Ooh, I forgot to mention that I also write poetry that has been nationally published. I guess that's my "unique factor", maybe. I dunno, haha. I've been doing it for years so it doesn't seem unique to me, but I guess in the med school applicant world, it's not super cookie cutter.
I did theatre in high school too, really extensively so. And, like you, I felt no urge to continue through college. Time is too limited to spend lots of it on something that you think might make you unique but that you don't really love. The way I look at it is that you can stand apart from cookie cutter applicants in two ways, extracurricular-wise: 1) by interesting and uncommon ECs; or 2) by doing all of the normal activities, but for a longer duration and with more accomplishments to show from it. #2 is sort of my philosophy. I have ~550 hours of hospital volunteering, ~200 hours of shadowing, etc. I have all the bases covered, but I truly loved them so I have more than an average applicant. I don't know how well this will help to differentiate me from other applicants, but I feel like longevity shows commitment and passion beyond a standard dutiful fulfillment of expectations. Plus I truly enjoyed doing it, so that made it all the more worth it for me. Does that make sense?
Turning hobbies into accomplishments is a good idea!! A blog with a lot of readers is a good example of that, I'd think -- taking something you enjoy and sharing that passion and expertise with the world is very positive, in my opinion. I know that I personally used an interest in art and fashion to fuel a large scale volunteer project in my senior year of high school. I don't want to say too many details about it, as it could pretty easily be traced back to me, but it is possible to harness passions and make them bigger if you so choose!!
However, you mentioned research and an interest in applying MD/PhD. From all that I know about that process (I have not done it, so take this with a grain of salt), they care much less about activities outside of research. Don't spend a lot of time forcing yourself to seem unique at the expense of spending lots of time doing research and presentations and posters and such.
About scribing. It really is a huge time commitment, so don't think that it isn't that either. During the summer, I work about full-time. During the school year, I work 20-30 hours a week. My company says very specifically that school comes first, scribing comes second, all else comes third. Still, it's an amazing experience and I absolutely love it.
