours of vet experience, thousands of hours of animal experience, hours for research, top grades, and etc. I know I'm still in high school, but I can't use that as an excuse to not think about the future ahead. It's hard shadowing or interning with veterinarians and finding a job associated with one. I applied for a veterinary assistant job in August and didn't get it. Another high school student got it because of his experience in vet med and his animal experience.

I've come to a conclusion that I'm not academically nor mentally fit for this type of profession. So, right now I'm keeping my options open. I have no clue what I want to be at this point . Maybe I'll try nursing, my mother always wanted me to go in that field, it sounds pretty cool too. Speech pathology is pretty sweet too, I had to see a speech pathologist in elementary school for my speech issues.

LOL. You need to relax. I almost failed out of high school and and I managed to go to an ivy league medical school. I had to fight every step of the way but I never gave up. You have a very poor attitude.

 

[that redhead]

While I agree that you shouldn't give up on your dream so soon, I think continuing to find experience in the field is crucial at this stage. We were discussing vet assistants over in the pre-vet forum and the conclusion (by and large) was that most assistant positions are not really the entry level positions they appear to be - most general practitioners want to hire someone who can do nearly everything that registered technicians do, not someone they need to train from scratch. I wouldn't be discouraged by the fact that you didn't get the position, but would start looking elsewhere. You may have to take a "lower level" position like kennel tech to get your foot in the door at some places.

Remember that general practice isn't the only option you have. You can volunteer at a local shelter, therapeutic riding center, dog walking/training establishment, etc. Shadowing a veterinarian (small or large animal, zoo, aquarium, etc) can also be a valuable experience if you know how to approach it and may be another way to get into a clinical position.

Yes, vet med requires a lot of hard work. But if you go over to pre-vet and search "successful applicant" threads, you'll see there is a wide variety of people that get in, many with weak spots in grades, experience, etc. If it's really what you want to do (and I'd say you will determine this through your experiences in the field, so get that experience!), you can make it happen. Good luck

 

[kanakari]

One. step. at. a. time.

People don't log thousands of hours all at once. It's the same for grades, or anything really. You do a little bit at a time, and it snowballs, and by the end you're something much bigger than you ever imagined. You step back and look at what you've done and say, "Wow, I'm living something I only dreamed of doing last year."

You didn't get one job. The only difference between future you and the future vets out there, is that when they didn't get the job they kept trying, or maybe improved themselves in different areas.

Tomorrow I start my job as a a TA. Last year I was so doubtful at even passing the course I'm TAing now. Until recently I didn't even have any teaching experience. Here I am; I beat out people who were way more qualified than I am. I knew my this going into it, but I decided, "hey, I'm going to do as much as I can to get this."

It's okay to have doubts about yourself. But you gotta be persistent. You have to keep trying, no matter what. One step in the right direction becomes the difference between success and failure.