When did YOU start wanting it?

[bluesails]

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So when did you start wanting to be a vet? I was just curious, actually, since everyone else I meet who is pre-vet seems to either be the type who's "just thinking about it" now OR who has wanted to be a vet since he/she was a kid... I haven't actually found anyone like me who decided in between, around high school.

I started when I transferred to a new international school from a tiny tiny all-girls school. The new school had much better academics and I began to love the sciences. I'd already considered being a vet before but I was worried I wouldn't like the coursework - when I got into more advanced science classes (IB diploma, anyone?) that problem went away. So I started thinking more and more about being a vet and then I decided on it! 🙂 The fact that I am into horses also factored a lot haha.

 

[SocialStigma]

I'm an IB diploma kid too! haha

But for me it started when I was a kid, I had this book of Barbie careers when I was 5 haha and one of them was "pet doctor". I thought that was cool but it wasn't till I was 8 and I had my first pet (a yellow butterfly I found on my windowsill that couldn't fly, nursed it back to health for 2 weeks before releasing it again) that I really decided to be a vet. Haven't looked back since!

And I'm finally applying to vet school next year..12 years later haha.

 

[jtom]

I am probably a bit unusual in that I decided I wanted to become a vet after I got my bachelors, fortunately I got my degree in biology so it was an applicable degree for vet school. I had applied to a few wildlife conservation graduate programs and did attend one but dropped out as it was not enough hands on for me. I then decided to pursue vetmed in may and have worked non stop at a clinic since then.

 

[breenie]

I wanted to go into art/design for most of high school. 🙂

I was good at science and math, though, and realized I really loved it. I've had horses most of my life and have always been passionate about them, bu viewed it more as a hobby. When college started rolling around, I realized if I were a vet I could spend my whole day with horses and get paid to do it. Also, I wouldn't have to call the vet and wait around all day when something went wrong. Seriously, my train of thought.

As I got a little more serious about it, I realized it was actually for me (for a few more reasons). Also, turns out I really like cows and goats. 😉

And... you can do art as a hobby, a little harder with vet med.

 

[teatime]

Two years ago, after I had finished my bachelor's in business and worked at an accounting job that was sucking the soul of me. 😀

 

[Minnerbelle]

senior year of high school for me. i wanted to become a theoretical mathematician before that.

 

[heylodeb]

5 years old - told my mom in the car. I wish I had a better story because it makes writing a good personal statement an absolute PITA! lol

 

[Whyevernot55]

Senior year of college. After being an english major for 4 years, while I was working for my equine vet to pay off vet bills.

 

[Risika]

senior year of high school for me. i wanted to become a theoretical mathematician before that.

Haha, junior year of undergrad for me. I also thought I wanted to be a theoretical mathematician before that....thus, why I majored in Mathematics. Technically, I did want to be a vet when I was a kid but that was more one of those "I want to be a cowboy when I grow up" type of thoughts. It wasn't until college that I actually realized I seriously did want to be a vet. Despite that choice, I do still love math, as well.

 

[JtotheL]

Originally when I was little. Then I decided to pursue vet medicine when I started hardcore pursuing my bachelor's with a behavioral ecology focus. So probably about 2 years ago. Behavioral ecology was put on the back burner and I decided vet school was the route I wanted to pursue instead. Strangely it was an ecology class with a professor I really liked that tipped the scales towards vet medicine for me.

 

[HopefulAg]

Dog got injured, went to the vet, saw all the neat toys they got to play with, and here we are. Before that time I didn't even know animal doctors existed.

 

[rhinocerotidae]

I'm one of those people who wanted to be a vet for as long as I could remember!!

 

[cowgirla]

I STILL want to win a gold medal in Show jumping at the Olympics. Rolex Kentucky might not be so bad either. First step...find a free horse that happens to be sound, young, and have enough talent to jump above three foot.... Second step, find some rich guy to foot all the bills....

