Back on the fence

Hello everyone,
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here, though I’ve visited a few times in the past few months to see what people are up to. My med school aspirations somewhat derailed around the end of February/beginning of March. I experienced a bunch of upheaval in my life. Any one of the situations on its own would have been workable, but all together they made it a rather difficult time for me and I made the decision that my chemistry class was the most expendable thing at that point and dropped it in order to get something off my plate. It’s not that I was doing poorly in class or that I didn’t enjoy it, but rather that I recognized that my emotional health needed to take priority at that time.
The good news is that things are much better now. I think that the time to take care of myself was just what I needed. However, I’m questioning whether becoming a doctor is what I really want to do at THIS point in my life. Reading everyone’s posts here brings back some of that desire, but realistically I have to recognize that I’m unsure of my abilities to balance such a demanding quest with the other things that are important to me in life.
I know I do need to make some sort of change, career-wise, though. I’m sure my current work (in corporate finance for a mutual fund company) has been a valuable learning experience and I have the greatest respect for people who have the desire to do make a career out of it, but it’s not for me. I keep thinking back to how much I enjoyed my classes. I never thought I had much aptitude for science before I took my first chemistry class, but I found to my pleasant surprise that I was wrong. I’m eager to get back in the classroom and the lab, even though I’m not sure what I will ultimately do with it. My plan for now is to start back in September with gen bio I. I’ve wanted to take bio for years (I actually wanted to take it when I was in college, but for some unknown reason never did). This way I can explore something I’m interested in, and should I decide that I DO want to pursue medicine, I will have another requirement checked off. I’m hoping to use this next year to help focus my career goals and formulate a game plan for whatever it is that I decide to do.
Anyway, I just wanted to check in and say hello. I’ve definitely missed the comradarie of this site and plan to visit much more often.
-R

Great to hear what you are up to Rori. I totally understand the ups and downs in this pursuit. My husband has finally gotten used to the way I blow hot and cold. He just listens to me, nods and smiles while I work my way back to premed. The first major kink in my plans was a couple of years ago when I discovered I was pregnant with my fourth child. That blew me away since I was planning to dive into school once my (then) youngest was in kindergarten. So all my plans were up in the air and I was very depressed about it all. I threw myself into nursing pre-reqs and aced those classes (A&P and Micro). In retrospect I am glad I took those since I gained a lot of confidence and spruced up my study skills in a pretty nonthreatening environment. Once the hormonal surges from pregnancy and nursing settled down I began to contemplate how I could pull off the med school thing again.
In the mean time I would agree that you should keep your options open especially since you did so well in Chem I. I plan to take Physics and Chem next fall. Too bad we won’t be in the Bio I class together! I took the second half this past sememster and I loved it. I bet you will love Fixsen’s Bio, he is an excellent teacher (though he has HIGH expectations.)
Liz

Hi Liz!
Glad to know I’m not the only one who waffles incessantly on this. My poor friends and family never know which way the wind is blowing with me. But I feel good about the plan to take bio in the fall and go from there. I’m happy to hear that Fixsen’s class was so good. I’m definitely looking forward to it. I have to admit, a couple months into my hiatus I found myself missing class. Sad, I know.
You’re doing gen chem, right? If it’s Logan and Gregg that are teaching it, you will absolutely love that class. They are such great teachers and made the class really enjoyable (well, as fun as chemistry can be, anyway). If things go well, I’d like to pick up chem II in the spring, so maybe we’ll be in that together!
The biggest challenge for me will be the commute. I’m in the process of buying a condo up in NH. If I’m still working in the Boston area it won’t be too bad. I looked at schools closer to where I’ll be living, but A) there aren’t many in the immediate vicinity and B) I don’t think I can beat the value of HES. The tuition is reasonable and I’ve been really impressed with the classes I’ve taken there so far.
-R

Hey, I have a condo for sale in Portsmouth… well, hopefully not for sale anymore, I think we have finally reached an agreement with some buyers.
Seriously though, the commute thing was bad for me at first (Newburyport to Cambridge), but I definitely got used to it. Also figured out the best places to park etc etc.

