#1 - It’s possible!

I just finished my first block of medical school - But it gets even better - I just passed my first block medical school exams! Now, passing for me is really special. I’m sure that you’ve heard all the horror stories they tell you about med school, especially if you’re a future med student. You’ve heard that you have no time for yourself. You’ve heard you have no personal life, no social life, the studying for 27 hours a day – and I’m sure you’ve heard about getting 30 minutes of sleep (a week, haha)!

I’ll be the first to let you know that yes, med school is challenging, there’s no question about it. but I want you to know - It. Is. Possible! That is the biggest lesson I’ve learned throughout the course of this block. It is difficult, but not impossible!

I started med school coming off a gap year, so I hadn’t really studied for about a year straight. Once I finished undergrad, I was really focused on my music, learning more about myself, even learning about life in general. As a result, it was a big adjustment getting into med school and being hit with such a high volume of information to retain. So many people were telling me they couldn’t see how I could possibly balance my career as a musician with pursuing a career in medicine – but I had to at least give it a shot. How would I know what was possible until I tried?

It was definitely a lot of work. But, as I finished my exams and look back over the last few months, I’ve been doing it! Most of my in-person gigs were cancelled due to the pandemic, but I played plenty of virtual gigs – conferences, church services, birthday parties, even a virtual anniversary! I still had my personal life; I still had a social life – and I still kept up with all my studies!

One of the most significant events to me was collaborating with Israel Houghton and New Breed. It was an INCREDIBLE experience, but it took a lot out of me! I was getting up to leave Connecticut at 4am to drive two hours to the recordings in New York, parking in front of a McDonald’s to use their Wi-Fi to study and join my classes online around 8 or 9am, going to the recordings, then staying up late to study again afterwards! Sure, it required I make a lot of sacrifices, I had to make a lot of adjustments, and it took a ton of work – but it was POSSIBLE!

It’s true, medical school definitely isn’t easy. But it is still possible to maintain your professional life, keep a social life, and still pursue your passions! That’s the single biggest lesson I’ve learned so far. Maybe you want to be a doctor, or an engineer, or a lawyer, a teacher, perhaps an entrepreneur- whatever it is you want to do, I’m sure plenty of people have told you all the reasons you can’t do it. But if you’re reading this, I want you to know that if you have truly been called to it, then you have what it takes to get through it!