Can you embrace change in your most vulnerable form?
Leila Gosto is a third-year PharmD candidate at MCPHS University School of Pharmacy Worcester.
What if I told you to pack all of your favorite things into your car and move more than 800 miles away? Well, that’s what I did!
Growing up, when we were on vacation, I remember we all used to say we were “never coming back home!” But how many people from your hometown actually left? If you’re reading this, you may or may not have already made a big move for pharmacy school; however, you could also be potentially moving for residency. You’re moving to a new place, with a new job, and new things to learn. Can you embrace change in your most vulnerable form?
Retaking control
I moved from northern Kentucky—the home which holds a big part of my heart and a bigger part of my everyday thinking—to Rhode Island. I did this, alone, with no friends or family to follow me. I let go of a lot of tears during the first few months as I was in a new job, school program, and new house. Why? Because I was terrified. I was afraid of change and failure. I was petrified of coming home to see changes there.
After some time, I remembered the world never stopped spinning for anyone back home, so I could not keep pausing my life here. I had to retake control of my time and my mental health, and I threw myself into new and old hobbies outside of pharmacy life. I romanticized my life again by joining new communities, like a running club, and I took up new skills. For example, I started baking sourdough bread and documenting my learning process. Who knew that my co-workers would be so excited to get their weekly sourdough bake from me?
It’s hard and it never gets easier. You only get stronger.
Be the authentic you
At the end of the day, you have to be authentically you wherever you go. No interviewer or new manager will ask you about your favorite blue ink pen that you used at the pharmacy. Instead, be open. What did you pack in your car? Tell us about your hobbies. Why do you carry that specific key chain? What’s your favorite thing to do with your best friend?
Embrace your most authentic, true self. Find your new community and go into it completely vulnerable. It will be hard, and it will challenge you. However, it doesn’t have to change you. You may be someone who doesn’t believe in things happening for a reason, but there will be something in this new place waiting for you to find it.