Hi everyone! As my blog says, my name is Taylor Marie Haddad. I am
a senior at OU, which is terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Luckily,
just because I am graduating soon does not mean I actually have to move on to
the real world quite yet, because I am planning to apply to graduate school.
This summer, after much hard work, including taking the dreaded MCAT, I applied
to medical school... and then about a month later, I withdrew my applications.
I had been pre-medicine ever since I got to college, so this decision was a
pretty big deal. A lot of factors went into the decision. I even made a list of
reasons for not going to medical school before I talked to my parents. Mainly,
I realized that my personality is not really that of a doctor. I prefer to be a
team member, rather than the team leader. I also don't think that I would
handle the death of patients well, especially due to how much responsibility I
would have. I think that doctors often give up some of their quality of life to
improve their patients' quality of life. I want to have time to be a present
mother someday, just like my mother was to me. So, instead of pre-med, I am now
pre-nursing. I hope to eventually become a nurse practitioner in a small town.
I am taking human physiology this semester, which is definitely going to be
difficult, I'm really nervous about it, because I'm already behind on reading! Oh,
I should probably mention, I have taken Mythology and Folklore with Dr. Gibbs
already and it has absolutely been one of my favorite classes!
Enough about school. My family is
incredible and I am so lucky to have them. I am the youngest of three girls. We
have lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma our whole lives, where my dad practices
medicine as a pulmonologist and my mom works at a local deli. My oldest sister,
Jessica married her high school sweetheart and they are now expecting their
first baby, my nephew, James! His ETA is November 29th and my whole family
can't wait! Niki, my other sister, just graduated and is at the OU Physical
Therapy school. I have been dating Austin, my boyfriend, for over three and a
half years, and he is like a part of my family too. Over the weekend, before
school started, my dad, mom, Jessica, Jake (her husband), Niki, Toby (her
boyfriend and Jake's cousin), Austin, and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate
Austin and Toby's birthdays! Austin and I went to the show Jersey Boys, which is
about the band, the Four Seasons. We also gambled quite a bit, because, well
it's Vegas. The night/morning before we left, the whole gang minus my parents,
gambled until 4:30 in the morning (we had to leave for our flight at 6:30
a.m.). Luckily, we all made it out ahead. However, our luck ran out on the
way home. Our flight was delayed by four hours, while our connecting flight was
not delayed at all. We ended up missing our connecting flight and having to get
a rental car to drive back here from Dallas. About two hours into the drive, we
get a flat. My dad, Jake, and Austin changed it and we finally got home at midnight,
the day of our first classes. It was totally worth it!
Image Information: Personal photos from our Vegas Vacation (August 2014)
First photo: Austin and I in front of the Paris hotel
Second photo: From left to right, Jessica, Mom, Niki, Dad, and Me
Hi Taylor! I really like how you were able to make that hard decision of changing your major due to your own reflection of yourself. I was originally a Business major-thinking that if I made money I would be happy-but I quickly realized the business track was not for me. How excited you must be to go to graduate school! I plan on going (or applying) when I get my life kind of settled down. You sound like you have a great supportive family, a quality I wish for every family. The Vegas trip you guys went out sounded like so much fun and definitely a story you will have to tell your new nephew when he gets older. Oh and I think it's awesome you lives in Shawnee right by a college but chose OU. I go to Shawnee all the time to see my Bestfriend who moved there a few years ago, it's a nice city I like it a lot there. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts throughout the semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Taylor! First off, I'd like to state that I really admire your ability to not only realize that your previous goals no longer fit your character, but to work towards changing those goals into something new. It's often hard to admit that we were wrong in our estimations, and being able to not only see that but to act on it is laudable! I wish you the best of luck in nursing!
ReplyDeleteI am also one of three girls in my family, though I am the middle child rather than the youngest. Growing up as one of three girls has been a very...interesting experience (as I'm sure you can attest to!), what with the sea of estrogen in the household! However I've always been very close to my sisters, much like you seem to be, and would not have wished it any other way!
While I am not pre-med, I am a biology major, and in this, too, I see some commonalities between us. I can't wait to read more of your blog as the semester progresses and see what else we have in common!
