The Freewheelin' Bob...uh...Gordon

Since my first year of college, I have not lived in the same place for more than a year. Yes, I lived in Berkeley for five years, but I went through the annoying process of packing and unpacking all my stuff at the bookends of every school year. I never had the chance to create years of memories in a single house. As soon as one place started to feel comfortable, June would hit us in the face and shake us out. We packed up our hobo bundles and, hitchhikers' thumbs up, ambled down the street to look for yet another place to sleep for the next year. It was always pretty unsettling.



I was hoping this year would be different. Unfortunately, the Powers That Be did not smile upon me and my Generic Asian Male Pre-Med From Berkeley application. I'll be graduating from Georgetown with a M.S., but I will not be returning for the M.D. And so, like the good Chinese son I'm supposed to be, I will probably be moving back home with Tiger Mom for a year. I'm still holding on to my one thread of Waitlisted hope at Creighton, and believe me, I'm harassing the HELL out of them. But it's time once again to hit the job-hunting trail.

I am nothing but ecstatic for the future Hoyas. But to be honest, I can't help but feel somewhat swindled by the program's promises on their pretty brochures. Maybe I was in over my head about my prospects in the first place. I knew coming in that I wasn't a great applicant, and I did well this year, but probably not well enough. And getting the most difficult, stressful interview in the WORLD (we call it "hitting the Wall") certainly didn't help.

I know I shouldn't be whining, because compared to what some of my classmates have gone through, this is easy peanuts. This was only my first time applying to medical school. Most of my classmates are second-time applicants, and I've heard some horror stories from third and even fourth-timers. Talk about persistence and a LOT of patience. I know I want it badly enough, but the emotional and financial strains are really getting to me. I know Cal put me through the grind, but never like this.

How on Earth does Chris Traeger stay so positive? Oh that's right, his sports teams don't pull a Cal year after year.