Hello everyone!

My name is Ayana, and I am looking for a mentor. I would love to connect with a passionate woman physician, and would be particularly overjoyed to find one with some similarity in life experiences.

I am 20 years old, born and raised in WA state. I the multiracial eldest child of a single mother. I'm also the first person in my direct line to graduate with a college degree (my AA two years ago). My family celebrates my success; however, they are largely unable to support me or my lifestyle as a student, due to lack of time, money, interest, or understanding.

My mother, however, is a true source of inspiration and a large part of why I became interested in medicine. When I was one year old, my mother gathered up the edges of her life and went back to school. Though she never finished her AA, she was the first in the family to go to college... and she LOVED learning particularly about the human body. When I was young, she was an idealist. A feminist, and an involved member of society, through art, activism, and volunteerism.

So for as long as I can remember, I wanted to become a doctor. When I started college at 16 and started learning what it was all about, I realized the learning curve. Not only were classes difficult. Every step of college, how it worked, the language, the advising, was ALL new. A little panicked, I took a couple years off from my dream.

But I am back . And the more I learn about the career and myself the more I really feel it. Of course, I have concerns, similar to the many I have seen discussed on the forum. I'm still aware of other options, such as PA or NP (hopefully that will clear up as I shadow more). But I am inspired! And I know that I have a great capacity to learn and overcome.

For now, I am pursuing a dual major; BS Cellular Biology (appeals to the scientist self) and BS Community Health (appeals to love of teaching and communication). I'm in the process of raising funds to go on a Grad School road trip next summer with some equally poor friends . I just finished a quarter of TAing for Human Anatomy Lab, and I am a part-time research assistant in the BioChem lab. I volunteer in health education, and I am working toward becoming a STI and Sexual Health Educator at our student health center. And when this is all done, I am really inspired about joining the PeaceCorps, health division for two years before applying to grad school.

I am open to any and all advise, and thanks in advance.

Ayana

PS And thanks for reading such a LONG post!!

I will be glad to help you. PM me.