Sacrifice

Hello everyone! It’s officially August (the Sunday of the Summer) and I
have so much to share with you all! If you keep up with my FB or IG posts you
know that I was a part of the Acceleration program and it was pretty intense. (If you’re not sure what that is, I touch on it a lot more here). Our days were accounted for from 9:00 am to roughly 6:30 pm everyday for the
entire four weeks. We took Biology, Math, and
Chemistry introductory courses. During these classes, there were definitely times when I felt
discouraged because I am a Pre-Med student and if I didn’t immediately
understand the content I questioned my ability to persevere during the academic
year. I think it’s fair for me to say that I have worked harder during the
Acceleration program than I did in high school. Obviously, through prayer and
encouraging words, I made it.

When we weren’t in class, we were at seminars. We heard from a
pediatric surgeon, career services, the associate dean of VCU School of
Medicine, a music therapist, an—the list goes on and on. These people
definitely put everything in perspective for me and if anything, I’m even more
excited for the challenges that are coming my way.

After the seminars, our days were (kinda, sorta, but not really) over
and we went back to our dorms… to work on ALEKS. Some people have to use it for
math, but we used it for Chemistry. It was great for building a foundation in
Chemistry, however it got annoying when I was pressed for time and I’ll get
something wrong then my progress would be retracted.  In retrospect, I’m proud of myself for
pushing through and if I can get through ALEKS, I can get through anything.

Of course in between all of this chaos we had free time. I met some
amazing people that I get to share my freshmen year with and I got really
acquainted with the massive campus (Thank God). Time management is still
something that I’m working on. Since I will have more flexibility in the Fall,
I wasn’t too hard on myself with this one.

Overall, I officially think I know what sacrifice truly means. I
sacrificed a chunk of my Summer vacation, I sacrificed sleep, and I sacrificed
time with my family. The word sacrifice is usually used with a negative
connotation, but I feel like it ultimately signifies a contribution to
something.  In this case, my sacrifices
will serve as a contribution to my success at a huge university. 

I am grateful for this opportunity and I’d encourage all of the rising high school seniors to apply. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email or just leave it in the comment section. 

Thanks for Reading!