Conference

My university hosted a small conference a couple weeks ago, and I was able to attend a couple sessions. I attended one panel on identity development, and learned that while identity development is primarily concentrated in early adulthood, it is a lifelong process. It was encouraging to think that my identity is malleable; I have a new identity as a wife, even a new name as I go through the name change process. My professional identity can also change over the course of my life as I refine my interest and explore different niches. The thing that stood out to me during the panel on identity development was how one panelist kept emphasizing that it is perfectly acceptable for young adult to drop out of college if they find that being a college student does not fit their developing identity. People often think of dropping out as failure, and I have carried that feeling of failure because I dropped out of my neuroscience graduate program. I shouldn't see it as failure, but as courage to decide to make a change when my present circumstances don't fit my identity. I find myself in the same predicament, feeling like my present job does not fit me as a person.

It is difficult not to get discouraged by my circumstances, but I should view it as another learning experience. I was encouraged by another seminar on bioethics whereby the speaker spent some time explaining how she started her career in medical school, but quit just before getting assigned a residency. It was so good to hear that another person has gone through the same experiences as I. She said that it is imperative to have patience because things will work out over time. She did some consulting for lawyers who's clients had health complications because they had been exposed to asbestos or some other toxin at work. She decided to go to law school and now specializes in the intersection of law and health, including bioethics. Her story was so encouraging; she disliked her rounds in medical school, taking patients problems home with her and crying frequently. It just wasn't a good fit for her, but she found a perfect fit in law school. If someone else went though a difficult time in the wrong field but eventually found the right field for them, then I can have hope that I will someday find a career that fits me better than my current position.