From Foster Care to Medicine

Tag: guide

  • How to Study When Nobody Taught You How

    How to Study When Nobody Taught You How

    Growing up in foster care, academics weren’t a priority in my world. Nobody around me cared about school, and for a while, neither did I. I was naturally curious and did well enough to float—above a 3.0 GPA, even though I rarely kept up with assignments or stayed organized. I was the kind of kid who could ace the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT)—our state’s standardized test—without really studying. I got told my scores were perfect. I was quiet, but I still stood out.

    I’m not saying this to flex. I’m saying this because coasting on talent is dangerous—especially if nobody shows you what hard work looks like.

    In high school, I took AP classes and passed them with minimum effort. I thought I’d be an inventor or entrepreneur one day. College wasn’t a mission—it was just a way to live off my scholarship while I figured things out. I didn’t care about grades. I just did what I needed to graduate.

    Then Everything Changed

    Right before my junior year of college, I realized I wanted to be a physician. Not just someone with a job—but a leader, a healer, and someone who could use their academic gifts for something bigger than themselves. I wanted a career that still left space for innovation, creativity, and ownership—but now, the stakes were real.

    Suddenly, test scores weren’t just a point of pride—they were the barrier between me and medical school. I needed to be perfect. But I had no study system. No foundation. No experience dealing with academic pressure.

    I was now competing against students who’d been preparing their whole lives. I couldn’t fake it anymore. So I asked myself: how can I quickly turn myself into a competitive student?

    I Studied the Brain to Learn How to Learn

    I was always drawn to neuroscience, so I started taking cognitive science and psychology courses—not just to meet requirements, but to understand how the brain learns. I applied those lessons to my own habits. I took a job as a Supplemental Instruction Leader for organic chemistry, one of the hardest premed classes. I started tutoring students across nearly every core premedical subject—and in the process, I taught myself how to thrive.

    What I learned didn’t just change my GPA. It changed the way I saw learning. It gave me the tools to succeed in med school interviews, earn multiple MD acceptances, and win scholarships to every school I applied to.

    So no, this post isn’t about being gifted. It’s about getting tactical. Let me show you the tools that helped me level the playing field.

    7 Study Principles That Actually Work (Even If Nobody Taught You How)

    There’s no one-size-fits-all method for learning. But if you keep an open mind and give these a shot, I promise something here will click. I’ve used these myself, taught them to students across the country, and watched them work. These are strategies I genuinely like—and I think they can help you too.

    1. You’re Not Just a “Visual Learner”

    The idea that you’re only a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner is outdated. In truth, your brain learns best when it gets information in multiple ways. Watch a video → sketch it out → explain it to someone → write it from memory. The more senses and formats you involve, the stronger your recall and understanding.

    Quick Tip: Try “dual coding”—combine visuals with verbal explanations to make ideas stick faster.

    2. Start Ugly: Use the Inertia Trick

    Struggling with discipline? Stop waiting for motivation. Count down from 5—like a rocket launch—and start before you feel ready. This “inertia trick” works because action creates momentum. The hardest part of studying is often starting. Don’t wait to feel ready. Jump in.

    3. Break It Into: “Know / Don’t Know”

    Overwhelmed by a topic? Get a sheet of paper. Make two columns:

    • What I Know
    • What I Don’t Know

    This gives your brain structure. Now you’re not facing a mountain—you’re facing a checklist. Focus your energy where it’s actually needed.

    4. Use Analogy to Anchor the Abstract

    If something’s confusing, connect it to something familiar. When I tutored organic chemistry, I’d compare electron movement to magnets. Most people get magnets. So instead of blindly memorizing, they actually understood the forces at play. That’s real learning.

    5. Pomodoro: Time-Box Your Focus

    The Pomodoro Technique is simple:

    • Study 25 minutes
    • Break 5 minutes
    • Repeat 3–4 times, then take a longer break

    It keeps your focus sharp without burnout. Use a timer and put your phone away. This is structure for people who were never taught structure.

    6. Priming: Warm Up Your Brain

    Before you dive into dense material, skim it. Look at headings, summaries, and bolded words. Ask yourself: what do I think this is about?
    This is called priming. It prepares your brain to learn by activating prior knowledge. You’ll absorb more with less effort.

