Pre-Requisites
Every pre-medical student knows the struggles of the weed-out pre-requisite courses, including chemistry, biology, physics, biochemistry, and, most challenging of all, organic chemistry. These courses are required for admission into UW majors, completing pre-medical degrees, and applying to medical school. While I greatly enjoyed biology and, to my surprise, physics, I struggled with chemistry. I really wanted to be the pre-medical student who fell in love with organic chemistry, but no matter how much I studied, I still really struggled to grasp the content. My brain struggled to think in 3D and reorient molecules in my mind, which greatly limited my ability to write out synthesis reactions. My lowest exam grades from all my time at UW were in Honors Organic Chemistry II. While I was disheartened and frustrated, my first honors organic chemistry professor, Dr. Chatterjee, told me something I'll never forget: "If you're trying really hard at something and it's not working, maybe that's not what you're meant to do." As someone who tries to be perfect at everything, hearing this really changed my perspective. My perfectionism was crippling, and obstructing my view of my end-goal. I do not want to pursue organic chemistry as my career, so perhaps my struggle with it is perfectly okay. I loved and found easier success with biology, which is much closer to my dreams of becoming a physician. Ultimately, I walked away from my organic chemistry failures, feeling content that they were hard because they allowed me to explore my limits.
"If you're trying really hard at something and it's not working, maybe that's not what you're meant to do."
My pre-requisite courses included many hands-on demonstrations or labs where I discovered that I learn best via hands-on practice. From titrations, quantum dots, unknown labs, anatomy explorations, class demonstrations, and even plant labs, I was forming my foundation of scientific knowledge. Each class served as a new lens through which to view a problem. At times, I was confused why certain classes were required for my degree and career path, but pre-requisite and weed-out courses served a greater purpose of challenging me. I was challenged to overcome my fear of failure, learn how to prioritize my time, and notice what topics resonated with me.
Each class served as a new lens through which to view a problem.
I used to think that one misstep, one minor mistake, would be catastrophic. I would pour countless hours into succeeding, not considering that maybe my weaknesses served a greater purpose in guiding me to where I was meant to be. I can’t say whether this was learned through repeatedly failing and adapting or actually learning to be truly okay with failure, but the end result is what’s important. I am still a work in progress. Failures don’t always just roll off my back, but they’re a little more willing to start rolling now that I’ve had some practice with them.
