When I was younger, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always answer with something crazy like an astronaut, a princess, the president, etc. Most kids do this. And letting kids have lavish, grand dreams about the future is important for creativity and self-expression.
As kids get older, though, occupational dreams become a little more realistic. They now want to be a teacher, a veterinarian, a doctor, a pilot, etc. Some kids stick to these dreams all throughout their teenage years, and even achieve them in their adult years. Some kids completely go another direction. And both paths are perfectly fine.
Throughout my entire high school career and the first two years of college, I imagined myself going to medical school. I wanted to be a doctor. That’s all I knew. I knew medical school was a long, strenuous road, and I thought, “I can do that!” Anything to get me that Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree, I would do.
In the fall semester of my junior year, I learned that getting M.D. at the end of my name would come at a price of going through 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of medical school, and 3-7 years of residency. The looming threat of another 10+ years of school caused more panic in me than motivation.
This is when I decided that my goals needed a bit of alteration to be more realistic. Going through all that schooling may be realistic to someone else, and that is absolutely fine, great for them! But for me, I could not rationalize spending that amount of time in school and starting my career in my 30s.
I stumbled upon optometry school, a 4-year doctorate program that would allow me to practice right after graduating. Optometry (eye doctors) is the perfect combination of neuroscience (my major) and the medical field, and now after working in an optometry office for about a month, I know I have found the right fit for me. And, I still get to be Dr. Tremblay, just with O.D. at the end of my name instead of M.D.
Once I found a realistic career goal, I actually gained more motivation to do well in school, as I knew I was working toward something I actually wanted. Realistic goals allow us to breathe a little; we know we can achieve them in a timely manner, and there is no “what ifs” about whether or not it will work out. However, without those initial “big dreams,” we would have no idea what our realistic goals would be. So, dream big while you can, and when the time comes, refine those dreams into achievable, smaller goals, and I promise you it will all work out in the end.
