Doctor-Melanie-Zell

Worst year of my life, thought Melanie as she stood on the inner side of the I65 highway, it’s 3AM. She just survived an intense car accident, with barely a few scratches to show.

Before getting into that, let’s go back a few hours.

* At the beginning of the evening *

Melanie was getting ready for a night on the town. As she was getting dressed, she was on the phone with one of her friends. “So where are we going tonight?” she asked. “No idea, but let’s do something good” her friend replied. Melanie told her friend she’ll pick her up in around 30 minutes and they’ll figure something out. She finished getting dressed and head out. She needed this night more than ever.

Driving through the streets of her friend’s neighborhood, Melanie started thinking about all she had passed over the past few weeks and how much she needed to unwind. She had just finished an extensive and intense period where she studied to pass an exam which would place her on a direct path to her dream job, being a physician.

After over two years studying, she had failed her entry exam once again. Her dream of being a medical doctor seemed very far away. Her self confidence and spirit was at an all time low and depression wasn’t far away.

Upon arriving at her friend’s house she saw she was waiting outside. She quickly got in the car and instanly saw that Melanie was under the blues. “You didn’t pass the exam?” asked her friend. “No…” replied Melanie embarrassedly. “I’m not sure what to say, I’m sure you’ll pass next year!” said he friend while trying to think of something more worthy to say.

During the drive, Melanie told her friend of the story of how she failed the exam and what it meant for her future. This sudden outbreak of feelings drove her over the edge and she started to cry uncontrollably. As her friend tried to comfort her, she noticed Melanie wasn’t paying too much attention to the road and began to steer to the side.

“Watch out!” shouted her friend. Melanie, stuck within her emotions, didn’t put much thought into this. They were now headed in the direction of hitting a yellow bus station. Again her friend yelled out and tried to grab the wheel. It was too late. They hit the station at full impact, taking Melanie by surprise.

Melanie opened her eyes. She had lost conscious. She saw the result of the accident, she had hit her head and was bleeding. She glanced over to her friend and saw she was crying uncontrollably in her seat, bruised up from the impact.

Although the car was a total loss, she felt grateful for being alive. The thoughts on her mind just half an hour ago seemed ages ago. “Who cares of stupid medical school” she thought to herself, she almost died. She felt embarrassed that her silly worries about med school had resulted in her and her friends close encounter with death. She felt even lower than before, but at the same time very happy to be given a second chance. She vowed to herself she wouldn’t let a “slight uncomfort” in life ever feel that way again.

After being driven to the hospital, they patched her up. As she was lying in her hospital bed waiting to be discharged, her smartphone beeped. She took it in her hands to see who was looking for her. She saw it was an email with the subject “Harvard Waiting list”. Her heart jumped a beat. “We are glad to let you know we’re adding you to our waiting list for the upcoming fall”. At seeing these words, her body filled with utmost joy. She forgot all about her awful night and accident and just thought about her dream coming true.

Written by Tomer Dean