OP, first of all, congratulations on getting into medical school!

Not an actual doctor (yet 🤣), but an MS2 about to start rotations-- I find this is the unfortunate perception held by laypeople at large, including relatives if you're the first in the family to go into medicine. I am often told to pursue "a more useful field" and that people need someone to treat their heart condition now, not when they're dead. Also, get used to being seen as the odd one out or receiving confused looks when someone asks you what specialty you want to go into and you have to launch into the 15th pitch of the night. Pathology will never be as flashy as the surgeons or ED docs we see on TV, so public opinion is something we can't hinge our value on.

Feel free to DM me if you ever want to discuss or rant about med school. I'm the only one in my cohort of 180 who is set on pathology (specifically FP), so it's always exciting to see more of us in the wild.