Admiration

Today was a fun day. My 8am class was cancelled this morning so I was able to go to the gym in the morning instead of during lunch. Then I got to spend all afternoon with a group of prospective students who were at the school for interviews. It was interesting to listen to their questions and worries about medical school. It made me think about was I was like two years ago. When you're applying, your main concern is just impressing the interviewers so that you can get in. But then you start worrying about what classes will be like? will you have time to relax? how many hours a day do you have to study? are the professors evil? I knew so little about what to expect. All I knew was that I wanted to be a doctor and so I had to go to med school. I had no idea that I would take 10 classes my first year. Or that I would have to take shelf exams and board exams my second year. Or all of the hidden expenses like equipment, licensing, pda's, pagers, white coats, etc. I keep thinking about how naive I was and still am really. I was nice to talk to them and feel like I could impart a little insight and advice. I know that I've said this before but I think that the more I learn the more ignorant I feel. After being exposed to all of this information and these experiences, I realize how much I didn't know and how much I still have to learn. I remember when I thought I was very knowledgeable. The last time I felt like that was high school. You remember, when you thought you were invincible and knew all that you needed to know about life. Man was I wrong. Then in college I learned so much book knowledge and thought I was an intellect (that's funny now, because I am far from it). What I lacked was life experience. Experience is something you just can't fake. I think a lot of people (esp. people my age) forget about the importance of experience. Sure you may know what books/research/experts tell you is right, but until you can apply it to the real world it means nothing. All of the people I look up to, I admire because they have insight from all of these experiences that I haven't had yet. I guess today I just realized that these interviewees looked up to me because I had been through the first part of a journey that they haven't started yet and maybe I could help them out. And today, I spent time talking to M4's about what lies ahead, and they gave me insight from their experiences. I realize that I'm at an in-between stage in my life. I am old enough to have younger people look to me for advice, but young enough that I still look up to older people for help. And I hope I never get to a point when I think I know everything and no longer have people that I admire.

I suppose the whole point of this post is that I think I know my place and I am content. It's a good place to be.