Dr. Janice My quarter-life crisis was figuring out what to do with my “free time” after I graduated with my doctorate degree. I celebrated the end of the #poorgradstudent chapter of my life and moved into the #payoffstudentloans phase by landing my first job as a new audiologist. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to think about homework! It was great until I realized that up until this moment, I didn’t give myself much opportunity to develop hobbies or interests about anything unrelated to audiology.
For two decades, my life revolved around school. Being a student was tough because I missed out on fun “stuff” when my waking hours were consumed by classes, exams, clinicals, projects, and blehh. My goals and achievements for a majority of my life thus far were centered around becoming an audiologist.
Was it worth it? Absolutely.
I love what I do and I know there’s so much potential for the field of audiology to grow in the near future. I am also excited about my upcoming transition to a new (medical clinic) setting! I enjoy talking about audiology and educating anyone who wants to listen about hearing heath. I light up when friends ask me about something ear-related or show me news articles about my profession.
BUT – my career does not define who I am as a person. Being an audiologist is not the only thing I care about. Life is about finding balance and I want to share that there is more to me than being an audiologist. I’m full of sass, I love to be awkward, and I can’t wait for this pandemic to be over so that I can travel to other parts of the world (safely)!
Doctors in every field are humans too and it’s important to recognize that there is more to them than their white coats. We have families and interests in things outside of healthcare and science. For recent graduates like myself, finding those hobbies and embracing other aspects of our identity will take time after we’ve secured a future for our career.
Self reflection is necessary and something we don’t do often enough. Thank you for being part of my blogging journey.
