New Year...Senior Year!

Yes, despite the amount of denial I am in, this week began my last year as an undergrad at Mercyhurst! And like every other senior, the anxiety of the future has begun to take a toll.  As a double major in Dance and Pre-Med Biology, my next step into the real world is still very hazy.  After reflecting on my possible decisions for after graduation this past summer, I came to the realization that my next step into the future is to finally become what I have wanted to be my whole life.  My dream has always been to be able to combine my two passions in medicine and dance into a career.  Faculty and friends often call me "The Dancing Doctor" and I hope to uphold this title in the future as an orthopedic surgeon to specialize in treating dancers and other athletes with injuries.
But before I start to jump to conclusions about establishing my lifelong career, I first have to successfully graduate and establish myself in this great big world around us.  So as you can guess, I have two directions to go with my life after Mercyhurst.  I can either dance and then go to medical school or go directly to medical school while still pursuing dance as another part of my life.  My strategy for this upcoming year so far is to basically put myself out for both medical school and professional dance companies and see what happens with my application and audition process.  Luckily, this term I am taking career seminar classes for both Biology and Dance which will help steer me in correct directions when going about apply to medical school and auditioning for companies.
This summer while I worked as a research intern in Buffalo, NY, I was busy completing my primary application for medical schools, as well as studying and taking the MCATs.  Wow! What job the application process is?!  I was really surprised by how complex the application for AAMC, which will be sent to the 17 medical schools I chose to apply to.  I'm very glad I started early in the summer.  I am currently waiting to have the application verified through AAMC and have begun to complete and submit secondary applications for the specific schools I applied.  It has been a stressful and worrisome process thus far and it will definitely continue this way for the rest of the application process.  I will keep you updated on my application process weekly.  Soon I should have some more information to discuss when my primary application is finally verified for submission.
As for my dance audition preparation, I have begun to research different cities and companies in which I would like to audition.  My Senior Pro-Seminar class with the Dance Dept will definitely help prepare me for this upcoming year.  We have already begun to discuss our future goals in class and have updated our resumes to make sure they are looking professional.  I will soon be preparing to take my head shots and dance photos in the next coming weeks for auditions.  And since I will be auditioning for a performance position, I have decided to create a performance DVD showing my dance technique and performance quality which can be used to serve as your audition in the instance that the audition venue is too far away or an inconvenient venture.

So as you can see, I will definitely be busy this year planning for the future.  I predict a lot of anxiety and stress as well but I know in the end it will all be worth it.  Excited and nervous for what is to come, I will keep you all updated on my journey this year!