Sophomore year
I have experienced stress and pressure since high school but nothing could have prepared me for the stress of this year. Yes, this year was one of the most stressful times of my life and it was filled with self-doubt but between all that stress and doubt there were times that I smiled from ear to ear and laughed uncontrollably and these are the times that I will remember most.
Lessons Learned
Future Plans
Lessons Learned
- Bounce Back. There have been multiple times throughout this year where I have felt like I was absolutely worthless especially after getting bad grades after bad grades on exams. It felt like regardless of what I was doing and how hard I was trying, I literally could not make it out on top. I worked my butt off yet I saw no reward to my hard work and this was really discouraging. Several mental breakdowns and multiple sessions of doubt and thoughts of dropping my major, did I realize that I am in this for medical school. Even if I do not see a immediate reward, I will see it when I get into medical school so I kept pushing.
- Don't Give Up. Regardless of how down in the dumps you might feel, there is an upside to everything. It took me a whole year but I have finally come to realize that my grades and my GPA do NOT in anyway have to define who I am and who I become. I am capable of achieving my dreams even if I am not smartest and brightest student in the class. The biggest thing for me this year, was being able to remember my end goal. I was so focused on getting through this year and passing classes, I narrow-minded and lost sight of what my bigger picture was and this contributed to my many feelings of defeat. I now know that as long as I don't give up on my goals and myself, I will be okay.
- Keep a Support System. Everyone always says that it is vital to have a good support system when in college but it was never anything that I took seriously....until this year. If it weren't for the friends who have been there to talk through my self-doubts and my family who I was able to turn to when I felt like I was crashing, I do not think I could have handled this year. I came to realize just how important a support system can be at the beginning of this semester when one of my childhood friend's dad passed away. Each one of my childhood friends were just as affected by the loss but we all came together that day and everyday after that for the next month to keep the family company. This was when I realized that having people like this around would mean that anyone can through the toughest of situations. So yes, I built a support system this year and I feel that this support system will last me the next few years.
- Remember the Little Things. Yes, this year was pretty rough. If I were to graph my time in college, freshman year would be straight uphill but this year was be the lowest point, a complete crash. But within the complete downfall, there were so many times that I would revisit in a heartbeat. Every moment that I got to take a step back from all the school work and got to spend time with friends and family is something that pushed me through this year. I feel like I strengthened both new and old friendships this year and that is something that I am extremely proud of.
Future Plans
- Keep Grounded. There will obviously be many rough patches, which has become clear after this year so just keeping an eye on the goal and driving myself toward that goal will be important next year.
- Work Hard. Next year is when I take the MCAT so it will especially important to work extremely hard and be able to prioritize school and MCAT before anything else.
- Take Time for Myself. This year, I felt that I was so overwhelmed with school that I was never able to really take a breather. I know next year will be even harder but I will work my best to put aside sometime to myself.