Why I chose dermatology.

I was not the kid who always knew that she was going to be a doctor when she grew up. At different points in time, I desperately wanted to be a zoologist, an architect, a makeup artist, a chemist, a journalist, and a fashion designer. But mid-way through college, when I finally came to the decision that I was going to medical school and told my parents — they said: Are you sure about that? Honey, don’t you understand that becoming a doctor is going to take a lot of hard work?

Although I felt a little exasperated at the time, it is a memory that I look back on with humor now. While all of my premed peers had parents who were (at times, aggressively) pushing them into the field of medicine, it seemed like I was the only one with family who encouraged me to reconsider my path. Now, I am thankful for parents who wanted to ensure that I was acting in my best interest and was aware of the realities of my choices. Going into medicine ignorant of the sacrifices that you will inevitably make isn’t helpful in the long run, and consciously pursuing this difficult course has been a reflection of my internal motivation to be a great doctor.

Several years later, now in medical school, I was at another crossroads: deciding my medical specialty. Telling my family that I wanted to be a dermatologist evoked eerily similar responses as before: Isn’t that one very competitive? Do you want to…