Or McMaster Health Sci reject...?
There's a lot more to the university experience than just being in a program of prestige. It becomes quite apparent that the school environment and the people around you make most of your experience! Looking back, there's nothing more laughable than pining over a McMaster Health Sci rejection when there's so much in store for you at Western!
Did I just assume your program choice?
Of course not! However, I have spoken with enough individuals from the program to feel that was necessary to mention. Don't take it too seriously, internet sarcasm and jokes are pretty hard to distinguish these days... lighten up a little!
My name is Martin Leung, and as of writing this post I'm in my first year in the BMSc (Bachelor of Medical Sciences) program at Western University! I'm interested in pursuing the study of medicine, but you'll learn a lot more about me and my experiences in a bit so I'm not going to babble more than I need to. I'm curious to know you guys better as well, so if you have any questions or are just interested in having a chat after reading this article then feel free to drop me a message or email! For any questions, contact me at martincwleung@gmail.com
"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." - Michael Jordan
Alright so let's get into it! I hope that if you take one thing away from reading this, it's that persistence will be one of the MOST IMPORTANT traits you will develop through this time that will ultimately get you through these times in university (which you can then apply to other areas of your life). Look, university is the path we chose and our choices/plans for ourselves are never going to be perfect so we're definitely going to run into failures along the way. You may feel like quitting, or that there's another path you can take and that's okay. Let's embrace it, enjoy the process of failing (synonymous to learning in my book) and we'll get where we ought to be!
How is Western University?
Quite the generic question, but I understand your sentiment as it's quite hard to ask about specific topics while we are in school for over a decade but only get a few months to make a life changing decision in choosing a university and field of study. I get it, you feel lost and don't have it all figured it (which is okay, pretty much nobody does). It's okay just to have a rough plan and change it along the way, nobody is at fault because we're too young to tell what we'd do for a living (and all those years of people asking, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"didn't help anyway).
Here are some Pros and Cons of Western University from my totally unbiased opinion (did you hear that sarcasm?)
Western University
To put it simply, I really enjoyed my first year here! Although I lowkey thought that I wouldn't fit in well, I believe your university experience is only as good as you make it. Go in with a positive and open attitude, and I guarantee that you'll find a home in whichever school that you decide to choose!
Get to the point, I came here for Med Sci
“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome. - Arthur Ashe”
Here's the beginning of your journey, isn't it so exciting?! Whether it be in medicine, business, or the fine arts, you'll find greater fulfillment focusing on the day-to-day instead of honing in on the end goal from the beginning. Sure it's great to project your goals down the line, but focus on what's in front of you first... I assure you it'll make things a lot easier because for some reason, things tend to fall into place when you're not trying desperately for it.
Here's a little outline of what I observed in this first year
If you want more course specific information, look here for year one courses for the program!
Words of advice!
What I wish I knew coming in...
I wish that I knew how unpredictable university can be, you never know what can happen when you’re living in such proximity to many people that you do not know. This can be overwhelming for a lot of people, especially introverts like me. There will be lots of ups and downs during the year, and you must be prepared to accept not only your successes, but also your failures that come with it. Failure is a normal part of living life, but be open and take each failure as an opportunity to grow. Emotional rollercoaster is such a cliché way to put it, but it really was that way for me this year and I’m glad I’m still pulling through to put in the best work I can with the capacity I have left to do so. Specifically, this year I didn’t expect to get into a relationship (things can happen quickly if you’re around the same people a lot). It was a good experience, but it sucks that we realized that we were holding each other back in our personal goals and we decided to break up. Unexpected events such as this will be different for everyone, but will still be emotionally taxing nonetheless. Be prepared for whatever your first year brings you, can don’t fear it... Instead, face it head on!
What I would tell my first-year self...
Brace yourself for what is to come, embrace it but remember that you cannot change the past. You can only alter what is and will be, so whatever you do... DO NOT LOOK BACK INTO THE PAST, you only hold yourself back by doing that. Whatever you do, keep moving forward. Also, for the love of God please study consistently like you did in high school! I know there are a lot of distractions living with friends, and although you’re emotionally broken know that you have the power to pull through! Find a new strategy to get rid of distractions, you’ll find it, day by day you’ll only get better if you first try to!
THIS ONE'S FOR YOU
tl;dr - be ready for what first year will bring to your life, be happy for what you are in the present and know that the work you put in today will put you one step closer to your goals!
Final Thoughts
First of all, thanks for reading the article to the end, I really appreciate you for doing so. I hope this article helped you out a little and was fun(?) to read. If you have any specific concerns about the program, I'd be happy to answer them for you! If you'd like more insights from me, I have a YouTube channel so consider subscribing! On my channel I document more detailed insights on my thoughts about university, share my thoughts on my journey to pursue medicine and productivity! I also drop a speck of personal finance here and there, but I hope to expand on that because I believe that our younger generation needs to learn more about handling their money wisely!
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