FAILURE is Not FINAL

It has been several months since my last updates post. This was definitely not intentional. I honestly had so many things I wanted to write about but could not organize my thoughts in the form of a post. The last 11 month of school, my first year of medical school to be exact, have been very challenging, from navigating through first year curriculum, to constantly worrying about how I will fund the next 3 years of school, family illnesses, personal struggles, parent guilt, granddaughter guilt and the list goes on, but here I am.

Did I survive my first year of medical school, hmm well I am here to write another post. This year has definitely not always gone in the direction that I wanted it to go in but as hard as school has been this year, I still think the hardest part of this journey for me was actually getting into medical school. No, I am not saying that this has not been the most challenging/rewarding academic year of my life but once you get into school no matter how hard it will get, you're there, you're in school, you made it (well semi-made it).  And, when I didn't perform how I wanted on an exam or even failed an exam (yes I said failed an exam in medical school 👀), of course I felt disappointed but I know from experience that Failure is not Final. My grades in undergrad were not the most stellar, my first attempts at the MCAT were not bomb.com run-and-tell-your-mom scores, I had a child in college and most people thought I would not even finish school let alone be working towards my life long goal, had I let those encounters permanently stifle my dreams and goals I would have not made it into medical school today.

After a year of classes I can't say that I know the keys to surviving your 1st year medical school but what I can say is that I know this is a continued learning process. Learning about yourself, learning about others, exploring your interest, learning new strengths, discovering new weakness. I am still figuring out what works for me, how to balance school, parenting and other obligations. But I did discover for me one major key to balance in school is finding time to be happy, even if that is just an hour a day/week, and eliminate things/people that bring the complete opposite into your life.

What brings meaning to your life? If you have this figured out already, GREAT, you have half the puzzle already mastered. If, not then that is ok too because you have time. Find what brings meaning to your life, embrace it and allow that to be your solace during the stress of school, training, and everyday living.

If you only remember one thing from this post, remember: Not matter what the next year(s) may bring remember to celebrate your accomplishments and do not dwell on misfortunes because Failure is not Final and your success should be measured by your perseverance in the face of adversity and not by how high you score, how many likes you get or the recognition you receive from others. You are the only person destined to Run Your Race!

Completion of Undergrad- Completion of Graduate School- 1st year of Medical School