But in between that, vet med has always been my back up plan

 

[heylodeb]

I STILL want to win a gold medal in Show jumping at the Olympics. Rolex Kentucky might not be so bad either. First step...find a free horse that happens to be sound, young, and have enough talent to jump above three foot.... Second step, find some rich guy to foot all the bills....

But in between that, vet med has always been my back up plan

haha!!! ME TOO!!!! lol. I still catch myself day dreaming about it sometimes. 🙂

 

[lei325]

I wanted to be a vet when I was little, but I lost that dream along the way. I wanted to go into equine sports therapy, but I was hesitant about doing vet school. My senior year of college I had to do a work placement for a class, so I did it with my local equine vet. After one day of calls with my vet (she was the one I had for my horse), I wanted it so much that I could taste it. It renewed my dream. Corny, but true.

 

[deleted266066]

.

 

[Tobysgirl81]

I STILL want to win a gold medal in Show jumping at the Olympics. Rolex Kentucky might not be so bad either. First step...find a free horse that happens to be sound, young, and have enough talent to jump above three foot.... Second step, find some rich guy to foot all the bills....

But in between that, vet med has always been my back up plan

Hahaha! Amazing so many of us have the same dream...Find that one "special and free horse" and take it all the way!

I've wanted to be a vet since I was 5. I remember thinking about what I wanted to do and "doctor for animals" sounded pretty cool. I also thought I was pretty clever - surely noone had ever thought of that before! Hahahaha... Anyhow, that's been IT since then!

 

[168135]

I wasn an IB kid too 🙂

I was in grade 11.

I was thinking about marine biology but I was pretty naive and didn't know what it involved. The guidance counsellors gave a presentation on careers and post-secondary education. They recommended a career website. I looked up marine biologist and decided it was not for me. I took a quiz that was supposed to tell me what careers I might be suited for. What was number one? Animal breeder. Vet was in the top five along with model (wtf?), social worker and conservation officer. I was naive once again and thought there was no way I could perform surgery... I'd be too nervous! I started looking into a career as a vet tech. I told a friend of mine and she said they were looking for a volunteer at the clinic she worked at. In grade 12, I started volunteering. After watching the techs, receptionists and vets at work and gathering information and advice, I decided that I wanted to be a vet.

I went to high school with a few hardcore pre-vet students who are now in vet school. They went to a different university than I did, which had a pre-vet program. The people I've run into at my university really don't know what they're getting themselves into. One girl got horrible marks first semester, switched to a BA and gave up on her dream. The other people I've run into think that they can get in with no veterinary experience and so-so grades. I run into one girl who has the grades and experience and she seems to be quite competative. She rubbed it in that she was hired for the summer at the clinic I volunteer at... so I bragged about the VIDA trip that I'm going on. People like to walk all over me when they get the chance and I am getting tired of it 😛

 

[Jessi Chris]

I've always been fascinated by animals. I've wanted to be an "animal doctor" since I was around three or four. Whatever age it was, I couldn't say "veterinarian" yet.

Sometimes my career goals wavered, but I always came back to animals and ultimately vet med.

The moment I credit with solidifying my interest in medicine happened when I was almost six. One night my dog started having a seizure and it scared the crap out of me. I remember sitting next to her crying because I didn't know what was happening and I didn't know how to comfort her. It was traumatic.

 

[Jamr0ckin]

I first remember voicing the desire in 4th grade when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. Then it became an obsession. I remember in 5th grade when asked the same question I said something along the lines of "I don't want to be a vet, I am going to be one." It was that simple for me. No questions about. When I was in 8th grade I got to do a mentorship with my vet and I was enthralled. I fell head over heels in love with veterinary medicine. I still am employed by the clinic I started my mentorship with... even living 3.5 hours away. The vets there have done nothing but encourage and teach me and I am still in love with vet med, despite having to apply for a THIRD time this year! 😍

 

[rileydog]

I'm one of those people who wanted to be a vet for as long as I could remember!!

