Last year, as the date my youngest child would start pre-school approached, I began thinking about what I wanted to do with myself. My husband has always said that eventually he wanted me to get a job - preferably when all the children were in school. I have worked for a small church preschool Mother's Morning Out program for the last 6 years, and have always been home when my children needed me. I have gone to every field trip, every school party, every event.
And then: my baby was almost 4 and I was thinking about what I wanted. And this dream kept surfacing, this dream of being a doctor. I wanted to do something wonderful with my life. I wanted to make a difference in the world. I wanted to do something that would make my children and husband proud. So in January 2009 I registered for online classes through a community college to work towards my prerequisites, and I have never looked back!
My first four classes were Advanced Comp 2, Public Speaking, World History 1, and Computer Concepts. I received As in everything except Public Speaking, where I got a B. I began to feel anxious about my GPA and my ability to really do this. That summer session I took Intermediate Algebra, World History 2, and American Literature 1. Again all As except for a B- in American Lit the minimum grade for an A is a 95 . . . and i just missed it. Fall of 2010 I entered a real classroom for the first time in 11 years. I was scared to death - I felt sure I would be the oldest student in every classroom, that if I told people I was pre-med they would laugh at me. I entered these classrooms and discovered that not only was I not the only "older" student, I was also not the only pre-med student at this small community college.
Fall of 2009 I took Biology 1 and lab, Chemistry 1 and lab, World Literature 2 and College Algebra. I found taking classes within a classroom setting - for the first time in a long time - to be much easier than the online courses. I received all As in those classes, and felt a surge in my confidence.
I was invited to join an honor society called Phi Theta Kappa - and was inducted during the fall semester of 2009. I applied to a local college that has a very high acceptance rate into Med school - Mississippi College. I still had doubts about getting accepted, this constant feeling of not being good enough. But finally I received my acceptance letter and also my scholarship letter! I am receiving $4,500 worth of scholarships - the maximum allowed for students who are not living on campus. I will be starting school there Fall 2010.
Spring 2010 I took another 4 classes - Chem 2 and Lab, Bio 2 and Lab, statistics, and art appreciation. All As again. :) I now have a 3.868 GPA.
This summer I am again taking online classes through my community college - Old Testament, New Testament, sociology, and Medical Terminology. I am excited about taking online classes again - because I will be home with my three girls for the summer, and not putting them in child care.
My plan - to take a full course load at Mississippi college in the fall and spring, as well as next summer (child care for my girlies - boo!) and then take the MCAT next summer. I want to finish my bachelors at MC in 2 years - that is my goal and my plan. I am so excited and want to share my journey with others who may be thinking about becoming the doctors of the future!
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