Leah Livin, Period 8, 12/13/2021

Leah Livin, Period 8, 12/13/2021

As a child, I always looked forward to the day when I would turn 18. Now I am two months away from that date, and this comes with a heavy weight. When you are a kid you assume that once you become older, you become independent with a free lifestyle. However, currently I am stuck trying to create a 10 year plan for myself that I can follow. In the future I hope to become a veterinarian, which means I have 8 years of schooling in front of me. And this includes a very tedious and difficult application process for veterinary school. 

Often highschoolers are told that they have plenty of time ahead of them, and that it isn’t necessary to know what they will do in the future. This is often the case for many teens. However, for me, since becoming a veterinarian is such a timely dedication I have to set many landmark goals for myself for the next several years so that I can start a family and be financially capable of supporting it by the time I’m 30. This includes different places I hope to get experience in such as a farm and zoo, in order to gain experience working with different animals. Currently, veterinarians are in high demand in the US, which makes the profession be viewed as prestigious. Therefore, when I tell people I hope to become a veterinarian, they are often impressed and very supportive of my career path, which motivates me to follow through with my goals. On the other hand, the veterinarian I work for warned me about the difficulties that come with the job and told me to prepare myself for the responsibilities it comes with. Additionally, often when people hear that I want to be a veterinarian, the first thing they say to me is that they would never would never be able to operate on an animal or make the decision to put it to sleep. When people tell me these things I sometimes begin to wonder the mental toll the job may take on me, but I believe I am capable of making medically informed health decisions. Additionally, I am aware that this job will come with many of my failures, and mistakes that might be preventable, however I know that in order to grow as a doctor, I must gather knowledge and experience over years in order to be best prepared for all case scenarios. It frightens me to think that I can not make it into my dream schools as well, on my way to become a veterinarian, but I know if I work hard enough and remain persistent, I will eventually achieve what I aim for.