Me too! I think it became official sometime in Kindergarten when I realized I could not be a princess and an artist and a vet. 😀

 

[natalieises]

I definitely knew I loved animals and what not when I was younger, so near the end of high school I just nonchalantly thought ok vet sounds fun. It wasn't until I actually worked for a vet the first summer after college that I realized "this is definitely what I want to do for the rest of my life!" I think it started out as a default idea because I wasn't positive what I wanted, but I knew I liked science type stuff better than business, arts, or math, etc. I'm so glad I found a true love for it though. I was extremely concerned that it just seemed like I picked a career by spinning a prize wheel.

 

[BaliDoll]

I am a bit of an odd story. I wanted to be a vet from the time I was old enough to understand what that guy who came in a big white truck to our horse farm DID, so about... 5. However, when I was in high school I got very discouraged because math and science were NOT AT ALL my strong classes. I was much better, thus enjoyed, english and theatre. Then I decided I'd move to Los Angeles and get a job as a screen writer....

Well, a year after moving here I got a job as a dog walker, had my horse sent to me for my birthday, started volunteering for rescues/shelters, and adopted a second dog. Before I knew it my life was animals, and I realized looking back that I was a whole lot happier working with animals than working for any internships or taking any classes I had for film. So I began to dabble in science courses in college and realized I am a better student now than I was in high school and I actually find science VERY interesting. Math is still a struggle for me, but I'm trying!

Anyway, I guess I flip flopped, but I guess if you come to the conclusion you want this TWICE you must really want it? haha

 

[Ausheya]

I definitely knew I loved animals and what not when I was younger, so near the end of high school I just nonchalantly thought ok vet sounds fun. It wasn't until I actually worked for a vet the first summer after college that I realized "this is definitely what I want to do for the rest of my life!" I think it started out as a default idea because I wasn't positive what I wanted, but I knew I liked science type stuff better than business, arts, or math, etc. I'm so glad I found a true love for it though. I was extremely concerned that it just seemed like I picked a career by spinning a prize wheel.

Basically this. In junior and senior year of high school, my dad was really pressuring to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I was kind of just like, well, I know I want to do something science-related so I'm majoring in biology, why isn't that enough? So finally I just started saying that I'd become a vet just to get him off my back some, and then I looked into it more and liked the idea more than I thought I would and eventually managed to get a vet assistant job and I love it.

 

[Braki]

I've wanted it for as long as I can remember. I don't even have a good story. I imagine I probably found out what a vet was and went, "Cool, I wanna do that!" and then never changed my mind.

 

[HoneySmucks]

I STILL want to win a gold medal in Show jumping at the Olympics. Rolex Kentucky might not be so bad either.

I'm also one of those with this dream/life plan-I think we have the whole future show jumping olympic team on SDN! Maybe I'll trade some vet work to borrow someone's grand prix horse for a while?

I always had vet med in the back of my mind somewhere, but got really interested freshman year of college when my jumper kept injuring himself and I began working closely with my vet to fix him. I got hooked and started working at a hospital.

 

[Minnerbelle]

She rubbed it in that she was hired for the summer at the clinic I volunteer at... so I bragged about the VIDA trip that I'm going on. People like to walk all over me when they get the chance and I am getting tired of it 😛

scarcelyheard, you're not going to accomplish much by stooping to their level and playing the "well i'm better than you because... nee ner nee ner nee ner" game. instead, you gotta punch that b**** in the face and go "oh, you're gonna need better reflexes than that if you want to become a vet." see if anyone ever messes with you again - people can only walk all over you if you let them!

 

[Minnerbelle]

Haha, junior year of undergrad for me. I also thought I wanted to be a theoretical mathematician before that....thus, why I majored in Mathematics.

I would have majored in math and possibly have gone with it, until my undergrad screwed with me! soph year of high school, I took linear algebra and multivariable calc (8 units total) at stanford and then took a math hiatus until end of high school. my undergrad told me that the way stanford breaks up their courses wasn't compatible with their curriculum. even worse, they didn't like that i took ab calc as a wee lil one over bc calc... and told me i had to start over at calc ii. so at that point, i said FU to the math dept and started on the bio path.

hey, even with huge vet school debt included, at least i'll probably make more money in my lifetime as a vet than as a mathematician. thanks alma mater, for enlightening me

 

[dee vee emm]

I decided when I was 4 years old!!

