Remember Your Passions

    In the rush of the school year and the jumble of the sometimes mundane pre-med classes, it's easy to forget the end goal. It's easy to forget that there is more to life than the tiny details of biology and chemistry that I may never remember. If there's no one pulling you back to the big picture, it's easy to miss the real-world applications of the concepts taught in general education chemistry and biology classes. The practical applications that interest me most about medicine (examples: targeted HIV therapies or beneficial mutations in lung cancer patients) are often lost in minutiae, (unnecessary?) stress, and the pressure of needing to thrive. But these classes are all just particles of a bigger galaxy. 
    I relayed my frustrations to my mentor in one of our final meetings.  I guess I have this notion that because I'm doing an internship at such a prestigious institution, I have a duty to be overly zealous about every aspect of biology and chemistry - especially if I want to be a doctor. No surprise, I'm wrong again. My mentor gave me a much-needed reality check. She said (I'm paraphrasing), "You'll always have to do things you don't like. But, if you can remember the end goal, and remember what it is that really excites you, that will keep you going. You have to remember your passions."  I guess I knew this in my heart all along, but I needed to hear it from someone I look up to and respect, because hearing it from my conscience clearly does me no good.
    More importantly, I've realized that there's more to medicine than being a doctor. This seems like a simple realization, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who has wanted to be a doctor her whole life. Coming to the conclusion that maybe an M.D. could be for me, or maybe I'm more interested in global health and the economics of health-care has been refreshing and eye-opening, but also one of my most difficult realizations in a long time.