POST #1: "Why physical therapy? Why not medicine?"

As everybody my age, at some point in highschool, I realize that I was about to become an adult and that mean that I had, no I MUST start thinking what did I wanted to do for the rest of my life. No an easy choice for a 16 year old girl, actually I think that is not an easy nor fair decision for any teen. But that's how life works and I coudn't do anything about it. 

So as confused as I was the only thing I was sure at the moment was that I wanted to study something related to Biology and Chemestry. What? Well, I thing only God knew it at that moment. 

In my highschool, CETYS preparatoria, on fourth semester we had to select in which speciality we would like to be during our last year. The options we had were: humanities, economics, mathematic-physician and chemical-biologist. It wasn't a difficult choice at all, I knew exactly what I wanted...only that I wasn't ready to be there...not yet. 

What did I meant with "not yet"? Well, I have always been intersted in other cultures, and meeting people from the whole globe. Since I was really young I wanted to be an exchange student. Only that I wans't really sure how to become one. With the past of the years I discovered there was an international organization name Rotary, that one of it's many programs is Rotary Youth Exchange. 

The best part of all this, it was that here in Mexicali there were 6 Rotary clubs and my grandparents were members of one, Club Rotario Mexicali Industrial. At the moment I felt it was the universe trying to tell it was my moment to go out of my comfort zone and see where life could take me. That is how the best year of my life happend or better said that's how I built a complete new life in only 11 months and change me forever. 

I know that at this point of my story you might be kind of lost, or just wondering why am I telling you all this exchage-student story if I was suppose to write about why did I choose my career. As I said before, my exchage year mark me, and made me see life in a complete different way. Also been so far away from home (9, 025. 03 km by air) and for so long (11 months and 4 days) made me realize that I was completly alone and that in the good or the bad way I had to learn how to survive by my own. Parents aren't going to be cleaning up our mess and solving our life forever, and saddly we don't understand that till they are not here anymore. 

An other important lesson that I learned was that taking significant desicions was an inevitable part of life and I coudn't keep runnig away of it. I had to decide my future. Even if I didn't want to. 

After a long afternoon of thinking I came up to the conclusion that my best choice would be medicine. At the beging of my whole dilema said I wanted to study Marine biology and everything was set and perfect. Problem was I'm allergic to sun, and Marine biology involve a lot of sun exposure so basically I would have been digging my own grave. 

Then I decide to start looking in the Health Sciences area, and thought about becoming a nurse. And my whole family started a revolution. Why nurse and not doctor? You'll will end up being a grumpy nurse in the social welfare! And blah, blah blah...

Not really encouraging words. Even tho I argued that nurse we the ones that actually do the important job not doctors. Nurses are the one that are with the patient 24/7, doctors only go once in a while and check if everything is fine and leave. But is seemed my family couldn't see that. Then another idea popped into my mind, if I didn't like the treat doctors give to their patients it didn't mean that I was going to be that way with mine.

And it was decide, I was going to be a passionate and caring doctor. Everything was perfect, the career suit me perfectly because I had all the requirements that were need: passion, dedication, organize, excellente memory, love for life and huge interest in human's anatomy. The only problem was that I wasn't really sure about all the blood thing and the responsibility of having someone else life in my hands, but I thought I'll figure it out on the way. 

While the time to sign in for university started to be closer and closer my insecurities and doubts about medicine grew more and more. I was so frustrated and desparate to find a solution, because I didn't know what I wanted any more. What I knew was that I wanted a career inside the area of Health Sciences that involved being in contact with people, a lot of study a preparation and memorazing a lot of information. 

And out of the blue, as a heavenly sign I heard for the first time in my life about the career of physical therapy. After listening all about I was totally amaze how everything that I wanted was in it and more. In didn't think it twice, as soon as I could I got in contact in UVM and ask for information to get in. I felt it in the very inside of me that this was my future, what I see myself doing in 5, 10, 50 years from now. I see myself as a physical therapist.