I remember when I was about 3, I went to Hungary with my mom, oma and my oma's two sisters to visit some relatives they had there. Apparently the one guy's dog was pregnant and had puppies when I was there. I remember watching from the window of the house ( wasn't allowed outside yet cuz my hair was wet or something weird like that), him taking the puppies, putting them in a bucket and walking towards the barn with them (this is back in the 'old country' so unwanted puppies were dealt with this way). So when I was finally allowed outside I went in that barn and searched high and low for those puppies for a loooooonng time. But I never ended up finding them. 🙁

I know that's kinda a sad story, but when I was 4 I remember asking my parents what jobs there were that had to do with animals. They said veterinarian (or maybe for my sake since I was so young just 'animal doctor') and I was like that's what I'm going to be!!
So that's my story!🙂

 

[Risika]

hey, even with huge vet school debt included, at least i'll probably make more money in my lifetime as a vet than as a mathematician. thanks alma mater, for enlightening me

Haha - true, that is indeed the case (as a theoretical mathematician, at least) but I actually think it's funny that I could make more money with B.S. in Mathematics than a DVM (not as a theoretical mathematician, but if I chose a variety of other math-related jobs).

 

[168135]

scarcelyheard, you're not going to accomplish much by stooping to their level and playing the "well i'm better than you because... nee ner nee ner nee ner" game. instead, you gotta punch that b**** in the face and go "oh, you're gonna need better reflexes than that if you want to become a vet." see if anyone ever messes with you again - people can only walk all over you if you let them!

Wish I could have done that, but we were sitting in the middle of a crowded cafeteria waiting for our coworkers to join us for lunch lol. Then she'd tell the vet and there goes my LOR 😛

It's the first time that I've done that... felt kinda good, but totally not me.

 

[pawprints]

instead, you gotta punch that b**** in the face and go "oh, you're gonna need better reflexes than that if you want to become a vet."

I just choked on my drink, I'm laughing so hard! AWESOME!👍
But really though, it would only be helping her! Better your fist than a dog bite or horse kick... 😛

 

[pawprints]

Oh, and I guess I should post my story too... Honestly, I was in complete denial for most of my life... I am a HUGE bio nerd, LOVE animals, and thoroughly enjoy teaching... However, EVERYONE (Literally everyone... Family, friends, teachers, my orthodontist...) I knew kept telling me that I was going to be a vet someday, and me being the (slightly) rebellious person I am, decided I was definitely NOT doing that...

In grade 10, we had to 'job shadow' a person whose career we were interested in, and my mom basically went in with my dog for his AV and asked the vet if I could shadow there for a day (without my knowledge), and while I enjoyed the experience, I was still adamant I wasn't going to be a vet... Then, I was offered a job there a month later and while I loved my job, I STILL didn't want to be a vet... It wasn't until my first year of university that I had this major epiphany... We had an employee of a client bring in a 3 day old GSD puppy with severe pneumonia, Grade IV HM, rejected by its mother, that NO ONE thought would make it, but the owners were away, and the employee didn't feel he had the right to make the decision for his boss... As such, somehow I ended up taking the puppy home, tube feeding, then bottle feeding, nebulizing, medicating... And the puppy made it! For 8 weeks (mom wouldn't accept the puppy back, and owners had NO CLUE what they were doing), that puppy was my 'project', and it was such a feeling like NOTHING I've ever felt before - Watching a sick animal get better, and knowing that you had something to do with it. Since then, there has been no doubt in my mind that 'everyone' was right - I AM going to be a vet someday! (preferably this will begin to be realized in this app cycle...EEK!)

