Take a LEAP back in time

Happy leap day everyone! Cheesy title I know, but kind of a clever way to segue into what I want to talk about today. Do you remember when you were culminating pre-school or kindergarten and they asked "what do you want to be when you grow up?", me neither, not the exact moment anyway. If you remember that moment please lend me some of your glorious long-term memory capacity. ANYWAY, though I don't remember being asked the question, I do remember always saying I wanted to be a doctor (and a princess, ballerina, and model/actress...pfft) when I was a child. Mostly, it was because I wanted a better lifestyle than the one my single mother could afford us. I can still recall her voice saying how important school was, and  if we didn't go to school we would never be successful(and she still says it, probably the only reason I still remember). That has really stuck by me. When you're a child such minute things seem like a big deal. For example, going back to wanting a better lifestyle, I never recognized the hard work or considered whether or not I would actually like being a doctor I just wanted to be well off so I could have that Barbie dream house, or at least give my potential daughter one since I'd be "too old" for one. Also I was a child, c'mon give me a break what the hell did I know?

Fast forward to high school and all of a sudden I was too cool for school. I did decently, but I was slowly letting go of my "life-long" dream of becoming a doctor. As a result I considered marine biology and even went as far as deciding I'd love to go to CSU Humboldt. Ooh I bet I thought I had my whole life together at the age of 15!  Thinking back to it I probably was 1. too lazy to try and 2. my low self-esteem prevented me from seeing my potential after eliminating problem #1. Well, that did not happen until Senior year when I realized college was around the corner and I needed to get my act together if I wanted to go somewhere decent. By this point I had done some volunteer work at Cedars-Sinai (thanks mom for the 411) so I was back on the doctor wagon, with no idea of how I would get there. With okay GPA and SAT/ACT scores I got into some CSUs, UCs and 1 private, Mount Saint Mary's University. Not to spoil it, but I chose Mount Saint Mary's, mostly because they gave me the most money but also because I was terrified of going to a large school and I did not want to move out from home. Midway through my freshman year I started to become discouraged as I heard stories of how difficult a biology major would be and how most students at MSMU changed their minds about being a doctor. I quickly created a back-up plan, child development was starting to sound REALLY tempting. Shout-out to my SO for not allowing me to default on my back-up plan...And here I am now with a completed Bachelor of Science in Biology, we can talk undergrad another time.

In all the summary business, you might be asking, "So what was the defining moment for your career in medicine?" At the recent panel I had the opportunity to participate in, my colleague said, "How can I choose one, right?, I mean there are so many!" And she was/is right there are so many moments, many of the recent ones being the most important to me now. I am no longer the child who cares about a lavish lifestyle, I have always and still sleep in the same room with my sister and mother and guess what? I couldn't be any happier. Now, I look back and  reflect on the events that influenced me. Here they are in a list form, cause this is getting way too long (is there like an average blog post length?...lol)

1. Barbie dream house...HAHA GOTCHA, totally kidding on that one
2. A family event that I prefer not to mention specifically, this event got me thinking about the human body and possibilities of how things happen, basically I started thinking like a scientist ;)
3. Making my family proud (my mom was perfectly okay with me only having a Bachelor degree, but I am an over achiever :p)
4. Actually being good at science, which was helpful, but not absolutely necessary
5. Realizing that health care was a privilege and not a given right. I was fortunate enough to have insurance for most of my life, but I had and still have friends who do not have insurance or can not afford proper treatment because even with insurance, they can't afford the co-payments.
6. Recognizing that I could be a voice for minority populations
7. Becoming a leader in my community as a mentor and accepting that as a future Latina physician I could be influential in the lives of my patients, not only though health but as an example of overcoming adversity and reaching goals (whatever they may be)
8. Honestly, it may not seem like a big list, but it grows every day and I will likely mention them periodically.

My reasons are not unique, I am so fortunate to say that I met many fellow pre-meds on my journey who had the same or similar reasons. The take-away is that you should be passionate about what you want to do. If you love art and want to go into medicine YOU CAN , you'll probably be the one your class mates look to for awesome and intricate anatomy study guides, Or if you love art and don't want to do medicine, go be the best artist you can be draw things that motivate you or that make the statement you want to make. Just be happy with your decisions and never let anyone mock your reasoning. You do not know how many times I've heard "why are you choosing one of the lowest paying fields in medicine?" UHH first of all, it is only my interest, who knows what medical school will do to me, all I know is that regardless of the field I want to be a voice for health care (which is why I now want an MPH). And secondly and most importantly because that is what I want, I do not need an explanation beyond "I am doing what I love and no compensation can make up for that." So there you have it, go be the best you and the universe will welcome you with open arms.