I'll be starting medical school soon and I didn't have my dose of the summer fun. I had to work this summer. Even the time I had free in the past couple of months I've doing some soul search to make sure %100 that I want to go to medicine cuz I don't want to waste a lot of money like many people I know. Anybody here that started medical school after a heavy senior year, how did you do it? I heard you need enough charging for medical school? Also, I didn't have fun during undergrad, as I took heavy course load and had to work. I would like to hear from you how I can still try to live during medical school now that I may take a break from heavy working. I know it's tough to do so, but hey I am ready to hear what you have.
First off, take a deep breath or two and realize you're doing a great job. You got in (I'm sure you're happy about that). You're clearly a hard worker, so presumably you have the stuff to succeed. Ask yourself this: do you
need a break? You may not. Honestly, before every set of exams in med school, I always thought, "man, I'm going to need a week of vacation to recover". But you know what? After a day or two of lounging around, I was always suprised to find I was ready to get back at it.
The best thing you've got going for you (and this applies to anyone) is your passion, energy, and "staying power". And if you spent your time off finding that, then you did the right thing. Time off vacationing is all fine and dandy, but you get bored. You get out of step with your work routine. It's nice, but you certainly don't
need it. Dude, so many people don't even get vacations, let alone the fantastic summer getaways that some people will try to convince you everyone needs to "recharge" before med school. Not the case. Sure, you need to have your head on straight and be ready to take school seriously (like
seriously, if you want to do well...it's a lot of work), but you don't need 3 weeks on a tropical island or backpacking through Costa Rica.
There's time for life in med school. Med school's the time when a lot of people find themselves finding their stride. This is your "thing", you know? What you're good at. What you're passionate about. You're an adult now, you're a college graduate, and you're a hard worker. And actually, you do get a lot of vacation and "off" time in med school. And you're on your own schedule, for the most part.
A final piece of advice that I hope you take to heart for the rest of your medical school experience: keep your eye on the ball. If you feel excited and nervous to start med school, you're ready. Don't let other people's thoughts and experiences distract you. Don't let them convince you your text is crap and theirs is the best one in the world, don't let them convince you class is a waste of time if you're a class-goer and it's working. Don't let anyone convince you that you shouldn't enjoy yourself, because heck, I've been waiting for that time to happen when I finally think, "man, this isn't all it's cracked up to be" and I've seen it happen in other people, but it hasn't happened to me....yet, as an M3. I'm going to ride out the wave and enjoy myself as long as I can and even after, I'm going to hang on to the core things that made me want to be a doctor in the first place. Keep those close to your heart, and keep your cards close to your chest. Medical school's a special experience; give yourself a chance.