 

[Veracosa]

My path took quite a few turns. Like many, I know I talked about it when I was a kid.I had dogs growing up, rode horses, etc. But once I was in high school, I found myself in love with liberal/visual arts.
After 2 years in art college, and a few years "in the real world," I decided to look into vet assisting. then we moved to a new town, which was a good opportunity to try something new. Worked in an SPCA for a few months, and enjoyed assisting the techs and vets. After that, I went to school for my RVT. Graduated in 2005, and have been working at a clinic since then.
I am pretty content with my job as a technician, with a few exceptions. Money is an obvious one, but also there are things like respect and control. I am a bit of a control freak!

The thing that decided it for me was a case at the hospital, where I told myself, "I don't agree with the vet's assessment/decision. If it were my case, I'd do it this way..." Essentially, we did an amputation on an older dog with an osteosarcoma, and the vet didn't do chest rads (even though I mentioned it before hand). Lo and behold, the dog had mets and didn't survive terribly long after the surgery. And her healing period was pretty damn harsh.

And that is when I figured out I did want to be the one to make decisions, make recommendations, and that I would be good at it.

 

[Trilt]

I never really wanted to be a vet.

I have a wonderful piece of career-related artwork from kindergarten with a picture of a lion that says "I want to keep animals in cages!" (In my five year old mind, that meant a zookeeper.) My mother dissuaded thoughts of veterinary med by commenting on having to put animals to sleep - my young mind didn't quite get the "relief of suffering" idea yet.

The zookeeper idea didn't really keep, and throughout middle school and into early college I wandered through the ideas of author, artist, architect, engineer, doctor, genetic counselor, teacher and last but not least, philosopher. I pursued all of these careers to different lengths, but it was enough that I have a pretty unique amount of skill sets from the different paths. I had the vague idea of doing vet med when I entered college but just used it as a good goal to encourage me to keep my grades (and thus options) open.

I started getting experience and really exploring vet med just in the last half year or so, and I'm pretty convinced that it is something I want to do with my life. Not sure what specialty or section - pretty sure I don't want to be a general small animal vet - but the career has thus far enthralled.

Not too dramatic of a story, but people definitely can't say that I didn't explore my options.

 

[RunTheWorld]

I definitely don't remember. My mom said she got me a Barbie dream house when I was five, but I transformed it into a veterinary clinic. She said I had very detailed charts 🙂

 

[rileydog]

I never really wanted to be a vet.

And so begins your Personal Statement 🙂

 

[bluesails]

This has turned into a really interesting thread, guys, haha. All these stories are awesome.

I forgot to mention that before I wanted to be a vet, I wanted to be a teacher, then a child psychologist, then a writer, then a book editor. And to win the Asian Games for showjumping on the side.

 

[HopefulAg]

I really can't remember what I wanted to do before being a vet. In my PS I wrote that I wanted to be an astronaut, which is partially true. Problem is, if I had the chance, I'd still be an astronaut lol, so it's not entirely true.

At one point in time I wanted to be an architect, but I can't draw and aren't too creative. Plus too many of the maths. I'm good at math, I just hate doing it over and over again and architecture has a lot of that.

 

[Hopefully2013]

When college started rolling around, I realized if I were a vet I could spend my whole day with horses and get paid to do it. Also, I wouldn't have to call the vet and wait around all day when something went wrong. Seriously, my train of thought.

Haha... That was the same train of thought I had! I love horses and have been riding ever since I was little, and I wanted a job where I could be around horses... But I don't trust the horse market enough to go for any sort of equine degree. I really loved biology in high school and one day my friend texted me "Mo has to have stitches!" (Mo being her horse)... Me reply? "Can I come watch?" I think it was that day I actually started thinking seriously about being pre-vet

 

[Nechochwen]

s you gotta punch that b**** in the face and go "oh, you're gonna need better reflexes than that if you want to become a vet."

🤣 I love it.

As for my story. I wanted to work with exotic animals since I was five. I drove my parents crazy with all of the animal facts and we made sure to go to the zoo if they had one. At first I wanted to be a zoologist, or maybe a National Geographic photographer. Then I was interested in being a zookeeper, so I joined the high school volunteer group at the zoo. I liked the close-up, nearly hands on caretaking, but it wasn't enough. As someone said earlier, I too am a bionerd and the zookeeping wouldn't have fulfilled that "wanting to understand". I worked with the vet technician on site and loved it.

