Hmmmm

  Have you ever woken up and wondered what you were doing with your life? Like, how did I end up here? I can't pinpoint one day in particular, it seemingly happened gradually. This is not a new story. I know I'm not the first person who has gone through something like this. You see, I had had my whole life planned out. I would go to college and then enter medical school. I would become a compassionate and competent doctor, the type patients adored and peers envied.
  The idea was completely logical. I was a straight "A" student in high school and I especially excelled in science and math. I came from a family who valued education, which quickly became one of my values too. I'll never forget proclaiming at the ripe age of 8 that I wanted to be a hairstylist when I grew up. I mean, I loved playing with my dolls' hair, how hard could it be? To this my parents promptly replied, "you'll never make money doing that!" It was at that moment that I knew I had to do something bigger with my life. Something that would make my family proud, something prestigious.
  I idolized doctors. They were so smart and they saved lives. They were respected by the entire community. My uncle was a doctor, my grandmother a nurse. I could see how proud she was to have a doctor for a son. I wanted my parents to be that proud of me. I liked this idea so much, I didn't consider any other options.
  So off I went to start my undergrad degree in premed. It was as though it was set in stone. Along came my junior year when preparation for the MCAT, the med school admission test, crept up on me. I developed a sinking feeling as I started to study. I knew it wasn't nerves as I hadn't had problems with exams in the past. In fact, my grades were excellent, a product of long hours in the library. I just had a nagging feeling that maybe this wasn't the right path for me.
  This feeling forced me to examine my goals. Was this really what I wanted? Was I doing this for the right reason? My gut said no. It was this time in my life where I learned to listen to my gut and make some changes. More on this later...