The Switch

So back to my story: towards the end of sophomore year I began to ask myself what I really wanted to do. I wasn’t really enjoying my education classes, I had taken most of the Spanish classes I need toward my major, my CORE classes were quickly dwindling, but I still had two years of college left. Then one day during summer break I was driving in Grand Rapids through a poorer area that has been determined by minimal resources, opportunities, and hope. As I looked around I saw a ton of people, many young people in fact, who were just doing their thing. I began to think—Alex, you’ve been given the valuable opportunity that only about 63% of high school graduates in our country have: the opportunity to go to college. Even more so, God had provided me with the financial resources to afford an amazing college education at Calvin where I was challenged and stimulated me socially, spiritually, and academically. I had been given such a big blessing and I completely missed it. What was I doing? I thought back on my last two years and while I had grown and learned a lot, I had been pretty lazy. I realized something that I didn’t see before. You see, I did very well in high school and was quite proud of myself; there’s nothing wrong with that, right? However, when I got to college, the pride swelled up and I thought I was all set for life. I subconsciously decided I didn’t want to work hard anymore and would find something that, for me, would be easier. Now that’s a TERRIBLE idea for someone who has the opportunity to go to college—a place where you should be working your tail off and expanding your knowledge tenfold! As these thoughts began to enter my mind, something from the past crept up out of nowhere: what if I had stuck with the premed program? Could I have excelled in those classes? Didn’t I want to be a doctor when I was younger? And so it happened. The “what ifs” turned into reality. I met with some wonderful mentors at Calvin, shadowed some doctors and Physician Assistants (to see which field I wanted to pursue), and mapped out how I would take 3 years worth of medical school prerequisites in a year and a half.