I guess my story didn't have one of those memorable epiphanies; more of whittling down to what I want to do. (Although working in Africa does still occupies some back parts of my dreams)

 

[that redhead]

I've wanted to be a veterinarian since I can remember. I started really wanting it a few different times. The first was when I shadowed my first vet - an equine veterinarian. Even though I just got to hold patients, draw up vaccines and watch ultrasounds, I was fascinated and I knew its what I would pursue. The feeling came again when I began my high school senior year internship at a small animal clinic and continued there for a few more years. I guess all of my experiences have really backed up what I've wanted all along!

 

[KGemma]

I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was a kid, but I changed my mind because in 9th grade I got a B in Biology. I don't know why, but at the time, I thought I couldn't cut it, so I switched my focus on things I WAS good at: Computers and Math.

My senior year in high school, I took an AP computer science class, so when I applied for college I applied as a double major: Computer Science with an emphasis in integrated circuit design and Mathematics.

Four years of college flew by, and a semester away from graduating I realized I didn't want a career with my major. I felt lost for a while, and my husband had just gotten into Medical School so we moved to California.

Feeling lonely without my cats (who were still in Hawaii), we went to an animal shelter to adopt a kitten I saw online. The kitten was adopted 20 minutes before we got there, so the animal shelter worker asked if I wanted to foster kittens instead. That was the first time I ever fostered, and the momma had a URI (tested negative for FIV/FeLV) and became dehydrated quickly. We took her to the vet everyday, but she just gave up the will to live, so that was the first time I had ever decided to euthanize her, because it was just heartbreaking to watch her suffer.

Without a momma, I was left with 6 one week old kittens to raise. I've raised over a hundred since then, and almost every litter I wish I had the knowledge to do what a veterianian does. It wasn't until I started working in a Veterinary clinic that my fate was sealed: I wanted to be a vet.

 

[skittles12]

I'm one of those who's wanted to be a vet since I was little. I've always been around horses, so often the vet would come to our house. I was fascinated by his work, and thus it began. I used to watch shows like Emergency Vets on Animal Planet, then go cut open and sew up my own stuffed animals, like I was a surgeon. It may sound weird, but it worked to get me here!

 

[NStarz]

These stories are so interesting!

Here's mine:

When I was little, I either wanted to be a "marine biologist or a veterinarian." I did everything with my best friend when I was little. I eventually semi-lost touch with her, but our parents still remained close. Fast forward to when I was 15, and her mom said "you know what, you should be a vet." My mom had been pushing this on me since I was little, but hearing it from someone else, I dunno, it kind of stuck with me all these years.

Anyway, I knew I had to work with animals, so I scrolled through all my career options--dolphin trainer (that one lasted a while!), studying dolphin behavior, studying animal behavior in general, wildlife conservation, etc. I did work in an aquarium for around a year and a half (no dolphins--but we had really cute harbor seals! and penguins!). Because of health issues, I left the aquarium (plus, they wouldn't give me hours 🙁 Too cliquey), and ended up adoption counseling at a shelter.

I was doing a dog-dog introduction with a lovely mom and her son. They had a lab mix (or something like that) who was very sweet and well-behaved. I brought out the dog they were interesting in adopting-- sweet chow mix puppy. Dogs smelled each other, typically doggie nose-nose greeting. All of a sudden, the lab grabs the chow puppy and starts shaking it, like it was prey. Bear in mind that the puppy had not made any sudden moves or made a squeak or another sound that the other dog may have thought was prey. So I start banging the dog on the nose, making nose, doing anything in my power to try to get this apparently sweet lab to drop the poor puppy. We didn't have air horns or bite sticks on hand. The boy (maybe about 11 or 12) tried to grab his dog to pull him off the puppy, but I grabbed him and pushed him towards his mother and told him to leave them alone.

