and so the journey continues...

     When I initially began writing this post, the Connecticut coastline was to my left, a blur of whites, blues, reds, and yellows as I traveled through an autumn laced New England. I was on a train to New York City from Boston, where I spent the next several days visiting with my sister. I’m sure you might be wondering what happened between then/now and my last post, and the answer simply is, a lot. I could tell the whole story, but every time I start typing it out, I myself get bored; therefore, to make a long story short, I got a full-time job, received some interview invites, and ultimately achieved what I’ve been working towards for the last 9 years: acceptance to medical school. It’s official guys. I’m going to be a doctor. 

     Now the story of how this acceptance came to be is actually a good one, so I’ll share it. I have a friend that has been with me throughout this journey, working toward the same goals, and as a way to get through these times more easily, we do everything together. We took our MCAT together again, and we actually received an interview invite to the same school, which is nearly eight hours away. Because we were attending a conference together in Boston for research we worked on (yet again together), scheduling interviews in October was a bit difficult. Our options were to take an interview date which was 4 days away (across the entire state of Tennessee), or wait until nearly November. So, like everything else, we went together, choosing the date that was only 4 days away. On September 29th, we packed up my car and embarked on a journey across Tennessee to attend our interviews on the 30th, and then left immediately after to head back for work. It was pretty exhausting, but a really great time. 

     Two weeks later, on October 15th, we were both on our way to Boston from different parts of North America. By the time I got to the hotel I was exhausted and fell asleep watching Puss in Boots (I think it was the sequel), waiting on my friend to arrive. When I awoke, I found an email from the school we’d interviewed at and nearly panicked. Thankfully the email was titled “Offer of Acceptance” and the first line said congratulations so naturally I nearly hyperventilated and cried. I called my family members to share the good news, but then I started to get nervous because my friend would be arriving within the next hour and what if she didn’t receive the same good news? After thinking this, I received a text from her asking if I’d heard anything from the school and if it was good news. I couldn’t lie, so I said yes, and thankfully (and I couldn’t imagine they would take me and not take her) she was also offered acceptance! So, we took our MCAT together, interviewed together, and got in together! I waited in the lobby for her to arrive and when she got off the shuttle, all smiles and a bit of tears, she came through the sliding door and said, “Congratulations Dr. Yu!” to which I replied, “And congratulations Dr. [Last Name]!**” It was in that moment that I knew everything was finally going to work out. We’re actually texting now and she describes that day as “life changing.” And it really was. We did it, we have finally made it. 

**The last name of my friend has been withheld because the AMCAS cycle is still ongoing.