Today, I’ve chosen happiness. I’ve embraced love. I’ve decided not to let the worries that encompass this life get the best of me. I’ve decided to renew my mind.

Since my last post, a few challenges and many triumphs have come my way.

Triumphs:

1. Attended Second Look Weekend (SLW) and fell in love with the school all over again.

It was such a great feeling walking on-campus and encountering interviewers who I have not seen since my interview in October. Even greater, was the moment an interviewer told me how happy he was to hear that I had been chosen. (Score!)

2. I am officially a Bruin!

April 30^th came, and as the day passed, I felt great knowing that I would spend the next four years with individuals who are passionate about community-based medicine in underserved communities.

3. Connected with friends, family, and colleagues

These past few months I’ve done everything a tourist in LA would do. (Prepare for the wave of cliche-ness) I’ve climbed to the Hollywood sign,

stood in line for Chai2o boba, laughed until my sides hurt and marveled at sunsets over the beach. It has been epic to say the least. What makes it memorable is the fact that I get to share these moments with loved ones. Although I’ll be physically close to my loved ones, the reality is I may not be around as often as I’d like once school starts.

Challenges

4. Negative Nancy– To the third power

Pessimistic.

Discouraged.

Whew! I am experiencing it all at the moment. A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about medical school. She asked the usual questions like “Are you excited?”, but my responses were catastrophically negatively. She later asked why I was so negative, and finally I mustered up the courage to tell her I felt insecure. Secretly, I wondered if I was accepted by mistake and prepared for the day my acceptance would be rescinded. (Yeah, these thoughts were getting too real.) Before I could dive deeper into this negative abyss, my friend asked me a simple question. “Why have you given up before you’ve even begun?”

I was totally mind-blown. Am I really giving off that vibe?

Although I did not want to admit it, she was right. Instead of wallowing in these feelings of insecurity, she challenged me to replace these thoughts with positive ones. So, that’s what I am going to do. Please hold me accountable y’all…

Tips on Renewing Your Mindset-

Becoming Positive Patricia

Lately, I have thought of ways to get over these negative feelings and have come up with a few practical solutions.

• Positive Affirmations

Write them on your bathroom mirror (with dry erase markers, of course, lol) or even on small index cards. These affirmations can range from quotes, power scriptures to self-created mantras. Keep these affirmations in an area where they can easily be reached when you are feeling negative.

• Accountability

Share your “Positive Patricia” goal with a close friend and ask them to keep you accountable. Accountability does not mean your friend berates you when you become negative, but your friend can help you to see the positive in a given situation.

If you have any additional tips, feel free to leave them below.