This was just after a huge renovation of the building. We had installed emergency alarms in each hallway of the dog gazebos (glass enclosures, not cages). So I ran into the nearest door and hit the emergency alarm--it wasn't working. They hadn't been installed yet. So I start screaming down the building asking for help. I don't actually know how they got the dog off of the puppy, I think I was actually in shock at that point. When the puppy was released, we had to run it across the building to the vet techs (no vet on staff). But I was sitting there for about 3 minutes with this puppy and had no idea how to help her.

That day I decided to be a vet.

ETA: I think because my mom pushed the career on me so much when I was little, I tried to do everything but. It looks like she knew me too well, though, because that's my plan! Somehow, I kept coming back to veterinary medicine.

 

[ginger17317]

I am also one of those who wanted to be a vet since they were little. I came into college - started the summer before Fall so I could "get my feet wet" and was told my so many people that I jut wouldn't make it as a vet, wouldn't get through all those science classes. Now, keep in mind science is not my strong point - I have to work my butt off to get even decent grades. I let what everyone was saying get to me and changed my focus - I had already declared myself as a psychology major and I got more involved in it. I got involved answering Crisis phone lines and the National Suicide Hotline and LOVED it... About the same time I started working in a vet office because I couldn't get that dream out of my mind. I LOVED that, too.
So this past year, I applied to Vet school, hoping it's what I was really meant to do. Don't get me wrong, I am SO SO excited to be going to vet school next year!! I'm lucky to have gotten in where I went to undergrad, so I'm hoping to still stay involved with my psych-related volunteering.

Maybe I can do it all?

 

[ckd816]

Okay, I'll bite...

I feel like I always had vet med in the back of my mind, but I had my doubts that I would be able to handle the emotional aspects of the job. I thought I would go into journalism since I was pretty involved in journalism programs in high school and my writing skills are better than my science skills. I started college without a major and tested the waters of mass communications/English classes... boring! I was much more interested in science classes even though they were not really my strong point. 🙄

Fast forward (really lame story approaching): Halfway through the second semester of my freshman year, I was bored at work and I was working by myself at a tuxedo rental shop and an Arizona Humane Society fund raising telethon was on TV. It showed a bunch of sad abuse stories and I felt like everything clicked that day... I definitely knew I wanted to be able to help animals in a medical setting and I wanted to know everything about it. I had my laptop with me at work so I immediately started researching how to apply to vet schools and a couple weeks later I declared Biology as my major. Now 3.5 years later I am finally applying! I graduated in May and I'm finishing my last pre-req now (Physics II 🙁) while continuing to get experience... I'm sooo excited!! 😀

 

[scb44f]

I wanted to be a "bug vet" when I was about 4. I don't remember doing this, but on the practice SAT in high school I marked that I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then college came along, and I was good at math, so I chose chemical engineering and forgot all about vet med. About a year ago now, it came back to my mind and I've been obsessing over it since.

 

[SugarGliders]

I always wanted to be a vet too, but I came from an incredibly unsupportive family. Pair that with the fact that information was so much harder to come by back back then... well, I didn't think I had a chance.

So instead I got married and had two kids. Got divorced, got married again 🙂

I've been thinking about this seriously for the last year or so, but due to some circumstances I couldn't pursue it right away but things are working out now better than I ever thought to make it able to happen for me. It's taken longer than I planned but SOON I will be a pre-vet!

I've never wanted to do anything else, but it's the scariest thing in the world to contemplate if I'm smart enough or not. I'm so grateful to have a place to see that other people are scared too, and overwhelmed by the mere idea of vet school. It makes it ok to be scared and easier to get past when I know it's *normal* to feel that way.

I just wish people understood how un-helpful it is to say "Well, if that doesn't work out for you then you can always...."

The moral of the story is... be thankful for your supportive families and the internet!

 

[milkmaid]

SugarGliders - ever read "If Wishes Were Horses"? the author is a vet with a similar story, bet you'd enjoy it. 😉