One experience I always wished I could have had in college was studying abroad. While I have struck out on my own in college, Seattle is not too different from Portland, and the close proximity at times makes it seem like I've hardly left home at all. I wanted the opportunity to immerse myself in a completely foreign culture with no comfort in familiarity. I wanted to see how well I could fend for myself without a support system, and see what kind of a person I would emerge as after such an experience. However, the English/Pre-Med/Honors track I had embarked upon provided very little leeway, and so I never had room in my schedule for a study abroad.
However, with the way the Medical School application process works, I will have practically an entire year off between graduation from UW and beginning my medical coursework. I'd been researching possible ways to spend this time over the summer, with a job as a medical scribe the most likely option, when I happened across a presentation at Mary Gates Hall for Princeton in Asia.
It almost seemed too good to be true. The opportunity to travel to some exotic location in Asia and put my soon to be earned English degree to some practical use by teaching in a school or university abroad? A fellowship where I would be left to my own devices, more or less cut off from the outside world, and that would eventually pay for itself? It was the perfect blend of me being able to satisfy my wanderlust and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others. It took little thought for me to submit an application.
However, with the way the Medical School application process works, I will have practically an entire year off between graduation from UW and beginning my medical coursework. I'd been researching possible ways to spend this time over the summer, with a job as a medical scribe the most likely option, when I happened across a presentation at Mary Gates Hall for Princeton in Asia.
It almost seemed too good to be true. The opportunity to travel to some exotic location in Asia and put my soon to be earned English degree to some practical use by teaching in a school or university abroad? A fellowship where I would be left to my own devices, more or less cut off from the outside world, and that would eventually pay for itself? It was the perfect blend of me being able to satisfy my wanderlust and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others. It took little thought for me to submit an application.
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Not everyone shared my enthusiasm for this opportunity, namely my parents. They really did not like the idea of me going so far away on my own. They have difficulty even now with me being away at college, even though I've been here for four years. If they don't speak to me on a daily basis, if they don't see me at least once a month, they freak out. It's not that they're dictatorial, but they just can't handle me being away.
It's been a constant source of frustration and argumentation between us in the last four years. I know that they just love me, but it often feels stifling when all I want to do is strike out on my own. Sometimes it has felt like they don't see me as an adult, that they don't respect my autonomy. Which is why Princeton in Asia, the ultimate symbol of my independence and physical departure from the realm of my parents, has been mired with a toxic haze of negativity. My mom apparently prayed that I wouldn't be accepted. Never once did they explicitly tell me that I couldn't go if I was accepted, but for the first time in my life I didn't have their support. Even when I wanted to major in English and they were unsure of how that would pan out with medical school, they still stood by my side. But this time, they ask me over and over again about the feasibility of it, why I wasn't considering options closer to home, and constantly trying to provide alternatives. It was not only frustrating in that it was exacerbating the sentiments that had developed over the past four years, it was also extremely hurtful because it seemed like they did not care at all about my dreams and aspirations.
In the end, their prayers were answered after all. It seems like medical school has once again prevented me from traveling abroad, because in my interview I made it clear that I would probably have to leave my post several times in order to attend interviews, and they definitely wanted someone who was 100% committed to being in Asia, physically and mentally. I'm not too disappointed that neither this nor the Bonderman worked out: the future is bright and full of possibilities. I was able to handle the situation with my parents with grace, but it has certainly left a mark on our relationship. Even now there is a unsettling discomfort whenever the subject is broached, almost as if we're reminiscing about a bad Prom date I'd brought home. I feel like I've grown from this experience...but I hope my parents can as well soon.
It's been a constant source of frustration and argumentation between us in the last four years. I know that they just love me, but it often feels stifling when all I want to do is strike out on my own. Sometimes it has felt like they don't see me as an adult, that they don't respect my autonomy. Which is why Princeton in Asia, the ultimate symbol of my independence and physical departure from the realm of my parents, has been mired with a toxic haze of negativity. My mom apparently prayed that I wouldn't be accepted. Never once did they explicitly tell me that I couldn't go if I was accepted, but for the first time in my life I didn't have their support. Even when I wanted to major in English and they were unsure of how that would pan out with medical school, they still stood by my side. But this time, they ask me over and over again about the feasibility of it, why I wasn't considering options closer to home, and constantly trying to provide alternatives. It was not only frustrating in that it was exacerbating the sentiments that had developed over the past four years, it was also extremely hurtful because it seemed like they did not care at all about my dreams and aspirations.
In the end, their prayers were answered after all. It seems like medical school has once again prevented me from traveling abroad, because in my interview I made it clear that I would probably have to leave my post several times in order to attend interviews, and they definitely wanted someone who was 100% committed to being in Asia, physically and mentally. I'm not too disappointed that neither this nor the Bonderman worked out: the future is bright and full of possibilities. I was able to handle the situation with my parents with grace, but it has certainly left a mark on our relationship. Even now there is a unsettling discomfort whenever the subject is broached, almost as if we're reminiscing about a bad Prom date I'd brought home. I feel like I've grown from this experience...but I hope my parents can as well soon.