I did not decide to become a physician until I was in my late 20's and did not actually apply to medical school until I was 30 years old. At this juncture in my life, I was happily married, had a 6-year-old daughter, and was well into my original career choice, which was as a firefighter and a paramedic. It was not at all easy to return to college full-time while I worked full-time and enjoyed my family. I knew that I wanted to be a physician, however, and was prepared to do what was necessary to accomplish this. My intention from the beginning was to matriculate into a United States medical s...