Health Science Reviews

By Abigail Clemo

I have struggled with a career choice for years. I took a gap year after high school because I had no idea what I wanted to do, then did an undergraduate degree in what I thought would be interesting, and took another gap year after I graduated. Luckily I got into the honours degree that I was aiming for, because it has been the most rewarding year so far. The content is fascinating and I can finally form an idea of my future career, which is immensely relieving. We do get there!

Coming into this year I had several points of apprehension, especially being 3 years older than the majority of other students and having not used my science brain in a long time, due to travel and work. I knew no one, and was afraid that I would struggle to make friends and get back into academics, disappointing my family. As usual, I worried for nothing. It turns out I did know some people from an undergrad elective course, and everyone is so friendly! Nothing bonds students like shared complaining, so friendships were made without difficulty during general and stream-specific techniques. The academic integration was seamless thanks to the knowledgeable lecturers and new-found friends, and some helpful overlap from undergrad.

So far I would say the most stressful part of this year was the very beginning from a social perspective, and the module exam period from an academic perspective – 4 exams in 1 week? It felt like some crazy survival of the fittest exercise to weed out the weak-minded, but they honestly weren’t as bad as I expected! 3 weeks of work is much easier to cram than an entire semester (thanks BSc). I am quite nervous for the challenges that come with the second semester and mini-thesis writing, but I trust that it is possible and that everything will be okay. Others have done it before me and they survived, so I can do it too. Where would we be without blind optimism?!