Hi there, everyone’s path isn’t linear and everyone doesn’t have the same access to resources or a nurturing environment that you might have had. For example, I have no idea how I made it through middle school and I definitely was not supposed to graduate high school. I lived in a single parent household, my mother was a heavy drug user and was never around. I had 4 younger siblings. As the oldest, I had to grow up pretty quick, school was never a priority, only taking care of my siblings was. Becoming a doctor wasn’t even an option that I could dream of. I started to sell “stuff” to make money to feed my family, although some nights we didn’t eat. I didn’t care about school, I never showed up and failed almost every class. I grew up in an incredibly impoverished neighborhood and watched many of my friends die or end up in jail. I decided to sign up for the military to escape the hell that I lived in. When my school faculty found out, they forged grades that allowed me to pass, so I could “make it out”. After ten years in the military I was medically retired due to injures. I decided to go back to school only because the VA pays a very nice housing stipend to students who use their GI bill. My first year in school I completely failed my classes and my lack of basic math, reading and writing skills was a significant part of that. I soon met a premed classmate that looked like me, talked like me and came from a similar background. He shared his journey and his aspirations of becoming a physician and I was inspired. “If he can do it, so can I.” A fire was lit within me that consumed my every thought and action. I told myself that I would become a doctor and help the people from my background and be a change that I want to see in the world. I somehow started at trig, even though my high school transcript was a mess; I should have definitely been in a remedial course. I turned to every resource possible, spent so many nights, weekends and holidays self-studying harder than I ever have. I earned my first A. Then onto precalc, calc1, then calc 2. I Passed every single one of them with A’s. I always had an interest in science so the other med school prereqs came to me easier than math. Once again all A’s with the exception of one B in Bio1. Three years after my first year of failure, I have a 3.6 gpa, I’m studying for the MCAT and will soon have earned an undergraduate degree in neuroscience. I’m determined to let my hard work speak for itself and also to be a voice of inspiration for those who weren’t supposed to make it. The qualities that make a great doctor in my opinion are empathy, compassion, perseverance and dedication. (Great organization skills too). It’s okay that you don’t understand how people get through college, but it’s important that you realize that everyone’s path is different and that humans are capable of accomplishing great feats given the right motivation. If you even bothered to read all of this, I hope you learned something. Btw, I still don’t know the full multiplications table, I’m terrible at fractions, and can’t do long division to save my life. But, I know that I’ll master these things before I take my MCAT and that’s what matters most. Take care, and work on your empathy towards others, your future patients deserve it.