    6.5 Use Lectures as Review, Not Just Discovery

    Most students walk into lecture blind and treat it like the first time they’re seeing the material. Flip that. If you skim the reading or review slides before class—even for just 10–15 minutes—you’ll understand the lecture way better. You’ll recognize what’s important, ask better questions, and stay engaged.

    Then after class, do a quick review. That alone gives you three spaced exposures to the material:

    1. Before class
    2. During lecture
    3. After class

    That’s spaced repetition built right into your day—no fancy app required.

    7. Regulate Your Nervous System

    Stress shuts down learning. If you’re anxious, try box breathing:

    • Inhale 4 seconds
    • Hold 4 seconds
    • Exhale 4 seconds
    • Hold 4 seconds

    Do this for a few rounds before studying or taking an exam. It brings your nervous system into balance so your brain can actually focus.

    Bonus Tips: Mastering Exams and Memory

    Struggle Is Part of Learning

    If studying feels hard, good. That means your brain is doing real work. Struggle—when paired with strategy—leads to deep, long-lasting understanding. Don’t avoid it. Lean in.

    Write Your Own Test Questions

    Want to get better at exams? Become the test maker. As you study, try to predict what questions could be asked. This forces you to think critically, not just passively. It also reveals what you don’t know—so you can fix it before test day.

    Honestly, I’d be a bad tutor if I didn’t regularly check for understanding. That’s not just about facts—it’s about how you’re thinking. My life experiences as a foster kid are vastly different from someone who grew up with structure, consistency, or a different type of support system. We both see the world differently. So what works for them might not work for me—and vice versa.

    That’s why checking for understanding matters. Not just copying what someone else did, but making sure it actually lands in your brain. And if it doesn’t? That’s not failure. That just means it’s time to pivot, adjust, and take a different route.

    Spaced Repetition > Cramming

    Cramming might get you through a quiz, but it won’t stick. Instead, aim to review material at spaced intervals:

    • Right after learning
    • A day later
    • A few days later
    • A week later
    • Before the test

    Seeing the same material 5–7 times over weeks cements it into long-term memory. Use tools like Anki or make a schedule manually.

    Bonus: Optimize Sleep, Diet, and Exercise

    If your body is off, your brain will be too. Some of the biggest study gains I made came from outside the books:

    • Get consistent sleep (aim for 7–8 hours)
    • Fuel your brain with real food—don’t rely on vending machine snacks
    • Exercise a few times a week—even walking helps regulate stress and boost focus

    And while this isn’t medical advice, I’ll say from personal experience: I found creatine to be helpful for mental endurance and focus. If that’s something you’re considering, definitely consult your doctor first.

    Final Thoughts

    If you didn’t grow up in a household where studying was modeled or prioritized, it can feel like you’re behind. But you’re not broken. You’re just new to the system. I had to teach myself how to study—and now I teach others how to do the same.

    Nobody handed me discipline. I had to build it. Nobody explained how memory works. I had to learn it. And I’m still learning every day.

    You can succeed in school even if nobody showed you how. Start small. Stay open. And don’t let early struggle trick you into thinking you’re not meant for greatness.

    Relevant Sources & Additional Reading

    • Dual Coding Theory and Student Retention: ResearchGate
    • Pomodoro Technique and Break Structures: PubMed
    • Spaced Repetition and Long-Term Memory: PMC
    • Priming and Learning Activation: Faculty Focus
    • Box Breathing and Stress Reduction: PMC
    • Sleep, Diet, and Exercise Impact on Cognition: ScienceDirect
    • Creatine and Cognitive Function: Nature
  • Who Am I Without a Map? Morals, Identity, and Growing Up Without a Guide

    Who Am I Without a Map? Morals, Identity, and Growing Up Without a Guide

    I spent a lot of time as a kid wondering who I was.

    When you grow up in the foster care system, identity doesn’t come with a family crest or neatly passed-down traditions. Instead, it’s a question you carry everywhere. I used to wonder about my real family—were they rich or poor? Were they smart? Where did I come from, and what did that say about me?

