After making the decision to change my major to Biology at Florida Memorial University (FMU) I had a bit of push back. How could an Education major switch to Biology? Who does that? My professors were shocked because usually it’s the other way around. People who started off majoring in Biology would have their dreams to go into healthcare shattered once they reached a “certain professor” or once they hit Organic Chemistry….the class known to determine whether or not you would continue on to get a degree in the sciences. Here is a little taste of it below:

So yeah, I was a bit different. During the first week of my Organic Chemistry class we were given an assignment to write about our career goals and where we saw ourselves 10 years from now. Bet. I’ve been asked to do that since freshman year at Turner Tech. But since I changed to Bio I really had to think about what path I would take to become a doctor. So, I really took my time with explaining my interest in becoming a physician and wrote a quote at the end of the essay which said, “A purpose is an eternal condition for success”. It’s a quote from Theodore Thornton Munger. I explained that as long as I determined what my purpose is in life and pursue it I will be eternally successful.

Well, my professor didn’t think so. Not only was I told that I could not become a doctor due to my GPA upon transferring my major but I was told that I had “Pseudo-intellectualism”. Now mind you, I did take Bio I and learned my prefixes. Pseudo means FALSE. Intellectualism=Intelligence, INTELLECT, rationale. I thought to myself, did she just call me stupid. Nah, that’s not what she meant.

Pseudointellectual (plural pseudointellectuals) A person who claims proficiency in scholarly or artistic activities while lacking in-depth knowledge or critical understanding. A person who pretends to be of greater intelligence than he or she in fact is.

I went to her to ask her about her comments and she reiterated that it was a NO for becoming a doctor and that my chosen quote showed I had pseudo intellectualism. After taking a deep breath and telling myself to Woo-Sah, I laughed and walked away.

This quote was written in 1881 and remixed in 1914 by a trade journal for pharmacists called “The Spatula” which stated:

[Nothing in the world will take the place of persistence. Talent will not—nothing is more common than unsuccessful men of talent. Genius will not—unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not—the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The two slogans, “Press on” and “Deliver the goods,” have solved, and always will solve, the problems of the human race.]

Bottom Line: I know myself and who I am. I know that whatever I pursue in life I WILL be successful in it because of my persistence. It doesn’t matter what career path you choose. As long as you’re passionate and you hustle, grind, persist and execute your goals you will be successful.

-Future Dr. Jones