No, I’m not doing it for the money… yes, I will be a REAL doctor… and most importantly: yes, it will be worth it.
I am 1 month and 2 semesters away from graduation, but that won’t be the end. I am two months from starting my veterinary school applications. That will just be the beginning. I will graduate college at 21. I will graduate vet school at 26. I will be in debt. I will be tired. I will have been through more school than 98% of the American population. I will have a DVM, and this is the truth about my future.
At 26 years old I will be in about $167,534.89 of debt. I will be making about $60,000 per year (if I’m lucky). I will be working in a profession in which I make one of the lowest salaries compared to the amount of education required. I’ll have the worst shifts. I’ll have no social life, nothing new there. I’ll be exhausted and most likely living off caffeine all the time, again nothing new there. I’ll be a veterinarian, so it will all be worth it.
Everything will be worth it. Every night spent studying. Every missed party and football game. Everytime I cried over a bad grade, and rejoiced over a good one. Every moment leading up to that point will be worth it, because my future will have become my present.
More than that, I will be a doctor. I will have attended 8 years of school in order to become a doctor, so despite the contrary opinions of all too many people, I will be a REAL doctor. Every nate night spent with a patient. Every angry client. Every pet I cant save will be worth it, because for every one of those will be 10 more pets I CAN save. There will be little girls smiling the biggest smiles with their puppies, and I will be the one who gets to keep that puppy healthy and happy for her. There will be so much good to outweigh the bad. I will be a veterinarian, and I can’t wait.