When I was a senior in high school, I was kinda on the border about what I wanted to submerge myself in during the following year at college. I knew for sure that I wanted to somehow go into the medical field, but I didn’t know exactly where I would best fit. Now, senior year of high school is supposed to be your “easy” year, filled with unsubstantial classes or classes that interest you—in a way, this is your last year of a nicely-paced lifestyle before the chaos that is college. I, of course, didn’t like the idea of a relaxed schedule (still not sure how to sit still and do nothing for hours…sleeping is a struggle), so I crowded my schedule up with AP and honors courses. Among them, the hardest class my high school and probably every other high school offers: AP Bio. This class was a must for students that were considering pre-med or even majoring in biology their freshman year of college, and it definitely woke me up to how intensive college courses would be. But never did I think I would get something so great out of something that seemed so terrible at the time. That “great” thing is the movie “Patch Adams.” Now when I heard that we were spending two, 1 hour and 45 minute lectures watching this movie, I was so excited, because why wouldn’t I be?! No class—just a movie! Little did I know how much of an understatement “just a movie” would be.

“Patch Adams” is set in the late 1960s and is a factual story that follows Hunter “Patch” Adams (played by Robin Williams), a post-mental hospital patient that, upon checking out, decides he wants to be a doctor. He enrolls in Virginia Medical University (who else wishes they could just apply to med school out of nowhere and get in like that? *snaps fingers*), but soon comes to find how much he hates the way the medical schools operate. He doesn’t like the traditional seriousness that comes with an entrance to medical school because he worries that the doctors-in-training are losing sight of why they’re ultimately in med school. This rest of the movie shows how passionate Patch is about treating the patient, not just treating the disease. Now I'm not going to sit here and say the movie should be nominated for an Oscar—all I'm saying is that this movie really resonated with me because I'm someone that wants to go into the medical field. If you have never seen this movie and are planning on going into health care, and specifically on becoming a doctor, please do yourself a favor and watch it. It will subdue any lingering “maybe” thoughts you may have about becoming a doctor and remind you of why you wanted to go into the medical field in the first place.

Some of my favorite quotes from the movie are:

1. “I wanted to become a doctor so I could serve others. And because of that, I've lost everything. But I've also gained everything.” - Patch

It’s not a secret that med school is hard, but it seems to be a secret as to how rewarding being a doctor actually is. Here, Patch says it correctly: he wanted to put the needs of others above his own needs. He wanted to serve others.

2. “Now you have the ability to keep me from graduating. You can keep me from getting the title and the white coat. But you can't control my spirit, gentlemen. You can't keep me from learning, you can't keep me from studying. So you have a choice: you can have me as a professional colleague, passionate, or you can have me as an outspoken outsider, still adamant. Either way, I'll probably still be viewed as a thorn. But I promise you one thing: I am a thorn that will not go away.” - Patch, to the dean and committee of his medical school

Patch is intelligent and one of the top students of his medical school class; however, the dean wants to kick him out due to his “unorthodox” ways of treating the patents at clinicals. He shows here how his spirit will not be crushed no matter how much it seems like life simply does not want him to have something. That drive and that love of continuing the fight no matter what the odds may be is one of the most important life lessons that people seem to learn too late in life: pick what you love to do and go after it with all of your heart. Do not go down easily.

3. “Lesbian, airhead, ballbuster, whichever one of these disgusts you the most, take your pick. Please spread the word: I'm not here to date. I'm not here to flirt. I'm here to study.” - Carin, med student that befriended Patch, in response to being asked out by a guy multiple times

This is one of those quotes that really resonates with me as I am also a girl that wants to pursue a typically male-dominated field, much like this character, Carin. Carin is not only breaking the glass ceiling by being accepted to medical school in the '60s, she is also thriving in this environment. Carin is also a very pretty girl and sometimes it’s fun to just exist in a place where you are sought out after by others. This quote is one that I think more female undergrad and grad students should pick up on, especially the ones that get very upset over somewhat petty things, such as not having a date to a formal or not being able to go out one night. Lately it seems like people have forgotten why they’re actually at college. And while yeah, it’s still supposed to be fun and experiential, some people are putting way too much of an emphasis on the social aspect of college when the ultimate purpose is to study and find your ultimate niche.

5. “Our job is improving the quality of life, not just delaying death.” - Patch

This one speaks for itself.

6. “I’d say that I think that the most radical act a person can commit in our society is to be happy… being happy is the best cure of all diseases”- Patch

One of my favorites. This quote was said by a man who was a patient in a mental hospital and whose own professors do not believe he can do the very one thing it is he wants to do. But this quote is still applicable to today’s society. People seem to look for all sorts of excuses to not be happy, especially when life is on the opposing side, but the quote “your biggest enemy is yourself” is true. People can be happy if they step back and realize how lucky they are to even get the opportunity to be in the place they are. If they make a huge mistake, at least they are lucky enough to be in the position where they can make the mistake in the first place. Of course, Patch isn’t speaking literally when he says that happiness is the best cure of diseases, but he is speaking from the heart and with so much truth. If you radiate happiness, the world will begin to respond positively to you.

I could go on and on with fabulous quotes from this movie (it’s incredibly funny if you haven’t picked up on that fact yet), but what I got out of this more than anything else is that I could identify with the love that Patch had for serving others. It is this love that makes me want to be a member of the health care field more than things like economic game or status. I am forever grateful I saw this movie back before college because some days while I’m here, that mentality is the only mindset that can effectively push you through those long nights that you’re studying for three science exams you have the next day. You love the material of course, but you love what comes after learning the material even more… the greatest cathartic realization is: you love helping others. You want to spend the rest of your life doing so. And that love is what drives you down the road to do so, which is the same, loving road Patch drove down.