yay, i'll be in sunny socal tomorrow night!!!! oh, i can't wait!
today's med school interview/app question: What do you consider a valuable experience in your personal development?
One thing that comes to mind is the "train fiasco" in Europe. As we were leaving Amsterdam, Laura and I each had a space cake at the train station before our train departed for Germany. Our plan was to take the train from Amsterdam to Cologne, and then transfer to another train that would take us to Bonn, where Laura's aunt and uncle were waiting for us. However, taking the space cake made me really really drowsy and when we arrived in Cologne, i was slow to get my backpack from the middle of the car. I waited until the line of people cleared out and then rushed to get my backpack and headed towards the door. But people had started to board the train, so they were in my way of the exit. Just as i reached the door, it closed on me. I tried to open it again by pushing the "open" button but it didn't do as i wanted. I kept pushing it until i felt the train move, and i froze. The train was moving, I was still on it, and Laura and Sarah were on the platform waiting for me. Another guy behind me was looking nervous too as we pulled away from the station. An employee walked towards us and shouted at us that the train was on the platform for five minutes, we had plenty of time to depart, etc.,etc. So, the next time the train would stop was in Frankfurt, one hour away. Needless to say, I freaked out. My heart was beating so fast, faster than i've ever known. A million thoughts were running through my head - how would i get in touch with laura and sarah? could i still make it to bonn by the end of the day? what if i never see my friends ever again? I was stressing out so badly for 5-10 minutes. After 10 minutes or so, i began to calm down. The Eurail timetable listed that I could reach Bonn (or Cologne) from Frankfurt that day still. My other concern was trying to reach Laura and Sarah. Should i go to Bonn as planned, or see if they stayed in Cologne for me? I decided to just go to Bonn and hope they went on without me, which may have been a mistake on my part, but things ended okay still. I arrived in Bonn 2 hours later than we had planned and they were not at the train station. I called Laura's parents back in Glendale and asked for their relative's number in Bonn, and i managed to reach them. I took a taxi to their place, but Laura and Sarah were still not there. Her aunt was very concerned for Laura and Sarah, as was i. I presumed that they had stayed in Cologne...so i think if i had gone back to Cologne i would've found them and not have worried her aunt so much. Laura and Sarah eventually got to Bonn, and when i recounted what had happened on my side, they said that the train was *not* on the platform for 5 minutes; they rushed everything and left as soon as it was clear. Funny thing was, they were wondering if i would just go straight to Bonn from Frankfurt, but they thought the space cake spaced me out so much i woudln't think of it. hee.
What did i learn from this experience? That i can handle things in high stress situations. That sometimes i shouldn't take things into my own hands too much (i.e., going straight to Bonn instead of going back to Cologne), and space cakes are from the devil! Damn the space cake! This was my lesson to NEVER ever take marijuana in any way, shape, or form ever again.
today's med school interview/app question: What do you consider a valuable experience in your personal development?
One thing that comes to mind is the "train fiasco" in Europe. As we were leaving Amsterdam, Laura and I each had a space cake at the train station before our train departed for Germany. Our plan was to take the train from Amsterdam to Cologne, and then transfer to another train that would take us to Bonn, where Laura's aunt and uncle were waiting for us. However, taking the space cake made me really really drowsy and when we arrived in Cologne, i was slow to get my backpack from the middle of the car. I waited until the line of people cleared out and then rushed to get my backpack and headed towards the door. But people had started to board the train, so they were in my way of the exit. Just as i reached the door, it closed on me. I tried to open it again by pushing the "open" button but it didn't do as i wanted. I kept pushing it until i felt the train move, and i froze. The train was moving, I was still on it, and Laura and Sarah were on the platform waiting for me. Another guy behind me was looking nervous too as we pulled away from the station. An employee walked towards us and shouted at us that the train was on the platform for five minutes, we had plenty of time to depart, etc.,etc. So, the next time the train would stop was in Frankfurt, one hour away. Needless to say, I freaked out. My heart was beating so fast, faster than i've ever known. A million thoughts were running through my head - how would i get in touch with laura and sarah? could i still make it to bonn by the end of the day? what if i never see my friends ever again? I was stressing out so badly for 5-10 minutes. After 10 minutes or so, i began to calm down. The Eurail timetable listed that I could reach Bonn (or Cologne) from Frankfurt that day still. My other concern was trying to reach Laura and Sarah. Should i go to Bonn as planned, or see if they stayed in Cologne for me? I decided to just go to Bonn and hope they went on without me, which may have been a mistake on my part, but things ended okay still. I arrived in Bonn 2 hours later than we had planned and they were not at the train station. I called Laura's parents back in Glendale and asked for their relative's number in Bonn, and i managed to reach them. I took a taxi to their place, but Laura and Sarah were still not there. Her aunt was very concerned for Laura and Sarah, as was i. I presumed that they had stayed in Cologne...so i think if i had gone back to Cologne i would've found them and not have worried her aunt so much. Laura and Sarah eventually got to Bonn, and when i recounted what had happened on my side, they said that the train was *not* on the platform for 5 minutes; they rushed everything and left as soon as it was clear. Funny thing was, they were wondering if i would just go straight to Bonn from Frankfurt, but they thought the space cake spaced me out so much i woudln't think of it. hee.
What did i learn from this experience? That i can handle things in high stress situations. That sometimes i shouldn't take things into my own hands too much (i.e., going straight to Bonn instead of going back to Cologne), and space cakes are from the devil! Damn the space cake! This was my lesson to NEVER ever take marijuana in any way, shape, or form ever again.
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