Rejection: A Roadblock or a Detour?

Welcome back friends :-)

Let’s talk about rejection. First, can we be honest with ourselves for one minute? Can we all admit that rejection is one of the hardest things to accept because oftentimes we are left with so many unanswered questions. Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? And these questions play over and over in our minds when trying to understand our rejections. However, I also want you to think to yourselves – what came after that rejection? Did your world stop turning? Did you suddenly stop existing? I’m assuming the answer is no since you are reading this blog post. I won’t sit here and pretend I still don’t struggle with rejection because that is far from the truth, but what I can tell you is that I know rejection is more than the answer “no.”

During my senior year of college, I applied to two medical schools. (Cringe... if you do not know, you should definitely apply to way more schools than that. Cast that net far and wide... I speak from experience). That year, I received rejection letters to both medical schools. Although I cannot say I was totally surprised by the outcome, I can say that what I felt after that final rejection will always stay with me. It was a wave of sadness that I had yet to experience. I felt as if I had let all of those people who were rooting for me down. What was worse is that I also felt like all the negative things I thought people believed about me was true. I will not say I have the answers as to how to heal from rejection. What I can say is that in time, you will understand why.

I am going to share a snippet of my personal statement for medical school and hopefully you will gain an understanding of why my rejection to medical school was one of the better things to happen to me.

“...Fast forward to where I find myself in the auditorium of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I remember sitting in orientation and hearing the orienteer ask, “What makes pediatric patients different from adult patients?” In my head, I gave a generic medical answer, but the responses of my peers have stuck with me to this day. They proclaimed that when children are sick, you may not notice they are sick. Children will continue to run and dance down the halls giggling as if the hospital was their own playground. Their innocence and sense of wonder carry them through treatment, while adults are all too aware of what may come.

I realize what a turning point that was for me. I had felt lost for many months after a rejection letter to medical school left my future uncertain. However, rejection was not my fate that year. Working at St. Jude helped me finally answer that question as to why I want to become a physician. I have a hope that one day I will be able to treat and care for the pediatric patients who often carry a fearless and hopeful resolve in the face of adversity...” Trisha Lipson

So, you see – without receiving those two rejection letters to medical school, I would have never ended up at St. Jude nor would I be attending the University of Washington School of Medicine (in my opinion – an amazing medical school). Rejection may hurt (that is a definite understatement in some situations), but it is never a final “no.” You have the opportunity to make something out of that rejection. Continuing to grow stronger and bettering yourself are two things that rejection cannot take away from you.