Pointless blog.

Oh hey.

It was requested (by Stacia) that I start posting earlier in the day...but as you can see, I didn't manage to get around to it early enough today...so there's always tomorrow, right?

So far none of my blog posts have really had a point to them. I just ramble about my day until I run out of things to talk about (quickly...because I'm boring). I figured I would do something a little different when my life starts being repetitive.

Therefore, it's about time I lay out everything that's happened in the last year, which was pretty much the biggest year of my life.

(Here, have an enthusiastic Niall to get you in the mood)

A little more than a year ago, things were much different from how they are now. Firstly, I had just lost all of my friends (well, not all...and not permanently...but you get the point). I had been dealing with a really killer bout of depression for several months, which had gotten worse when I suddenly had to juggle my thesis, studying for the MCAT, friends leaving, and change all at once. Instead of trying to control my emotions, I let them run wild. I lashed out at my friends and family, hurting the ones I loved and making things very difficult for myself. I wasn't fun to be around either, as I was always in a bad mood. It was horrible, and I hated myself for a long time. At one point, several of my closest friend had (understandably) had enough, and they distanced themselves from me and my problems.

To top it off, I honestly didn't see myself getting into medical school. I struggled with the MCAT especially. My baseline score was LOW. I studied and studied, but had no idea if it was helping. I had a bad habit of worrying about everything, and it killed my confidence. I also (for some idiotic reason) didn't think I could get into medical school, even if I squeaked out a fair score. I doubted myself hardcore, and I'm really surprised that that doubt didn't keep me from pursuing my dreams.

At this point last year, I was seeing things improve slightly. The semester had ended well grade-wise (despite the fact that most everything else fell apart) and I saw an increase in my practice MCAT scores (because apparently that's what happens when you study).  I had pushed back my MCAT exam by a month, so that also helped relieve some of the pressure. I hung out with Tyler mostly, as he was pretty much the only person whom I hadn't alienated and he lived in the Quad with me during summer school. I attended summer school, studied for the MCAT, and went to counseling...and everything slowly got better. At the end of June, I took the MCAT (which was satisfactory) and left the country.

Since then, I've accomplished a buttload. I traveled all around Costa Rica, applied to 12 medical schools (while in Costa Rica), received 5 interviews and 4 acceptances, earned a research grant, completed an honors thesis, presented at a conference, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. All while continuing to be an influential student leader. On top of that, I rebuilt my social life and discovered some of the best and closest friends I've ever had (I'm looking at YOU Tyler, Conrad, Savannah, Rachel, and Ashton), to whom I owe everything. I also reconnected with those friends that I thought I had lost...because true friendships aren't so easily destroyed.

Moral of the story: Even when things seem completely ruined, hopeless, helpless, etc., there are much better things down the line, so use the situation as an opportunity to improve yourself.

Yeah, I know: tl;dr. BUT IT'S A GOOD STORY OK

And it's better than the story of my day...which was the usual: lying about and stressing out over my federal loans.

Today's YouTube video is in honor of my hero John Green, whose wife gave birth to their daughter Alice today.

As John would say, DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome), y'all!

P.S. I'm currently on Spotify accidentally getting addicted to Muse (a.k.a. turning more into Dan than I already was)...so that's a thing.

P.P.S. You can tell I'm getting lazy with the gifs when most or all of them are Dan or Phil or both.

P.P.S. Stop talking about Dan and get a life, Jill you obsessed crazy woman.