Embrace Your Calling

“Why do you want to go to pharmacy school?” I remember first hearing those words as a pre-professional student pharmacist, sitting across from a faculty member, in the middle of my interview to transition to the professional part of the Rutgers PharmD program. It was a pretty standard question, and an answer that my upperclassmen friends had told me how not to screw up. “All you have to do is say you want to help people. That’s it!,” they told me. And that’s exactly what I did. But if I were to be honest in answering that question, my answer would have been very different.

The truth is that I never wanted to go to pharmacy school, because my perception was that pharmacists only counted pills. I knew I wanted to use my career to help people and make a difference, but I never saw pharmacy as the way to do that. As a student pharmacist now, I wish I could tell you that I had a change of heart and I went to pharmacy school because I finally understood the value of the pharmacist, but to be honest, I only went to pharmacy school because I was rejected from every other school I had applied to.

I am sure some of you have had this hopelessness, a hollowing pit at the bottom of your stomach. That feeling when you have put so much time and energy into a “perfect” life plan, only to see one piece go wrong, and the entire thing come crashing down. But, whenever you look back after a few years, you are thrilled that your life changed course in that moment. It is possible that you are living the exact life you planned, but perhaps, despite your original intent, life has taken a different route.

Your calling is your purpose


The notion that your life can be moved in a direction different than what you intended begs the question: how? Your life, to some degree, has been shaped by what has been thrown your way and how you reacted. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own plans, we may forget that maybe life has already made plans for us, and in the moments where we feel pushed in a certain way, life is calling out to us, to tell us our purpose, and to guide us in that direction. Each of us have these callings at various points in our lives, moments where life nudges us in the direction we are meant to follow, even if it’s not where we ever imagined we would go. 

Your calling is what you are meant to do, and each moment of your past has been moving you in a direction to realize your calling. Even when you look back on the moments in your life where you were completely without hope, you were being called to realize your purpose. In realizing the connection between your calling and your purpose, you find your drive to seize those moments, embrace your calling, and find fulfillment. I remember the feeling of hopelessness as I realized I “had” to go to pharmacy school. But after realizing that maybe there was a reason life brought me here, and embracing my calling, I have found a feeling of fulfillment that has carried me through.

As a student pharmacist, you can get so caught up from day 1 in what everybody else is doing. You see somebody else as “successful,” so you try and emulate that person the best you can. You get caught up into the mentality of “I need to do something, because that person did.” And then pretty soon, you are swept away into pursuing somebody else’s plan or somebody else’s plan for you.

You also have a plan; it is your calling. From my experience, you already know what your calling is. It is what your passion is. And when you instead subscribe to a plan that follows your passion and embraces your calling, then you are headed to a lifetime of fulfillment.

APhA–ASP is here to help


Now, I also know that abandoning the feeling of comfort can be scary. It is natural to feel safe when you have a plan, and it is also natural to be afraid when you feel pulled toward something new. However, fear is just our way of preparing for the unknown future. But, if you embrace your calling, and understand that doing so takes you to where you are meant to go, there isn’t necessarily a reason to be afraid.

Fear of the future is one of most prominent causes for the deterioration of your mental health. You get a bad grade on an exam, then you are afraid that you won’t be able to get into the program you wanted. That fear causes stress and anxiety, and the feeling that you are all alone. You are not alone. Your APhA–ASP community is always ready to support you. So don’t shy away when you feel called to something new. Embrace your fears and know that your APhA–ASP community will be there to guide you as you undertake this new part of your life.

So this year, I challenge each of you to find your purpose, and to surrender yourself to your passions. Regardless of where you are in your lives, there is a reason you are there. You have been called for this moment. Embrace Your Calling and be ready to make your impact on the world this year!