Trail Blazing

So 2013 has welcomed us with a couple slugs to the gut with regard to what we had hoped for our future. Last week I was fortunate enough to receive info on my candidacy for medical school in 2013. The answer from the only two schools I had a shot at, was no.

Why fortunate, you might ask? Because now at least we know a little more about our immediate future. Lauren and I have been praying our guts out, hoping, worrying, and wondering if I was going to get the green light this year. That can make life so miserable! The anxiety and uncertainty of the whole process was gut-wrenching. Just knowing that this year is a no-go and next year will bring new opportunities is better than all the fussing and constant email checking.

Also, Lauren has been considering going back to school, studying something she's actually interested in and passionate about, and getting another degree in something like dietetics or nutrition science. Although the idea of starting over seems daunting, school can be so fascinating when you study something you're interested in and that's what Lauren's looking forward to.

For me, 2013 should be pretty fun. Minus the next few months which will be spent endlessly studying for the MCAT, filling out applications (and hopefully interviewing!), I am starting the neuroscience master's program in April and hope to complete my degree in a little over a year.  The program should be really fun. Since graduation, I've spent a lot of time working in the lab and have observed the life of a grad student.  It seems relaxed, less structured, and more liberal than the rigors of undergraduate work at BYU. Also, I'll be able to work on my own personal research project and hopefully publish my first paper as a somewhat-primary author in a scientific journal.

All in all, Lauren and I are becoming more and more excited about blazing a different trail than we had originally planned and learning to welcome the detours of life with increasingly welcoming arms.

Also, with respect to all the obstacles and stumbling blocks that have been set in our paths, I came upon this quote from Winston Churchill that I am going to frame or print out or something.

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Quotes like these are always good reminders to keep hoping and pursuing personal/family goals, regardless of the challenges that inevitably surface at the most inopportune time!

Hopefully the lessons learned and experiences gained during the upcoming year will prove worth the wait!