The Autistic Pre-Vet Student

How to describe this episode... I've been slacking on the podcast front for December, so this episode is all over the place. I talk about the sad fate of my laptop (laptops cannot have a little Starbucks, not even as a treat), being sick and gaining the power of crackly pre-pubescent boy vocal abilities, saying goodbye to the decade, and greeting the new decade. I talk about aging and my planned rebellion/celebration of aging this year, and Multiple Mini Interview preparations. Plus some sadness about a cat. Enjoy, and Happy New Years! Bye bye 2019. 

I have trouble saying no, and I've had this problem for a while. It kind of made me get in trouble at work recently, and it leads me to keep taking on too many things, risking getting overwhelmed and burnt out. Do I have a solution? Absolutely not! This is a rambling episode with no satisfying conclusion, so if you want a tight narrative with a happy ending, look elsewhere. In addition, how about I tell you about llamas orgling and MMI "secrets"? 

Note: I forgot to put one of my cats away, and was hyperfocused on recording. Because of this there are a lot of super annoying background noises (especially in the first ~5m) as she was scratching on the dog's bed to try and get my attention. Also yodeling. Sorry. 

In this episode I delve shallowly into a question that's been bothering me for a while. So many of my pre-veterinary peers and veterinary student friends are very happy to proclaim that they have a Type A personality! I don't think I do, and it has made me question if I'll succeed in the veterinary profession. 

I was hoping to do a longer, academic/literature based episode, but sadly am in the middle of a semester, and won't have time to do that till December or later. 

Also note: sound quality is really off/volume inconsistent. There were some issues recording this episode. 

I'm a firm believer in the cheesy mantra that "there's no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." This means I'm always pushing my own boundaries (while balancing my sanity / avoiding burnouts or meltdowns), and working to improve myself. Two of the comfort zones I pushed in the past couple weeks resulted in my discovering that not all discomfort leads to growth. Some discomfort just leads to... more discomfort, mild disappointment, and feelings of unease. 

On the plus side, applications for the vet school I'm applying to opened today, so that is a new and exciting thing that I'm dedicating a good portion of my mind to! I'm also beginning dedicated preparations for the interviews themselves, as, despite being almost 6 months away, I feel like I need to begin preparing now. I'd rather prepare a tiny bit each week for 6 months, than leave it all to cram into the last month or weeks.