It’s kind of like building a fire. Yes, the old “building a fire analogy” might be a weird, irrelevant, overused one. But for those who have built a fire or two, or for those who have the patience to hear this one out, it makes sense and it may be the guiding force that gets you through your first-year courses in biochemistry and anatomy (and all the others you may not necessarily enjoy or find pertinent to veterinary medicine).
During my first year, I had a terribly difficult time appreciating the significance of seemingly insignificant “core” courses like biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, statistics, and others.
“What’s the point?” “Why does this course matter?” “How is this course at all clinically significant?” “How will the Krebs cycle help me on clinics?” “Why do I need to know muscle insertions and origins and the stay apparatus and how many sinuses a cow has?” “Do I really need to know the difference between specificity and sensitivity? I hated stats in college, and I hate stats now and so does everyone else.”
Well, you can’t start a fire without properly dried and placed wood. If you don’t have perfectly seasoned wood, if you don’t master the basics of all those first-year core courses like biochemistry and anatomy, you won’t be able to build a fire. And, without a fire, you won’t be able to shine on clinics and provide your colleagues, faculty, and patients with the warmth of knowledge and competency you so desperately wish to provide.
Now, the source of the initial tiny flame that starts your fire? Well, that comes from within. That’s all on you. I don’t have an analogy for that.
