It has been a while since I posted on the blog for a number of reasons but mainly because I only like to post when I feel like I have something valuable to share. The last few months have been incredibly busy in a good way between amazing family vacations to rewarding opportunities at work. However, as it happens every year, the Jewish holidays snuck up on me as the back-to-school hustle was starting to simmer down and I always have a chance to slow down and think.
I really enjoy the beginning of Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur. The other holidays that come after are fun and all but this is really the time when I get to actually pause and reflect on the past year. This time, I decided I wanted to do something different. I always take the time to think about what went well and what didn’t and what I would like to change or work on for this New Year. I also started thinking about different things that have happened throughout my life that felt like the end of the world and then actually lead to incredible growth and great outcomes.
I want to share these with you because, at least for me, right now it feels like the world is imploding and I am living in some crazy alternative reality, where my daily life is fine but the world isn’t. I have been reminding myself that every single time I felt like the end of the world was near, something good came out the other side. Sometimes, it took more than ten years for me to know this and sometimes I figured it out sooner than that but it always took a long time. I hope that if you are feeling a little bit like me, that these examples can inspire you and give you hope that something good is coming on the other side of this.
- Moving to the US
If you know me, you know I am Argentinean to the core. When I moved to the US in the middle of eight grade, I thought my world was for sure going to end. I was hopeless for over 4 years. I did not want to be here and I spent all my time trying to figure out how to move back to Argentina. Fast forward almost 30 years later (!!!) and I can honestly say that I am extremely happy my parents made the incredibly hard decision to uproot our family and start in a completely different environment. It was not without lots of growing pains, mistakes, and effort that I learned what a great opportunity this was for me but I couldn’t be happier that we did this. It did take over 15 years for me to realize this but I am glad I finally got there.
2. Not being able to apply for FAFSA for undergrad
This one of the many reasons that contributed to my ongoing anger about moving to the United States. The visa status I had when I was in high school did not allow for me to receive federal financial aid. I had worked hard to get excellent grades and was hoping to go to an Ivy League school, which was unaffordable without financial aid. I was very fortunate that Florida had a state scholarship through the Lottery called Bright Futures and I qualified for a full ride to the University of Florida. It turns out that going there was one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did I leave without any loans but I made amazing friendships and found inspiration for the next steps in my career in medicine. I would have never gone to UF if I could have gotten the loans to go to some of the private universities I was looking at. In the end, I was so happy I stayed. Go Gators!
3. Taking a year off after undergrad
I did not want to take the year off after graduating college. I took the MCAT and applied to medical school like all my friends the summer before starting my senior year of college. I painfully learned that without my green card and once again, with the immigration status I had at the time, I could not go to medical school until my green card was approved. This did not happen until almost the end of my senior year and by then, it was too late to apply for medical school for the Fall. Instead, I was able to get into a master’s program at Georgetown University in Washington DC that allowed me to apply for financial aid through FAFSA (Federal Aid loans) pretty late. I was very close to moving back to Argentina once again to go to medical school there but my parents were not pleased with that plan, so I stayed. The year I spent in DC was full of new friendships, wonderful opportunities, and great preparation for medical school.
4. Spending 3 years apart from my partner
Fast forward several years. I ended up going to medical school in Philadelphia, meeting my future husband, and doing the first part of my training there. However, I always wanted to live in New York. Not getting into medical school in New York was also a sore point for me but I was so happy to get into medical school that I didn’t dwell too long on that detail. I had another chance to live there for my pediatric neurology fellowship but it came at a cost: a long distance relationship with my then fiance. Our wedding took place in the middle of the 3-year separation. The days were long but those 3 years went really fast. In retrospect, I am happy that it worked out that way. It allowed me to focus on work, experience a city I always wanted to live in, and it gave us a bit more time to just be married before starting our family. It didn’t hurt that my husband was wonderful about visiting me every weekend!
5. My son being born premature
I don’t really wish this one on anyone but I have to admit that having gone through the experience of a premature child who spent 6 weeks in the NICU influenced me in ways that I could have never predicted. It forced me to re-think my entire lifestyle, career choices, and even how I related to my patients as a doctor. It took me several years after this happened to appreciate the growth that came from the experience but even though I still wish it hadn’t happened, I can say that I am a better person for it.
Shana Tova from our family to yours! Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year, and easy fast for those who do it, and peace everywhere!