I love Newburyport, it’s such a cute town. Actually, after a couple weeks of commuting from my parents’ place (between Manchester and Portsmouth) I’m wishing that I had looked in the North Shore area… I’ve commuted both 93 and 95 to Rt 1 and the second is FAR better on the nerves. I’m going to be living near Manchester, so unfortunately that route won’t be at my disposal! Oh well, I don’t think it will be too bad to get into town for class. If I’m working in the Boston area I can just hop on the T, otherwise I’ll at least be driving largely against traffic.
Do you park at Harvard or at a T stop?

I usually found parking in Davis square. I could time the commute well if I parked there. If I was feeling lucky, I would head to Harvard. Some nights I got spots that were close to school. Some nights I cruised for a loooonnnng time looking. So I learned to take a chance ONLY if I had some time to spare. Sometimes I lucked out. Unfortunately the way home from harvard square often took me past Krispy Kreme…

Okay, the way home from Davis square seemed to often lead past Krispy Kreme too… it was for the kids, honest…

I lived about 5 minutes away from Krispy Kreme… And actually, I still drive past it every day since I commute to Wellington and take the T in to work from there. They can be kind of hard to resist, especially when the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign is lit up I could smell them from the parking garage the other day… mmmm, doughnuts

Quote:

I lived about 5 minutes away from Krispy Kreme… And actually, I still drive past it every day since I commute to Wellington and take the T in to work from there. They can be kind of hard to resist, especially when the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign is lit up I could smell them from the parking garage the other day… mmmm, doughnuts


Hi there,
One of the last things that I noticed as I drove out of Charlottesville is that they closed down the Krispy Kreme shop. The drug vendors used to bring in hot doughnuts for us and they were lethal. What I am going to miss is the wonderful coffee at Dunkin Doughnuts (still open and across the street from KK). I used to pull into the DD (called World’s Best Doughnuts in C’ville) for a hot cup of “Joe” every morning at 5:35AM. I love the flavor and balance of their coffee. On the weekends, I usually curled up in a big chair at Starbucks with my New England Journal of Medicine and my American Journal of Surgery.
I have found a wonderful Bagel place (not Bodos but good) here in Cleveland but I haven’t found my DD or Starbucks yet. I still love to head up to the Lake for sunrise over the water. It is just too tempting at this point. I will find Starbucks though. I don’t need to find the “Hot Doughnuts” sign.
Natalie

While we are on the topic of food and coffee and Boston and Cleveland some of my favorite things…I have to agree with Natalie DD’s coffee is wonderful. I would drink it on many commutes around Boston…Medford to Belmont, especially.
Natalie, I do not know if you are into deli food but try Corky and Lenny’s before too long.
My husband and kids are heading up to Cleveland this weekend and I am saving people on the flight from 2 17-month olds and staying home…I am so bummed to miss a Cleveland trip!
Cheers,
Michelle

Hey arciedee!





You are not the only one who keeps waffling about this whole thing. I too have driven all my friends, relative, and husband crazy by now. It’s gotten to the point where I feel they don’t even want to hear about it anymore. It’s become a running joke that I will never make up my mind about this.





I too know that I have to get out of what I am doing now (programming in a corporate environment). But since the money and benefits are quite good here I haven’t wanted to leave until I know where I am headed. Problem is I can’t figure that out, so I am starting to feel stuck here. One day I am all gung-ho about medicine, the next day I start thinking that there is no way that I will ever be able to balance it out with all the other things I enjoy in life. I am taking my second semester of Physics this summer and it is not going as well as I’d like. The pace is so much faster that I am having a hard time keeping up. Work is very busy now and I am also trying really hard to lose as much weight as possible before my big trip to DR in the summer. I wish I didn’t have to worry about the class right now and that I could do it later when I could devote more time to it.





I am planning to take General Chemistry throughout the year next year. I have to decide what I am doing by the end of that school year. I will not go into my Orgo/Bio year unless I am sure about medicine.





Those who are very sure of their decision don’t know how painful it is to be wrestling with this 24-7. Best wishes to you in whatever path you take.