Illusion, Delusion

With the original work and research showcase finally behind me, I now was able to relax just a little. In the Independent Study and Mentorship program, there really is no time to relax but rather just certain times of extremes and the normal busy schedule. But obviously no one said that being on the journey to understanding where we as students will go in the future will be easy and that’s why I signed up. With ISM every journey is different, but just because there is not a real set standard to compare to does not mean that the competition is any less and students, especially at this school, are constantly pushing themselves not even to be the best but to be equal with their peers.

When I interview the doctors many of them talked about how medical school was very difficult for them. However, these same doctors claimed to be high ranks in college or high school.This made me worry because I am not as highly ranked as those doctors yet I wanted to do the same thing as them. However, recently I spoke with another professional who gave me a new perspective. She explained how she, like me, was towards the top her class but definitely not close to being number one. She said medical school wasn't as challenging as everyone makes it out to be. This surprised me until she explained one thing. In medical school, they give pass, fail, or honors. As long as you pass, you get a degree. Most likely, the high rankers were constantly pushing themselves to be number one and get honors. But at the end of the day, both doctors ended up working in similar setting holding similar jobs. This was somewhat calming for me because it showed me that I do not always have to push myself to do the best. I just needed to do what is expected of me for that level of difficulty.

As an ISM student, I am held to a higher standard than others because of the responsibility I am given. But that doesn't mean I'm expected to be perfect. At the end of the day as long as I am able to get the most of this program and present it in the professional way I see fit, I’ve done my job. This is similar to medicine. As a medical student, I have a responsibility to my future patients to have enough knowledge to operate and diagnose responsibly. But that doesn't mean I have to know every fact about the human body. I think knowing that will help me not only get through high school, but any other competitive situations I have later in life.Being able to give my best, does not always mean that I need to be the best. Now that doesn't mean that I will slack, but it does mean that I will do my best not to stress out over the minor things. I plan to push myself enough to get me far, but not so much that I lose my sanity due to the amount of work it would take.