In my on-going quest for less cuteness and more sophistication, I have decided to shed my former yellow, bunny-filled background. So I've kept the sitename sunshinydianmond, but I'm sure you will soon find that it is the content that counts. I plan to start using correct punctuation and capitalization (although I can't always guarantee correct grammar), and perhaps use the lol's and haha's just a tiny bit less.
It is a bit ironic that I am beginning a site to welcome an end-- well, at least a certain current state that is in some ways an end, some ways a continuing journey, but by no means a beginning. In the M.D.-Ph.D. world, they say that the road is so long that if we view our current state as a beginning or means of getting somewhere else, we will be forever in frustration because we will never get there. So instead of seeing the future career as a light in the distance that seems ever far away, we should see that yes, we are already doing science, and hence we are scientists, and we are practicing medicine, therefore we are doctors. Everyone at any stage will constantly be learning and there is no threshold where one suddenly transforms from student to professional. To give those of you a sense of the timeline. 7-8 years will be spent between the library, the laboratory, and the clinical wards. Then we will spend 2-3 years as residents in medicine, followed by one or more 1-2 year postdoctoral fellowships and perhaps more specialization in medicine. Starting out at age 21, by the time I even think about applying for a faculty position, I will be well over 30. So you see how crucial it is that we feel that we are already at our goal.. that being on this track assures us that we will have everything we ever wanted so we can simply live our lives at hand.
What does it mean, starting Harvard Medical School? I've been trying to help others understand as I am trying to understand. Let's dispell the myths that it is for the smartest, for the brilliant, for whatever other stereotypes there are. It means that one certain group of people thinks you have potential, that you are unafraid to take risks, able to put yourself out there, able to take advantage of the opportunities that are present, and maybe just maybe bring something unique to their schools. They key is also "think" and certainly thinking is fallible. Can you really blame them for choosing students recommended by people of promince, the ones from well-recognized universities, or faculty that they know? I thought it was a ruse at first. 6 of the 10 accepted students to Harvard's MSTP (the M.D.-Ph.D. program) had ties to Harvard or MIT and even more to the northeast. What bias! But then, I realized, it is the same around the country. UC San Francisco has an inordinant number from California or Stanford or Berkeley. Same with Washington University and the midwestern colleges. It really is an arbitrarily chosen system.
I am proud, though, of my friends. I have become close to a set of people that have profoundly shaped who I am. I still feel comfortable calling up close friends since middle school, high school (two schools), and now college. I don't get close to too many people at each place, but the ones I do.. Somehow they've prevented me from being too nerdy, let me fit in just a little bit, taken me out when I really need it. And years later, still think I'm interesting enough to invite over on occassion. I've been cleaning out my room these past few days, and I'm finding locker notes, sentimental cards, games we played, love letters fake and real, and all other sorts of amusement. It's funny how I remember everything so clearly despite my general absent-minded state. Success really is about the people we meet, and how we affect each other. In a way, Harvard is judging me for the friends I've made and how they've influenced me. I think they did a pretty good job.
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