It's not a competition

After reading my last post, I realize I might have come across a slight bit spastic. Truth of the matter is, when I'm exhausted I make no sense. So, I apologize about that.

I met with my academic advisor this past week to find out that I will be graduating this term with not one, but three Associates Degree's. Really? Three? When I first started school (10 year ago) i was set on majoring in music, so I took every music class imaginable. Then, when I returned I thought I wanted to be a Doctor, then I realized I didn't want to be in school for 10 years so I decided on Nursing. Once I decided on Nursing, I realized that no. I did not want to be a Nurse. I'm supposed to be a Doctor. So obviously my constant twists and turns left me with more classes than needed. So here I am with a surplus of Associates Degree's.

At first when I decided to actually file for graduation, I had no intention of participating in the ceremony. "What for?" I asked myself. I really feel as though an Associate Degree means nothing. But as I got to thinking about it. Obtaining my AS has taken me 10 years. I've worked my butt off to finish in this past year, what takes people about 2.5 years. Why not? This marks my transition from community college to an actual university as Pre-Med. Year and a half at community college, 2 years at ASU, then 4 years med-school. Which I really break down as 2 years classroom, 2 years clinical rotations. If I break it down in two year increments it doesn't seem as long.

I'm going to be sad leaving Citrus College. I've made so many friends here. I have friends that have been in every single one of my classes along the way. I never would have thought that such a high stress, competitive environment would actually foster strong friendships. I am not looking forward to the level of competitiveness in med school. I've heard so many horror stories from people about others sabotaging them. Such as moving microscopes to incorrect positions in lab practicals and giving misguided information while studying with others. Why do that? It just makes life so much harder than it needs to be. At Citrus I definitely have felt competition, but in a supportive way. It's a fun, friendly competition to see who can score higher on exams but at the same time helping others learn the material that needs to be learned. I'm thankful for all my time here and the amazing professors I have had the opportunity to study under.