Service

The concept of service is crucial for anyone in the health profession. It's what draws us to be healers, we act in service on others to impart a change in their life for the positive. Not all forms of service come from clinical experience like mentioned above. Now, you can "save two birds with one band aid" by having clinical experience and actively participating in the healthcare of individuals, but that is not necessary. At the university, there are dozens of clubs available that are service oriented. Many pre-health style clubs often integrate service aspects like volunteering at a food bank, engaging with the local communities, or mentorship. Another avenue are identity based organizations. Spending time in a leadership position for these organizations demonstrates a quality of service. Find people that you want to be around and promote the best version of yourself. Finding good friends in college is surprisingly hard, there are a lot of people from a whole bunch of avenues. And it's okay, you don't have to get along with everyone. Difference is good, we learn from difference. Try to interact with a variety of people and learn as much as you can, this will become crucial important later when telling "Your Story".

If you don't like the campus based organizations, look further out. If you can't find something, why not start something? One perhaps clear advantage here would be having access to transportation. At commuter schools this becomes a bit of an issue (such as many of the University of California Schools) which have things very spaced out from each other... Any type of other transportation such as a bike or e-scooter can be very useful. If you don't have access to transportation, another idea is using the internet. Make educational YouTube videos, tik-toks, or whatever comes to your creative faculties.

If you're not a creative person, become one. You are creative, you just need to focus that energy into other dimensions. The first thing you need to do is to become knowledgeable at something, so read. Read, read, read! Or however you consume content. Just make sure that you are using ACCURATE, information. We don't need more deleterious misinformation in this age of the internet. Go to your local library and ask if you can learn from a librarian on how to properly research things. This sounds, to borrow a phrase from earlier, "very out of left field", but understanding how to properly research is crucial not just for developing and creating, but also for research and medicine.

A major point I would like to emphasis: Don't take the glory. Don't let your ego win. If you need help, ask for help. It is more important to make a positive difference in the lives of people than it is for your pride to make you feel good. This is a nuanced topic at the same time. Don't abdicate your responsibility, and don't let someone else take your passion. A famous writer once said that the most beautiful words in the English language are as follows: "You are". When you are feeling the weight of the world, sometimes rather for asking for fewer problems we must ask for stronger shoulders. Your ability to judge what to do correctly will grow as you live and gather more experiences and perspectives.