Introductions

Hello,

My name is Kenneth and I'm a post-baccalaureate pre-medicine student. Basically, I went through four years of undergrad pursuing a degree in a broad field (i.e., Psychology) because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I submitted to the pressure of continuing my education without having a specific plan or determined goal other than avoiding gap years after high school. After graduating university, I still did not know what I wanted to do. So, I joined AmeriCorps in 2013 and worked as an HIV testing counselor with a community-based organization (CBO) in Chicago. 

During my AmeriCorps term, I realized that with just a B.S. in Psychology, there is not much I can do unless I either pursue an advanced degree in Psychology or take a different path. I chose the latter and revisited a dream I had in middle school and high school: to become a physician. As a result, after my yearlong AmeriCorps term, I went back to university as a post-baccalaureate pre-medicine student, completing science courses that would (hopefully) prepare me for the MCAT and applying to medical school.

It has been a year since I started my post-baccalaureate pre-medicine track at the very same university I earned my bachelors. In the Fall of 2014, I took foundational Physics and Chemistry and continued in Spring 2015 taking foundational Biology, Physics, and Chemistry courses. During these two terms, I struggled with getting back into the rhythm of attending lectures and labs, doing homework, as well as having to deal with the financial challenges and the personal doubts that came my way. Meanwhile, I stayed with the CBO I worked for as an AmeriCorps, part-time.

This Fall term, I am taking Cellular Biology and Organic Chemistry, while continuing my work as an HIV testing counselor. 

Overall, what do I hope to accomplish with this blog? I want to use this as a mode of catharsis. I want to share my insecurities and doubts about becoming a doctor, especially as someone not coming from a line of doctors, as a career changer, and as someone who can't afford to pursue a medical degree. At the same time, I also want to use this as a space to write down my successes and achievements, as I further develop my conviction in becoming a doctor. 

What specialty in Medicine would I like to pursue? Which schools will I plan on applying to? Why do I want to be a doctor? What sacrifices will I have to make in order to become one? These are the questions that I will struggle, but hopefully successfully answer, as I continue to write.