BELIEVING IN PINK

Would you believe it-- I'm graduating today! I'm literally hours from becoming a doctor!

I really wish I had something more insightful to share with you right now. If there's anything that this whole graduation season shebang has inspired me to do, it's to talk to people like me-- those who have known the pain of 5.00, those who have been retained, those who have been delayed, and above all, those who have, at some point, lost faith in themselves. Did you know that I was on the tentative graduating list a total of three times before I actually made it to the final list? Each false alarm was more heartbreaking than the last one, and there are no words to describe the weird feeling in your gut when you've realized that you didn't make it, even when you know that you really did everything you could. There are so many factors why Dentistry students fall short, and quite frequently, these things are beyond our control, but I realized a bit too late, that if there's one thing I actually can control, it's how I handle challenges. For a larger portion of my clinical life, I stayed in my comfort zone. I'm normally very brave and headstrong in my daily life, but nothing gave me the chills the way Prosthodontics and Endodontics did. Honestly, it was that fear that wasted so much of my time. It was my fear of screwing up that caused me to not try anymore-- and obviously, that didn't work out for me, because by nursing my fear, I had accomplished nothing. There's never a quick fix for getting over the lack of self-confidence. In my case, I really had a good wake-up call, and a lot of pep talks (by the way, if you're a student who thrives in pep talks and encouragement, UPHSD might be the perfect school for you). I strongly believe that values are taught, and not caught-- and yes, that also includes confidence and esteem. Words will never be enough to describe how much my Clinical Instructors, and my Dean(!!!) have helped me realize that I was in hands that I literally chose to be in, so I shouldn't be afraid of corrections; that was in the midst of good minds, so I shouldn't be afraid to learn; and most importantly, that I was loved by good hearts, so I shouldn't be afraid to love. Well, like I said-- I wish I had more insightful things to say, but right now, just like the past few days (and possibly my entire clinic life) I'm a little bit pressed for time.. but yes, believe in yourself. And you will graduate too. 

#graduation #UPHSD