I'm back!
But this blog is changing directions. It's no longer going to be a food blog, although I will probably still blog about food since I love it so much! But rather, it's going to document my life, thoughts, career change, school, and other things I want to talk about.
The biggest NEW announcement is that I'm actually going back to school to become a physician assistant! This change came about for many reasons. The biggest reason is that I shadowed clinical dieticians at a local hospital last year, and even though I LOVE the field of nutrition, I realized I wanted to be doing more hands-on medical procedures, and I wanted to work more closely with patients. I then also shadowed a nurse, but nursing is not my calling (although it is a wonderful field that helps so many people!) But then, I shadowed an orthopedic surgeon's PA for about 4 months and I LOVED IT! The PA and the surgeon were incredibly gracious to me and I am so thankful for that opportunity! I spent several weeks researching the PA field, talking with other medical professionals and students and learning about physician assistants. And I realized that I wanted to pursue that! So I am still taking science prerequisites, and I am about ready to apply to schools! I am currently taking Microbiology and Human Lifespan Psychology. I've finished up my year of Anatomy and Physiology, Bio 1, Chem 1, Nutrition, Algebra, and of course all of my undergraduate and master's degree classes (from the first master's degree.) The second, also huge, reason I want to become a PA is that there is no way I can continue being a violinist while there are so many people suffering all over the world from lack of medical care. Some of them are literally dying of easily preventable causes: lack of clean water, lack of antibiotics, lack of sanitation, and lack of vaccinations. Others are dying from things that might be tougher to treat, but we still wouldn't think too much of in America. (Need for surgeries, delivery of babies, and chronic conditions that can be cured or alleviated with proper medical care.) Can I do everything to heal them? No. But I need to do SOMETHING and this is my something.
My upcoming classes include Chem 2 (this will be my biggest challenge!), Statistics, Bio 2, Medical Terminology and Organic Chemistry. That's ALL! I know that PA schools are extremely hard to get into (one school said they had 1600 applicants for 80 spots and this seems to be about the normal for most schools!) But I am confident that I will get in somewhere this year, or if not, I will try again next year. I have an excellent GPA, a very unique history, I am a non-traditional applicant, I have strong letters of recommendation, and I am extremely proud of my personal narrative. Beyong doing my part to excel in every way that I can, the rest is up to God and the admissions committees. But I will definitely be writing more about it on this blog!
Well, I am going to go study Micro and am going to church tonight!
