Spring 2006
I groaned audibly, clasping my head in my hands. "I'm never drinking again."
While getting wasted was temporarily amusing, I'd discovered that college had not turned out as ideally as I had hoped. Settling myself in front of my desk, I pulled up my transcript and stared at the depressing letters. My GPA was abysmal, and while I remained confident that I had the brains to make it at Hopkins, I realized far too late that I'd slacked off far too much. That, and I hated engineering. There was something about the concepts involved in physics and advanced calculus that I just couldn't get.
As a result, I sank like a stone in those classes. Biting back curses at my whanging headache, I weighed the prestige of the JHU BME major against my odds of actually graduating said major. I'd resisted the idea of switching out of BME for a long time for exactly that reason, but this time I knew I'd reached my breaking point. There was no room for pride any more. I picked up the phone.
"Hey, Dad? Yeah, it's me ... listen, I think I'm gonna quit BME. Why? I kinda suck at it and I kinda hate it. I'm gonna do bio instead. I think it'll be better for me at this point ... No, I haven't figured out what I want to do for grad school yet ... I told you, I don't know what I want to do with my life yet. Look, can we talk about this later? Okay, bye."
I knew it was a cop out, but by this point I didn't have many options. I was stuck halfway through college in a major that I hated, transferring to a major that was of questionable significance for my future, with no idea of what I wanted out of my life. More than anything, I was just angry. Angry at myself for procrastinating, for the missed opportunities.
Although it's been said that everything in life is an experience, I'd screwed myself over in a big way this time, and I would have to work double-time to make up for my past mistakes.
Looking over my transcript again, I realized I'd finished enough requirements so that if I'd come in as a bio major, I could have graduated by the end of junior year.
"Delicious."
Flashback: Fall 2003
"So have you figured out where you're applying to?" Umang asked as we cruised along the highway leading to school. I'd been bumming rides off him because I didn't yet have my license, and, let's face it, no senior wants to ride the bus.
"Well, I missed the Stanford early action deadline, but I still want to apply somewhere early. You know, as insurance," I mused, "so I won't have to be so nervous in the spring."
"Dude, you procrastinated again, didn't you? I can't believe you didn't turn that application in on time, you had it for three weeks!"
"Well ... oh well." I started sheepishly, and then thought of something better. "And I don't want to be lectured on procrastination by you of all people, man. You stay up hella late every night doing 'homework' that should only take a few hours."
"Yeah, and the reason you know this is because you're up online with me, fool." He shot back.
Damn. He had me there.
"Anyways," he went on, "there's a bunch of schools with people giving out information in the career center today. I think Johns Hopkins is there today."
"Johns Hopkins?" I was confused. "What the hell is that?"
"You've never heard of Johns Hopkins?" He gave me a funny look. "I heard they're really good for medicine."
I went to the Hopkins information session. I ran into Umang later that day.
"Well?" Umang demanded, "How'd it go?"
"Eh, it was kind of boring. All I know is that their BME program is the best in the country." I replied hazily. I'd totally zoned out. "And it's on the east coast, which would be a pretty big change from here."
"So are you going to apply?"
"Sure, why not? The early decision deadline isn't for another two weeks. And if I choose BME as my major, it's only legally binding if I actually get into that program, otherwise it works like early action." I reasoned.
"What exactly is biomedical engineering, anyway?" Umang wondered.
"Dunno. Probably some bio-related thing. Who cares anyways, it's the best in the country!"
