Here are some pics of the journey so far:
Pic 1:
This is me in a big a$$ shirt and some tight, hot a$$ jeans on some "fancy, smancy" beach in South Carolina. But inappropriate dress aside, I just HAD to have lunch there and just rolled in there on a whim, obviously, or I would have dressed appropriately. However, I was REALLY feeling myself, strutting around with my big a$$ Georgetown Alumni teeshirt on! Yeah, ya'll don't know nothing 'bout 'dat down in South Caki-laky!
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Pic 2:
Now I see some CRAZY things when travelling down South, but the site of this just seemed VERY strange in post 9/11 America:
'Dis here deserves a WTF because these tanks are ~ 200 feet from a home/neighborhood! YIKES!!! I don't know if these tanks are full, but if not, I'm sure there's enough residual sulfur to warrent an evacuation if there were to be a problem!
Day 3:
"Oh my goodness, look at that nappy hair on yo' head". Now some of my non Black readers probably aren't familiar with how big an issue hair is in the Black community. But I blogged before about how I lost EVERY strand of hair on my head some years back after getting a "bad" perm. And I've been perm free since, though I still flat iron my hair when I feel like it. And last week whiile packing up 13 years of my life, I just didn't feel like it. So I'm wearing it in it's natural texture in two neatly placed twists:
The thing is that my mother HATES it which is perfecty fine with me and she let me know EXACTLY what she thought about it. And that's all I'm going to say about that.
Moving on, I'm 3 days into what is going to be ~ 21 day road trip, with plans to include 10 states maybe more, depending on when I get tired of driving!
LIFE IS SOOOOO D*MN GOOD!!!!!!!
Hello! I just stumbled upon your site and I am also a middle-aged, minority female considering medical school in her 40s!! You are an inspiration and it's great to realize that no, I am not crazy for thinking about doing this :)
ReplyDeleteHello and thank you!! And a BIG fat WELCOME to the world of crazy, middle-aged premed!!
ReplyDeleteOK, all of us need to get together to exchange notes. Finally I found some ladies who are in the same boat as me, especially "Anonymous" above!
ReplyDeleteIronically I moved back to the Carolinas 3 years ago from the DC area. I have a BA-Education, taught math & science 10 years, a Master's in Instructional Design and an MBA both from Maryland, and 9 years' experience in my current field (learning consultant). In 2003, I decided to go on to a new career from teaching. I had been considering med school at UNC-Chapel Hill for a while, since I lived near there. But, my brain said "take the most logical path", so I nixed the idea of medicine because I was stupid. So I went to Maryland to a different career while I was working on my Master's in that field, and opted for their 1-year MBA program immediately after. I hated living in DC, and after 6 years, packed up to come back to NC (I'm originally from PA).
In all that time, I was thinking, "There must be something more than this. Why didn't I go to UNC when I had the chance?" Now I'm 41 and feel like I've accomplished nothing. Two of my friends from high school are now doctors (one DO-geriatric and one OBGYN). The 2nd was a nurse before she was an MD. They have inspired me - the three of us were in mainly the same classes in high school (AP, honors, etc.)
I want to help people. I have all this life and professional experience. I have looked into medical careers and I have technical aptitude, a good eye for detail, I'm artistic, and I have gotten a lot of consulting experience. I am thinking of being a Radiologist.
I will have to "catch up" on my science work, so in the meantime I can shadow some MDs and do some healthcare volunteering. I've been reading up on applicant expectations, and I need to position myself better than a 22-year old since I'd be WAY nontraditional. I'm also thinking of flipping real estate over the next 3 years to build up funds so I don't have to go so far into debt.
My real question is....is 41 too old to be thinking about this career change, drastic as it is? Should I just let it slide by? Or should I take it? I have no kids or spouse, but I do have a dog and a cat. If I go, it will be to UNC or to ECU, assuming I get in.
Please, all thoughts are welcome.
First, my apologies for not responding earlier, I intended to do so LONG ago and it just slipped my mind! You cover a lot in your comment, so I'll reply to you by email in the next couple days! And thanks for commenting!
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