I don’t known what career to pick

Hey, obviously I can’t say my name but for all accounts & purposes let’s say it’s soleil. I’m Soleil, I’m 17 in high school graduating thing year in June. For the last few years I’ve had my heart set on a plan. Graduate, go into biology at UOFT & go into med school after my undergrad & go into a general surgery residency. Now though, I’m not too sure, I ended up going through a lot, my grandma left & most of my family left, by most I mean I lost contact with all but my parents. I changed my major to English Literature & decided to use my electives to take my prerequisites for med school. If i’m being honest though, I’m at a cross roads. I love surgery & I think I always will but I think I could also be content being a teacher or professor with a side of writing. Then I think about it again, with being a teacher, I love being social & I envy my teachers, the way they’re able to inspire me. Though I get scared that I’ll always envy my students, achieving what I never did. Would I end up regretting everything? or would it be something i’d love forever. I’ve loved surgery for years, I’ve wanted to be a surgeon since I was 13 years old. So why would I quit now? I don’t know, there’s so many factors & I have no idea what to do. Any thoughts? — SoleilC

Hey Soleil! Sorry for the wait... "Hey, obviously I can’t say my name" You could, actually. Too many people out there (this is international) in your same boat with your same name, age, etc. An ATOM of a needle in a haystack, that makes you. No worries. ...unless, of course, you might end up staying, in which case - good call. "I’m 17 in high school graduating thing year in June." Graduating thing? Haha. "Sick!" (- is that correct?) "For the last few years I’ve had my heart set on a plan. Graduate, go into biology at UOFT & go into med school after my undergrad & go into a general surgery residency." Med school and gen surgery? OOOH. Fascinating. (Take it you don't mind blood and gore - or just not when in a benign, clinical setting, then?) "Now though, I’m not too sure, I ended up going through a lot, my grandma left & most of my family left, by most I mean I lost contact with all but my parents." What do you mean, left? What country are you in? Left for what reasons? Well, anyway, as I've just finished explaining to Original Poster "Jae" - psychologically, after a trauma like that, you'll be in a chysallis right now, recovering, processing and 'getting over it' (beating your new butterfly wings against its membrane in order to break free/out and start soaring). We only grow during painful times. Think of it as Growing Pains of the mind. Feels terrible, but is a good thing that you'll all too soon be grateful for.) "I changed my major to English Literature & decided to use my electives to take my prerequisites for med school." Clever decision. You obviously sense you've already got Uni of Life work piled-up in your head, huh. "If i’m being honest though, I’m at a cross roads. I love surgery & I think I always will but I think I could also be content being a teacher or professor with a side of writing." Well - GREAT, then! :) What's wrong with changing your mind, anyway? That's what happens when things change: feelings and attitudes change. Isn't this just a plan update? "Then I think about it again, with being a teacher, I love being social & I envy my teachers, the way they’re able to inspire me. Though I get scared that I’ll always envy my students, achieving what I never did." Huh? Why would you? What, you feel you're settling? WHY? Me, I see those two Rescuer roles as equal, bar one difference: Teaching PREVENTS trouble, surgery fixes it after-the-fact. "Prevention is better than cure". "Would I end up regretting everything?" I suspect not. Your updated feet have voted. Why not trust them? You do know they're secretly the boss of you, don't you? "or would it be something i’d love forever." Clearly. Else you wouldn't have typed that - including like that. Haha. See how that works? "I’ve loved surgery for years, I’ve wanted to be a surgeon since I was 13 years old. So why would I quit now? I don’t know, there’s so many factors & I have no idea what to do. Any thoughts?" BECAUSE YOU'VE DEVELOPED AND CHANGED....and got to know yourself better (courtesy of that multi-trauma....s'ow it werks, innit :)) And that's why you sound ffffffar more enthusiastic now about teaching. :) Is this your first-ever or biggest, life-affecting decision so far? PS: If you look into it, I think you'll find it very eye-opening to find that MOST people had a plan in mind that they then veered from. Wildly, in my case. What's the saying? - 'Life is what happens while you're busy making plans'?