I studied pretty similar subjects to you but something I didn't get exposed to much was food studies. Do you have a passion/talent in cooking? What's the subject like?
I can totally understand! It's not a common subject I've heard of people doing, and at my school the 1/2 class and 3/4 class has to be put together because of the low numbers in each (there's probably 15 altogether, in 1/2 and 3/4). I guess I'm just a massive foodie and I've always liked cooking too. I'm more of a baker but I can cook savoury too.
I actually had no idea what to expect about the subject, and over the holidays I made the mistake of learning the
all the content in the textbook, which seemed like a great idea at the time, but I've forgotten everything and it was such a waste of the holidays. I'm still a bit nervous because we have pracs often (cooking), and a lot of the content has to be self-learned. The good thing is it's not hard to understand and it's very straight-forward. The only problem is there are no resources for the subject that I've found as it's not commonly chosen, which sucks. There's only one textbook for the study design, and it doesn't match it well. But the content is enjoyable, and overall I'm glad I did it. Although it does have some boring stuff (for me), I like most the content and it seems easy enough (for now).
Also, what interests you about med?
Why med?
Actually, my interest in the medical field began when I was around 6 (young, right?!). We had a family friend who was a doctor, whom I vaguely remember now, but I do clearly have the memory of her being a role model to me. She was a practicing GP, and I recall this one time when we (me and my parents) went to her clinic to visit her. On that day, she gave me one of those moving cube things (I found the exact one I have online
here!). I was only 6 at the time, so most of the words on there were like a foreign language to me. Despite there being complex words that I had no idea about, I was intrigued by the actual images (and the prospect of moving the cubes around, because it was fun). As I grew, I began slowly understanding what the words all meant. It's actually on my table right now, and I can't thank the doctor that gave it to me enough, because it's something that has sentimental value to me and sparked my interest. Obviously, my 'dream career' changed often in primary school; I remember once I wanted to be jockey, and firefighter, and a vet. But there was always something about that cube that brought me back to it.
Now, I have much more knowledge about what a doctor actually is and what they do, and I definitely know now that it's my dream career. I think most people now overlook the trust between a doctor and their patient, as it's such a normal thing to go to the doctor if you have a fever, or a cold. I think it's amazing that an individual is able to go to someone they don't know at a very vulnerable point of time in their life, and trust that person to help them get better. It might sound silly, but that trust has earned my respect for doctors. To be able to trust in someone like that really means something, and I'd like that someone to be me one day. Work experience only intrigued and inspired me even more, as for one of the days I was lucky enough to be with the surgeon and nurses in the surgery room and got to see a few surgeries myself (plus I was wearing spuds!). The surgeon was also kind enough to explain what exactly he was doing and the apparatus he used. Just being with the patients at work experience was amazing, and visiting them and talking to them was super fun. I reckon my favourite department was the emergency department, as it was pretty busy and so many different people came in with very different cases (and there was lots of running around to do!)
I know undergrad med is tough, but I want to give it a shot and see where I can go. One day, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I've helped so many lives as a
doctor, no matter how small that help may have been
Do you have any extracurricular activities, work etc?
Yeah! I've been dancing for (I think?) around 11-ish years. Maybe 12. I can't remember (oops). I've also been a junior member of St John Ambulance for just over a year, and I hope to continue learning + volunteering there as an adult too. I used to work for around a year at a tuition centre last year, but I unfortunately quit. I used to do a lot of other stuff too, like violin, but I guess I couldn't be bothered practising. Maybe I'll pick it up again later.
EDIT; Does stuff at school count? If so, I'm a member of the creative writing club, our school's charity fundraising team and our school's environmental sustainability team.