Why I Want to Write

I feel like I’m in a holding pattern with my life right now. I just finished up my junior year of undergraduate studies at Michigan State University and I am back home for the third summer in a row at my parents' house in the Detroit suburbs. Not that I’m not grateful that I have a wonderful family who lets me come home, but I feel like I’m waiting for my life to happen. I’m having myself a #premedsummer which mostly entails overworking myself at my both my clinical and research jobs as well as studying for the MCAT. Meanwhile, my hometown and college friends are off studying abroad in Europe and starting cool internships in faraway cities.

Essentially, I’m having a hard time because I know the journey to becoming a medical doctor is a long and arduous road and realistically this might be what my life looks like for the next few years — studying and working all whilst watching my friends grow up and get big girl jobs and settle down and start families.

I think a lot about how I’m using my time. After all, life is short and I’ve gotten lost before chasing things that weren’t really aligned with my true values and priorities. Basically in my time I’ve spent pondering about my life as of late I’ve decided I need to pick up a creative hobby. I’ve always been an athlete, and I’m kind of burnt out since I quit my D1 sport. I played piano for many years but don’t have the attentions span to sit and practice for days anymore. YouTube and other social media platforms are interesting to me, except for the fact that I’m chronically offline and never remember to pull my phone out to take pictures of anything (although I would still like to start a YouTube channel). So I’ve settled on writing.

I’m not going to hold myself to writing everyday mostly because I value having spontaneity in my life and don’t enjoy being beholden to a schedule. But I figure at the very least I’ll sharpen my writing skills for my medical school application personal statement and one day be able to look back on the thoughts and feelings of my 21-year-old self.

Happy Memorial Day!

Katie