You have a great attitude. It's a huge deal for anyone to walk away from their life and start over from scratch somewhere new, but especially someone like you with a family. When I first applied, I would have never guessed that I would end up in Cleveland, a city I could barely find on a map, located in a state I had never even visited before I came for my interviews. Of course, things are a lot more complicated for you because of the family issues that you mentioned, which I didn't have to deal with. But it was still a big and unexpected change even for me!
Thanks! Yeah, my attitude towards schooling is much different than when I was an undergraduate.
I "ended up" at Univ. of Michigan in undergrad, my one and only "backup school" because I received an unsolicited full scholarship. I got into, and was frankly obsessed with, MIT. I had a huge chip on my shoulder for my first year at Michigan. I think it affected all my personal relationships, my attitude towards learning, pretty much every aspect of my life.
Retrospectively, At Michigan I met my future wife, the mother of my three awesome kids, with whom I just celebrated my tenth anniversary! I had fun and learned to love Ann Arbor and Michigan!
How foolish and immature was I for begrudging them for giving me a scholarship?! How stupid is that? Think about how many people would have killed for that!
The positive attitude I developed afterward I now apply towards medical school.
Admissions is:
1) A human and imperfect process
2) An honor, not a birth right
I set out on this journey hoping to be in accepted ANYWHERE, let's be honest. Plus, I just hoped to be the guy who graduates last in his medical school class at that school. I am not going to get 'greedy' and expect more than that. If it happens, cool. If not, so be it.
...you know what they call the person who graduates last in his medical school class, right?