Someday Doctor

It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

~George Eliot

In which I discuss my recent decision to abandon my career and go to medical school.

I’ve taken the necessary placement tests, and now I’m officially registered for my fall classes at Texas Tech. Thus begins my long journey towards becoming a physician. I’ve been blathering on about it for over 7 years now, and now it’s finally starting to sink in that it’s going to happen! I’ve got quite the road ahead of me, and while I’m eagerly looking forward to it, I know that it’s not going to be easy. Nothing worth doing ever is.

Biology, Chemistry, and Physics . . . all in one fun-filled semester!!! That’s a lot of labs! Good thing I spent all summer working through a Chemistry book on my own. At least ONE of my classes should be an easy A!

So here are my lofty goals for the next 6 years:

1. Make straight A’s on the rest of my undergrad classes.
2. Score exceptionally well on the MCAT, despite the fact that I will be taking it BEFORE I take Org Chemistry.
3. Get accepted to the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine.
4. Keep God and family at the top of my priority list while I struggle through the long hours required by med school.
5. Graduate at the top of my med school class.

Failure is not an option.

In other news, a friend of mine told me that she recently used me as an example when she was talking to some teenagers about pursuing their dreams. When she mentioned that I was 31 years old, one of the teenagers said, “Hey, if an old man can do it, then so can I!”

Glad I can still be an inspiration in my geriatric years.

When I began telling friends and family that I planned on going to medical school, the first question most of them asked (once they got over the initial shock of the declaration) was, “What kind of doctor do you want to be?”

Until now, my answers have been vague and noncommittal, but I think I’m beginning to uncover my path. I realize that I will probably know nothing for sure until my third year of medical school, but right now I’m leaning heavily towards Oncology. Oncology has  been one of the front-runners ever since I started considering medical school years ago, but it hasn’t been until the last couple of days that I’ve started leaning heavily in that direction. In the last several years, I’ve seen some of the most precious people I know affected by Cancer, and I can’t imagine a career that would be more rewarding than joining the fight against this horrible disease and striving to improve the lives of those who are afflicted by it.

A dear friend of mine who recently went through a monumental struggle with Cancer had this to say:

Think about working with Cancer patients. I have been stunned by the compassion and determination of these professionals. They bring smiles, laughter, and most of all Hope to those who find themselves in “the Valley of the Shadow of Death”. They are bright lights in a world of darkness, angels who are able to both rescue those who are helpless and to guide with decency and grace those who will never come out of that valley.

These words really struck a chord with me. Thanks to the hard work of my friend’s doctors, his Cancer has been completely removed. If I’m able to do that for a single person, then I will be able to say that my work on this earth meant something.

Things got rather hectic recently, so I haven’t been able to post anything. But it’s all for a good reason, because I’m finally doing it!

Several weeks ago, I sat down with my wife, and we discussed medical school in a little more detail. The next day, after returning home from the grocery store, she told me I should do it! And even more than that, she said I should make it happen as quickly as possible. So in the last several weeks, we’ve put our house up for lease, found a renter, moved to Lubbock, and applied for classes for this fall! Everything has happened so quickly, and everything seems to be falling into place.

I still have two years of undergraduate sciences to catch up on before I can actually apply for medical school, but at the ripe old age of 31, I’m finally getting started!

More to come soon!