- Joined
- Dec 3, 2005
- Messages
- 184
- Reaction score
- 0
The day is September 17th 2010. Today, I decided to go all in for the pursue of a career in medicine. No more second thoughts, no more indecision, no more "I can't do it." From here on, every ounce of my energy will be directed towards getting myself into a medical school.
About Me
My story below may be too long...so here's a sparknote version: I went in a circle and here I am on my path to medical school again
I went into college wanting to be a doctor. I want the prestige. I want the money. But there is something I never thought about, do I want that career? Fast forward one year, I am in the Sophmore year of college. I asked myself, "Why am I working so hard when I can just go into Pharmacy school for a career that has a decent pay as well but I don't have to work as hard?" With that, I took my first step into the dark side. Fast forward another year, I discovered programs at community college where you can be trained to be a Respiratory Therapist in just 2 years and the pay is decent as well! And on top of that, it is extremely easy to be admitted. Hooray! That means I don't have to work hard at school anymore! From then on, my grade plummeted like no others.
Three months ago I graduated and was in the middle of finishing up some summer classes in order to fulfill the prerequisites for the respiratory program. Two weeks into the class I thought to myself, "Wow, why am I here? I should be working already not taking classes! I can just find a decent job and with my capabilities I can rat race up the corporate ladder!" And so, I dropped that class. But I was a science major with zero work experience. No companies will ever hire me. (Un)fortunately, my dad has a friend who was an area manager for Bank of America. With her referral, I was able to get interviews Personal Banker. After a grueling one month process, after interviewing with three different managers, after completing two one-hour long assessment tests, I was rejected. So now I am both jobless and having no direction in life. I had been applying to many jobs with zero replies from employers. One day, I got a call back from a mortgage company seeking an entry level Loan Processor. YES! Finally an interview. The interview was scheduled on the next day and long story short, I got the job. It was the happiest moment of my life. In my mind, I was set. I am ready to go out into the world and reach the top!
Well...fast forward one month. I pretty much reached a dead end. I work 8-10 hours a day in a small cubicle doing pretty much 80% data entry and 20% chasing after loan specialists or insurance agents for critical forms and etc. The work itself is not difficult, but it is just not my type. This is when the idea of what kind of career do I want began to stem. I come home everyday unhappy and lacking motivation to do anything. What did I accomplish at work? Nothing. After work I go to the gym every night because I am a fitness freak
After gym, I am both mentally and physically exhausted. I go home, eat then sleep, and rinse and repeat.
During one of my day dreams at work, it occurred to me we spend 1/3 of our day 5x a week at work. That's a lot of commitment to a job. Why am I here doing this? Why can't I be using this time doing something that I truly want. All my life I only cared about the fastest and easiest way to obtain money. But now that I thought of it, will money truly make me happy? I put myself in a hypothetical situation. If I am making $100,000 annually with my current job, will I be happy? NO. It was simple, that alone was enough to jolt my mind and got me thinking.
The final push was when a friend of my dad visited. He is a surgeon from China who also studies in the art of eastern medicine. During our conversations he was able to tell a lot of stories and events throughout his career. I was intrigued. I thought deeply about this. Throughout my entire career in college up until now, the thought of being a doctor was always in the back of my mind. I can never consider it because of time and money that has to be invested. The stories from this surgeon in China is like a defibrillator that had awaken my inner dream. The dream of becoming a physician. To be able to go to work everyday and help people feel better. To be able to go home every night feeling accomplished at what I have served for the community. To be able to take part in improving the conditions of another person's health.
I was able to cast away the fear of too much time involvement and toss the fear of cost out the window. With this, I am back on the path I truly desired. The stake is high. The opponent is tough. Two hearts on my hand and a second heart has just flopped on the turn. I am now all in and there's no turning back. The only thing that matters now is what the river card is. (poker lingo if anyone is confused
)
More to come
I plan on laying out a plan to share with everyone and perhaps start a blog to track my progress soon.
About Me
My story below may be too long...so here's a sparknote version: I went in a circle and here I am on my path to medical school again
I went into college wanting to be a doctor. I want the prestige. I want the money. But there is something I never thought about, do I want that career? Fast forward one year, I am in the Sophmore year of college. I asked myself, "Why am I working so hard when I can just go into Pharmacy school for a career that has a decent pay as well but I don't have to work as hard?" With that, I took my first step into the dark side. Fast forward another year, I discovered programs at community college where you can be trained to be a Respiratory Therapist in just 2 years and the pay is decent as well! And on top of that, it is extremely easy to be admitted. Hooray! That means I don't have to work hard at school anymore! From then on, my grade plummeted like no others.
Three months ago I graduated and was in the middle of finishing up some summer classes in order to fulfill the prerequisites for the respiratory program. Two weeks into the class I thought to myself, "Wow, why am I here? I should be working already not taking classes! I can just find a decent job and with my capabilities I can rat race up the corporate ladder!" And so, I dropped that class. But I was a science major with zero work experience. No companies will ever hire me. (Un)fortunately, my dad has a friend who was an area manager for Bank of America. With her referral, I was able to get interviews Personal Banker. After a grueling one month process, after interviewing with three different managers, after completing two one-hour long assessment tests, I was rejected. So now I am both jobless and having no direction in life. I had been applying to many jobs with zero replies from employers. One day, I got a call back from a mortgage company seeking an entry level Loan Processor. YES! Finally an interview. The interview was scheduled on the next day and long story short, I got the job. It was the happiest moment of my life. In my mind, I was set. I am ready to go out into the world and reach the top!
Well...fast forward one month. I pretty much reached a dead end. I work 8-10 hours a day in a small cubicle doing pretty much 80% data entry and 20% chasing after loan specialists or insurance agents for critical forms and etc. The work itself is not difficult, but it is just not my type. This is when the idea of what kind of career do I want began to stem. I come home everyday unhappy and lacking motivation to do anything. What did I accomplish at work? Nothing. After work I go to the gym every night because I am a fitness freak
After gym, I am both mentally and physically exhausted. I go home, eat then sleep, and rinse and repeat. During one of my day dreams at work, it occurred to me we spend 1/3 of our day 5x a week at work. That's a lot of commitment to a job. Why am I here doing this? Why can't I be using this time doing something that I truly want. All my life I only cared about the fastest and easiest way to obtain money. But now that I thought of it, will money truly make me happy? I put myself in a hypothetical situation. If I am making $100,000 annually with my current job, will I be happy? NO. It was simple, that alone was enough to jolt my mind and got me thinking.
The final push was when a friend of my dad visited. He is a surgeon from China who also studies in the art of eastern medicine. During our conversations he was able to tell a lot of stories and events throughout his career. I was intrigued. I thought deeply about this. Throughout my entire career in college up until now, the thought of being a doctor was always in the back of my mind. I can never consider it because of time and money that has to be invested. The stories from this surgeon in China is like a defibrillator that had awaken my inner dream. The dream of becoming a physician. To be able to go to work everyday and help people feel better. To be able to go home every night feeling accomplished at what I have served for the community. To be able to take part in improving the conditions of another person's health.
I was able to cast away the fear of too much time involvement and toss the fear of cost out the window. With this, I am back on the path I truly desired. The stake is high. The opponent is tough. Two hearts on my hand and a second heart has just flopped on the turn. I am now all in and there's no turning back. The only thing that matters now is what the river card is. (poker lingo if anyone is confused
)More to come
I plan on laying out a plan to share with everyone and perhaps start a blog to track my progress soon.
