EPISODE 27: LEAH BLOWES

July 19, 2020

Tell me a little bit about how you got here?
 
My family started to move around a lot when I was 8 years old. Those were formative years when stability was critical, but I had very little. We moved from Canada to Connecticut to Tennessee to Ohio; it was difficult. I learned of the challenges of dealing with anxiety and depression at a very young age. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have a caring mother who understood the importance of mental health. I got the resources I needed, and the experiences instilled within me a very important philosophy: find solutions, not excuses. I’ve tried to approach all aspects of my life with that mind.

When I graduated from college at Ohio University, I was at a crossroad. The commencement speaker was Atul Gawande, the famed author of Being Mortal. I listened in awe, learning that this man also grew up in Ohio and the gravity of his achieved greatness in medicine and literature. I reflected on my business degree with a second thoughts but decided to stay the course. Even so, the seed that would later blossom into the decision to pursue medicine was planted.

I wore many hats throughout my young adult life in Ohio. In college I spent two summers working for the Dear Jack Foundation, a cancer non-profit where I got a chance to gain experience with the working world. One of my most memorable experiences was organizing the merchandise tent on Warped Tour, a convenient juxtaposition with my passion for music. After graduating, that passion drove me towards working for a company called Alternative Press, a music publication where I worked for about a year before the monotony got to me. I feared my growth was stunted in my role and I had greater ambitions than what Ohio could offer me. I decided to take one of the biggest gambles of my life. I sold my car and numerous possessions, and I moved to New York City.

When I had arrived, I was jobless and alone, but I had discipline and tenacity. In a way, my childhood prepared me for this move. I had one month to find work before the sublet expired. The work that I found, however, was not going to allow me to continue down the path of music any longer. It was a tech startup, one of the many that rose during the post-’08 recession recovery period. I worked in sales as a development rep, which is a really fancy way to say, “someone who takes calls all day.” It was kind of awful, but I was 23, I was making decent money, I was in Brooklyn, it was 2013, and it was an awesome time to be young in New York City – so it was pretty cool. I worked there for 3 years before reaching the same growth-stunted mid-level position I was previously in. That was when I reflected on the seed that was planted about 5 years earlier. I thought to myself: What about medical school? I always loved Grey’s Anatomy and ER, and I constantly read through media about medicine. I wasn’t naïve, though. I knew there was a big mountain to climb and I suspected I would have to make big changes to my life. I remained hesitant until I was let go from my job – I took the hint. I registered for the Fordham post-bac program immediately.
 
How has the theme of growth versus stagnation played a role in your life?
 
I wrote about this in many of my essays for Fordham and then for medical school applications. I know I have to push myself towards change even though it’s really hard. After all, things don’t always change as drastically as you might think. When I was hesitant to pivot towards medicine, I thought I would be giving up not only my job but also my comfortable apartment, financial security, and routine. However, not a lot changed. I stayed in the same apartment. I still had the same friends and boyfriend. I just had a different job to do. Although I did need to pay the bills, so I became a nanny for two families in Brooklyn. I was still very busy, but it felt like a different kind of busy. When you don’t find your job fulfilling, it grinds you down. You come home and don’t do anything because you’re mentally exhausted. School is exhausting too, but the path towards medicine is a more fulfilling one. Whereas I used to have very little energy to engage in other activities after work, I now have a chance to grow in different ways. I’m more productive in my off time because I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to pursue a challenge. Before returning to school, I felt like I was shrinking. When you’re not learning, you’re not growing, and I felt like I stopped learning for a long time after college. Medicine turned out to be the perfect fit for me because it’s a lifelong commitment to learning and growing.
 
What’s something fun most people might not know about you?
 
That’s something that many people may not know about me. I am into vintage video games and some nerdy cultural icons like Star Wars. I smile when I think about how quickly I became a Williamsburg stereotype after moving to New York – I’m on the L train, playing Pokémon Yellow on my Gameboy Color, on my way to my startup job at the Google building where I can get coffee from the office barista.  Star Wars is a big series for me. I actually spent much of the week leading up to my MCAT just re-watching those movies over and over, and it worked out! My old coworkers and I still constantly send Star Wars memes to each other on Slack. It’s an interesting thing how the “nerdy” label evolves over time. When I was younger, it was the worst thing to imagine myself as a “nerd,” but now it’s widely considered a positive title. I don’t like the idea of the label though, because I like to do plenty of conventionally non-nerdy things like weightlifting and camping, but I also love to stay inside sometimes and knit, play videogames, and watch Star Wars. I like to just focus on the qualities I see in myself.

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify? 
Sleeping At Last, Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, Andrew McMahon, and the Game of Thrones soundtrack

If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
I wish I could control the weather, sometimes you just need a rainy day

Pick something or someone from NYMC to give a shout-out to!
Mod 308, exam days aren't the same without y'all

If someone wants to talk to you, they should lead with:
Anything fitness/nutrition related!