    I had light brown hair and freckles that confused people. I spoke in a way other Black kids said sounded “white.” And depending on which home I was placed in, my religion would change—I vividly remember one year practicing Judaism, Jehovah’s Witness, and Christianity all in the same twelve months. You learn to adapt. You learn to survive. But in the process, you also learn to question your identity at every turn.

    Morals or Survival?

    Looking back, I wonder if my early “morals” were really just survival instincts. I had a strong aversion to lying or stealing—not because anyone sat me down and taught me that, but because I desperately wanted to be seen as someone who belonged in society. I wanted to be good. I wanted to be accepted.

    That said, those values stuck. Even when being honest made me look bad, I told the truth. I hated violence and, at one point in my life, I even committed to pacifism. Maybe they started as survival tactics, but they became part of who I am.

    Hyper-Adaptability and a Fragile Sense of Self

    When your identity is fragile—when you don’t know where you fit—you start to hide yourself. Or sometimes, you become hyper-individualized just to stand out, to prove you’re not invisible. I think that carried with me well into adulthood. I became good at code-switching, at mirroring others, trying to survive in rooms where I didn’t feel like I belonged. But the downside is it can seriously mess with your sense of self.

    You can start to wonder: who am I really, when I’m not adapting to survive?

    Learning to Choose Myself

    Adulthood became the turning point. For me, building a real sense of identity started with asking:
    What kind of person do I want to be when this life is over? What experiences do I want? Who do I want to have been?

    That’s when I started taking control. I began connecting with communities that gave me a sense of meaning—whether it was people I met at the basketball court or others in the medical field. Pursuing medicine sharpened my focus on ethics, professionalism, and work ethic. I wanted to be someone people trust. I wanted to contribute. And I wanted to learn how to connect with people who were nothing like me.

    I also started saying something I never had the courage to say before:
    “This is who I am.”
    Because I realized that growth wouldn’t come unless I accepted myself first.

    I Still Struggle Sometimes

    Even now, I struggle with self-worth. I look around at classmates who seem to know exactly how to navigate competitive fields like surgery. They move with certainty and confidence I didn’t grow up seeing. But I remind myself: I’m not here to copy anyone’s path. I’m here to build mine—based on the values I’ve earned through living.

    And when you’re trying to enter a field like medicine—where stability, confidence, and polish are almost assumed—it can feel like you’re playing catch-up in every direction. I didn’t grow up learning how to network, how to ask for help, or how to even picture myself in these spaces. The grit is there, but sometimes the polish takes longer to develop. That gap, if unspoken, can quietly shape who makes it and who doesn’t.

    You Don’t Need a Map to Move Forward

    If you’re reading this and you’ve also grown up without stability—whether in foster care, trauma, or any other form of instability—I hope you know this:

    You are not broken.

    You haven’t been handed a blueprint, but that doesn’t mean you can’t draw your own. You can choose your values. You can become someone you’re proud of. For me, basketball helped. Medicine helped. So did a few faculty mentors who saw something in me. It all helped—but only once I decided to stop running from my story and start building with it.

    Final Thoughts

    I’ve moved homes 18 times. I’ve been praised in failing schools and humbled in elite ones. I’ve been an outsider in almost every room I’ve walked into. But I’ve also built something I never had growing up: a sense of who I am.

    And I’m still building.

    You don’t need a map to get where you’re going. You just need the courage to keep moving, and the honesty to make sure it’s really you walking the path.

  • The Foster Kid in the White Coat

    The Foster Kid in the White Coat

    I’m not a doctor yet. But I’ve gotten farther than I was supposed to.

    I didn’t grow up around medicine — not in my home, not in my neighborhood, not in the system I came up through.

    I grew up in Florida’s foster care system and started this journey with more questions than answers, and fewer resources than most. What I did have — and still have — is grit.

    Medicine hasn’t always gone my way. I’ve had a few missteps. Moments that made me question if I could keep up, if I belonged, or if this was even possible.

    But the way I see it, perseverance is part of the training.

    I’m currently on a research year — learning, growing, and building. I started this blog to document the path as I walk it, not from the finish line.

    If you’re coming from a place where you weren’t expected to succeed — and you’re trying anyway — I hope this space reminds you that you’re not alone.