Pre-meds have a sort of reputation for being stuck up. For a while, I didn't even like telling people that I was hoping to go into medicine, because the second you mention you're pre-med, they think one of two things:
1. That you must be completely self-involved and somewhat obsessed with all of your glorious smartness.
2. That there is no way that you're going to stay pre-med.
There is definitely validity to both points, as there are people for sure that fulfill the stereotype, and the amount of people that switch out into another program is ridiculously high. However, I feel that this burden of having to uphold a certain expectation can be somewhat draining, and even unhealthy for the individual. Because there is this expectation of you as a 'pre-med', partly instated due to the rigorous process of being admitted to medical school, but also simply because of the culture that has been created, you are expected to be able to juggle a million balls in the air, not drop any of them, and still look effortless while doing it-- either that or brag about how stressed and tired you are, because that obviously equals your worth. With that sort of expectation is place, I feel like pretty much every aspect of your life is expected to contribute towards your resume in some way- if activity "___" isn't working towards medical school admissions, then why are you even doing it?
Recently I was talking to a friend from back home, and I was telling them about how much I have love having music play a more prominent part in my day to day life, even though it definitely is taking up more time than I had initially anticipated at the start of the year. Realizing I was waiting for them to chime in with how happy for me they were that I had found a community I was so happy to be a part of, I was sort of taken aback when they asked me, "Why are you spending so much time on music? It doesn't even contribute towards your program- you could be using that time for something better."
At first, I sort of sputtered around, trying to justify my actions, because from an outsider's opinion, I could totally see how this would seem like an odd choice for a lot of my time. When I could be volunteering, or working, or shadowing, and doing research, why was I choosing to do music? That wouldn't help further my career, so why was I doing it?
But I don't feel bad about it, and I'm not planning on changing it. Yes, it's true, I could be using that time differently, padding my resume and making myself a better applicant. And while that is definitely important, and I don't feel like I am neglecting that aspect of my life, I don't feel guilty about using some of my time for doing something that I love. I think programs and majors that praise the stressed and exhausted student, the overbooked and overextended individual, promote a mindset that isn't healthy, ironically enough. It's important to take time for yourself, to develop and embrace other aspects of your life, and not feel bad about doing it. Instead of only thinking about one aspect of the future, sometimes it's important to allow yourself to grow in other areas as well, because I think in the long run, they're equally as important.
