It is Sunday afternoon and I am home alone looking through Princeton Review MCAT books and trying to keep my mind from wondering. My family is all in Monterrey, Mexico (my hometown) and I have stayed behind to "study for my MCAT" and not miss class. But it is 5:30pm and as I ponder my progress for this weekend, all I can think about is how unwisely I've used my time.
As I waved my family goodbye, I told myself that I would sacrifice Mexico for the greater good of my education. I would stay behind and have a weekend filled of enlightenment and knowledge. But that has been far from the truth. I sit here on my living room table, three days into my study weekend only one practice test in and 0% of my homework done.
I am sure many students struggle with this. On the one hand, you want to study and have every intention of doing so, but on the other hand, distractions are many and the internet is only one click away (not to mention television). So what did I spend my entire weekend doing, you may ask? Did I go out and party like a normal college student? NO. I sat around and watched untold stories of the E.R, while I convinced myself that being a Doctor is all I have ever dreamed of and that staying behind to study was the right choice.
But was it the right choice? Is it worth all the trouble if all I did was one practice test and a couple hours of self-evaluation. I missed the last opportunity I had this summer to visit my family in Mexico only to pretend like I studied all weekend. And it's not like this is the only time I have done something like this. I mean don't get me wrong, I am extremely studious and I always pull myself together so I can make the grade, but I don't always make wise use of my time. I spend way too much time trying to study and I prevent myself form having a life outside of school. This all because I want to make time to hit the books but then I end up watching TV or snap chatting for hours and progressing insignificantly. I am so fixated on the idea of knowing everything and being perfect so that I will have the GPA, the MCAT scores and all of the volunteering necessary to get accepted into medical school that I forget to have an actual life. I make myself believe that studying all the time is healthy and I drive myself crazy with guilt when I'm not studying because "There is so much to do," yet when I set hours to study I don't accomplish much.
What I've gotten from this very unproductive weekend:
1. It is okay to enjoy life and do something other than studying because chances are if you don't feel like studying, you probably won't get much done anyway.
2. Put down the remote!!! NOW.
3. Organize my study time so that I actually know what I have to accomplish and when I want to accomplish it.
#Pre-Med probs!!
No comments:
Post a Comment