Oh wow, what a huge decision, Taylor Marie... but I totally understand what you mean! It is so easy to imagine myself as a nurse, for example, but not as a doctor... and I always feel so comfortable with nurses, but when I am with the doctor I always feel a little nervous, even when the doctor is very nice. I made a kind of similar decision, giving up my job as a professor (professors have to do research, get grants, publish books, take on administrative responsibility for all kinds of university business, etc.) and opting to take this job as an instructor instead, where my job is 100% teaching. I am so happy with the choice I made (now many years ago!), and I hope you will be happy with your choice too. From what you say here, it sounds like you made a really good decision, one that took a lot of courage... and I hope you will have a great adventure ahead as you prepare to become a nurse-practitioner! And, of course, I am soooo excited to see what you will do with your Storybook this semester! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor! What a way to begin your senior year of college! It's so great that you got to spend time with your family. I'm also a senior, and I'm pursuing pre-med. What you said was so true; it is such a demanding job. I also want to be a mother someday and have a mother who is always there for me and doesn't have a ultra-demanding job. It'll be quite a challenge to figure all of that out, but I am so glad you thought about your decision and did what was best for you and what would work with your priorities. Nurses are the best! Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor! I totally understand why you would choose nursing over being a doctor and I feel the same way and that is exactly why I chose pre-dental rather than pre-med. I would rather just do a job that requires me to work an 8-5 job and be able to spend as much time as possible with my family. Your family vacation sounds like it was a lot of fun. I have always wanted to go to Vegas, but haven’t got a chance yet. Hopefully I’ll get to go once I turn 21 and so I can gamble too.
ReplyDeleteHey Taylor! What a drastic change change to make but such an important one especially in this stage of your schooling. I currently am in your old boat, finishing up my applications for dental school after a grueling summer of DAT prep. Hopefully the new route you are taking is one that will better fit your personality while still allowing you to better the lives of others. Vegas sounds like such a blast. I still have never been but will hopefully be able to make a point of it within the next few years. Hope all goes well with your senior year.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, that's really awesome that you know yourself so well that you were able to make that tough decision. If you knew that you wouldn't be the best fit for that school, then it only makes sense for you to choose to do something that you know you'd enjoy better. I think nursing is so important, as well. My roommate is doing pre-nursing right now and trying to get into the nursing school so I've heard a lot about those classes and YIKES I would be so lost. I have so much respect for people who get into those classes and do well! I hope you have a great semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor! It is great that you are planning on applying to grad school. Do you know if you are going to stay at OU? I also took the Myth and Folklore class. That was actually what made me sign up for this class. I hope that everything is going well for you this year. I am also planning on applying to grad school, so I have about a month to decide what program to apply for and get recommendation letters.... Hope you have a great semester!!
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor! I really applaud you for going with your gut feeling and changing your direction to do what it is that you really want to do! I am a pre-OT major right now, so I will soon be applying to the OU health sciences center, and I also had a tough time deciding what I wanted to do. I grew up wanting to be a meteorologist and actually came to school here for it, but soon realized that it just wasn't for me. It was a tough decision to make, but I haven't regretted it since! I loved reading about your time in Vegas, it sure does sound like it was an adventure! I have been to Vegas before and absolutely loved it!
ReplyDeleteHiya Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely empathize with some of those pre-professional related feelings. I am happy for you because you listened to yourself and realized that your current path wasn't perfect for you. I'm taking the Principles of Physiology class right now, which I don't think it quite as difficult as yours. I haven't yet ventured out to Vegas, and I'd be surprised if I ever do since I don't gamble very often, but it did look like a ton of fun. Good luck this year!
Hey, Taylor! I totally get where you’re coming from. I was pre-med for a long time but now want to be a PA or NP for the same reasons- to be a great mom who’s around for her kids. It’s nice to know someone else has the same goals! I wish you best of luck for NP school – I know you’ll get in and be great. Have a great rest of your semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Taylor, it's nice to meet you. I am also Pre-med and planning to take the MCAT this year. I completely understand where you are coming from when you say that being a doctor means sacrificing your quality of life. I shadow a doctor in Chickasha and he has opened my eyes up to the fact that there are a lot of factors that go into practicing medicine. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!
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