On getting off the train

So I finally got to watch Grey's Anatomy... the last four episodes! The season finale was so not worth it, but it got me thinking.

There are two interns sitting there talking to each other, one of which failed the intern exam, and the other who didn't take it at all. The one that failed is talking about being on a train going 200 miles an hour and not knowing how to get off.

What would have happened if I hadn't gotten off that train 10 years ago? I never intended to go Pre-Med. I just told my advisor that my favorite subjects in high school were Biology and Chemistry, and I was put on that track. Of course my parents were beside themselves when I told them my major, but I was not so thrilled. I had gotten on the train.

I ended up enjoying everything but Chemistry. High school chem did not prepare me for a lecture hall with 500 students, and a brilliant professor who couldn't teach his way out of a bag. All of my C's were in Chemistry. Organic chem was so hard, but Biology courses were so easy for me. I ended up being a TA for the Biology Dept.

After a grueling semester taking Genetics, which was so over my head, I had just about had it. I was tired of feeling like I was in over my head and getting C's in my subjects was just not me. My advisor told me point blank that I would never get into med school with my GPA, unless I aced the MCAT. I had never planned on taking the MCAT, nor did I have a desire to go to med school.

I had always felt like a girl in the boy's club in Pre-Med. Sure there were girls who did very well, but I was average for that track. I'm not an average student, never have been. So when I lost my scholarship because of those C's, I decided to change my major. I had finally gotten off the train. What a relief!

I made straight A's in my Nursing courses. Microbiology tests were easy, I got mostly 99s and 100s on them. My advisor kept telling me I was too smart for Nursing. But I was average in Pre-Med. What was I supposed to do? When I transferred back home with Eric I took the NLN, the test to get into Nursing School here. I scored so high that my advisor here told me to go back to Pre-Med. But I had had enough of that track.

Where would I be if I had stayed on the train? 32 years old, single, no kids, stuck in a job that I didn't like. Eric and I would have broken up had I stayed at TCU. He'd be a famous chef, I'd be an M.D. with $80,000 in debt. Or a Biology teacher in Fort Worth b/c I didn't get into med school.

I'm so glad I stuck with what I did. I had a great time in Nursing school, going out and playing at night, and being able to pass my classes with A's and B's. It was actually fun, something I rarely got to experience at TCU b/c I was always studying. I got some real world experience after nursing school that was invaluable. I'm so glad I didn't wait until I was 30 to enter the real world and start working.

Can you imagine what life would be like after 12 years of post-graduation from high school academics? Burnout is an understatement. That's one of the reasons I refrained from getting my Master's degree. I was so burned out by the time I graduated from Nursing school. Really, where would I be now?

I'm doing a job (or three) that I love, I have a great husband and two beautiful kids. The financial picture isn't that great, but so what? I'm glad I got off that train.