…because I can.

• School started yesterday. Ick.
• Woke up at noon from a phone call inviting me to my first medical school interview 2 days ago. Yes!
• Basically melting in hot Texas weather. Gross.
• Got my boyfriend listening to BIG BANG. Laughing on the inside. :)
• Trying to find a job to have a source of extra cash. Search = not successful.

Today was also the best school day I’ve ever had — my first and only class of the day started at 11 and ended promptly at 11:25. I love the first days of school where professors basically just go over the syllabus. The only downside is that I don’t know what to do with my time. Hahaha.

I’ve also been working on a (much more eye-pleasing) new theme. The colors are way better this time around, I think, but I’m just too darn lazy to finish deciding where everything’s going to go and then code it all. Knowing me, it’ll show up right in the middle of the night later this semester when I’m supposed to be studying for the 3 tests I have scheduled over the course of the next few days…because that’s how I roll.

Daphne asks:

Why do you want to be a doctor?

Nearly every pre-med student has a story about a death or illness of a family member or a close loved one. I’m definitely no exception, but I was once told that to use such a story as your sole motivation is selfish. Yes, the experience may have profoundly motivated and changed you, but using that as your sole reason relies on the emotions inherent in the type of event it was.

So while the death of someone important to me did influence my decision to pursue medicine, there are also multiple other factors that have weighed in on that choice. Unlike some, I never actually thought I wanted to become a doctor. In fact, I distinctly remember telling my parents that I would never pursue medicine because I didn’t think I was cut out for it. I applied to college thinking that I would be a business major, but things ended up working so that I would enter the University of Texas at Austin as a freshman pursuing a biology degree. (I got the short end of the stick — the McCombs School of Business passed up my application, and I got into my second choice major. Hah.)

I’ve always held a love for the sciences, never really thinking I would make something out of it, so I took my fundamental science courses just to get them out of the way under the impression that I would be applying to transfer into the business school at the end of my freshman year. At the same time, I also got into a program that would allow me to start working in a research lab in my first year of college — working in this lab changed my mindset a lot, and I found out that I really enjoyed the kind of critical thinking skills I developed and used. At this point, I liked it so much that I became interested in pursuing a graduate degree in the sciences.

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So, I’m setting here at my desk, and suddenly I realize something: I go back to Austin next week for school.

What?? Did 2 and a half months of summer really pass by?? A fitting tune –

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Unfortunately, my summer wasn’t as epic as Hans Zimmer’s (beautiful masterpiece of a) song might make you believe. Highlights of my summer:

• Seeing part of a brain surgery — the patient’s actual brain was exposed and pulsating (giving me a brief feeling of “Oh my god, that’s a brain — what do I do??”), and I watched electrodes being put in for an epilepsy/seizure study.
• On a similar note, seeing part of someone’s sensory nerves being pulled out of his calf during a biopsy. Unsurprisingly stringy.
• Realizing that I like working with kids a lot more than I like working with adults. Heh.
• The Tiffany & Co. story — and I’m still harboring a secret jealousy of my sister, if anyone’s keeping track.
• As of August 4, 2010: I am complete at all medical schools I’ve applied to, save one. I’m slowly working on that last secondary — then it’s waiting time for interviews. I wish I could say that I feel accomplished having done so, but I won’t be placated until I (hopefully) receive my first medical school acceptance. Crossing my fingers!

I’ve never really had a summer during college where I sat down and completely bummed — my past two summers were spent in Austin, where I conducted research and mentored my peers. Last summer, I also dropped 2 grand and took an MCAT class. And while this was the first summer I’ve spent at home, I was actively shadowing doctors near my home and in the Texas Medical Center (paying for parking blows) and took two online courses at my local community college while also applying to medical school. I’m really looking forward to next summer, where I can hopefully be a certified couch potato before embarking on a new chapter in my life.