Your Passions Can Be Many...

"You can have more than one passion" these are the wise words of one of my mentors a physician specialized in pediatric cardiology and the head of the pediatric cath lab at a University hospital in the South West of the USA. These words have stuck with me every time someone asks me why I am passionate about different things in my life that are "so different" or when I am asked by students "what major do you think I should have if I plan on going to medical school".

Your passions are part of who you are and your undergraduate degree is a time to explore those passions. For example I am passionate about medicine which is why I am on this journey to get my MD but I am also passionate about the art of playing the cello, Intercultural Communication, traveling and so many other things.The Photograph at the beginning of this blog post depicts only a few objects representative of my passions; my cello, the incomplete collection of flags of the places I have been, and my stethoscope. I was lucky enough to have a mentor that shared these words of wisdom with me; he helped me realize that I didn't have to choose. Don't get me wrong the path that we as premeds are on is one full of compromises and giving up time from one passion to pursue your passion for medicine but you are still you and that will never change. Your passions make you interesting, different, and one day will make you a better doctor.

When picking a major I was fortunate enough to have the option at my universities to create my own curriculum in a multidisciplinary special majors program, so I made sure to include my passions in my studies but this may not be the case at your school and that's okay. If you look at the statistics on which majors do better on the MCAT strictly premed majors aren't always at the top actually there are a few other majors that on average score higher but this is only an average and doesn't mean if you major in a specific field your score will be higher. Just think we are all required to take the exact same required courses for medical school and to take the MCAT. The specific major you select may save you some time in your undergrad but it is possible to major in literally anything you want as long as you have the premed requirements; even if you do a Post-baccalaureate program and go back to school after your undergrad. So my point is that your major doesn't really matter you should major in something that you enjoy and that you are passionate about if that be Shakespearean Literature or Astrophysics etc. it's up to you; EXPLORE YOUR PASSIONS.

#Majors #Passions #Wisdom #MajorandMCATScore