So, in case you didn't know, I'm a huge idiot and for some reason want to pursue medical school. This is a tall order for any one of any background. I grew up in some very poor circumstances. So much so that moving to the "projects" was an improvement at one point. You know, the place that gets labeled as the hood and shows up on so many different depictions of the disparity of America. Yeah, that was better. To make it more difficult, I'm a high-school dropout. I got a job as a dishwasher when I was around grade 9 to help my mother pay her bills so my brothers wouldn't become homeless again. I jumped on college before I was ready and really messed it up. (Was more worried about where I was going to sleep or eat, than showing up for class.) I figured my chances ended there, but for some reason I just can't let the idea go. So here I am, in middle age ten years (or more) after the fact trying to make it happen.

A friend of mine really encouraged me to do this while we were in paramedic class together. He totally talked me into pursuing it. He's in medical school now, having already done a majority of the coursework, and I'm trying to catch up. Probably 1.5-2 years out from applying. He grew up in a more affluent neighborhood than I. He's also black. He told me medical schools were more lenient in what grades they accept from unrepresented minorities in an effort to create more diversity.

This is kind of messed up on multiple fronts. Imagine being like him, an underrepresented minority and having it hang over your head that you got in under the guise of a diversity effort despite being qualified. That seems insulting to me. On the other side of the coin you have people like me who are assumed to have every advantage but in reality not so much. Even the systems that attempt to make things "fair" aren't all too fair.