Hi, I'm Heather, and I'm a pre-med student. I want to become a doctor.

I came into college with the mindset that I would do it as fast as possible. I wanted to graduate early. It would save me money and time.

After a semester in college, reality hit me. I realized that graduating early was an awful idea because, well, it would hurt me in the long run. It's no secret that in order to go to graduate school, especially medical school, you have to get good grades. I knew I'd really be hurting myself if I forced myself to squish tons of math and science classes in one semester.

Sophomore year was even tougher. My classes got even harder. Organic chemistry and physics were really hard. I overextended myself because I felt like I had to do so many things in order to get into medical school. It affected my motivation, my grades, and my mental health. Yep, you guessed it: That's burnout.

Now it's the summer of my junior year. A year before applying to medical school, all students at my school are expected to submit an electronic portfolio, which is essentially a mock application to medical school. I started getting my materials together recently, but that mostly just consisted of me freaking out about how good my application looked.

Yes, I am a decent student. I am involved in a lot, including research. I could apply and see what happens.

But guess what? I'm not ready. I know that since I'm prone to burnout, going straight from college to medical school would really hurt my mental health.

I'm taking a gap year after college. This means that I'll apply to schools the summer after graduation and spend the rest of my time immersing myself in the medical field, doing things I love, and saving up money for the expensive road ahead.

I spoke with important people in my life to come to this decision. I was worried that I would be behind because I decided to take a year off, but that's ridiculous. Once I let that go and realized that this was best for my application and for my sanity, I finally made a decision to apply to medical school after graduation.

Traditionally, students apply the summer after their junior year and find out where they are going to matriculate before graduation. It sucks that I won't be sharing where I got in with my friends, but this is best for me. That's all that matters.

I'm making this decision for me, my future patients, and my mind. There's nothing wrong with that.

Here's the take-home message. If you are pre-med, pre-dental, pre-PT, pre-OT, pre-whatever-it-is, don't give in to the pressure to rush. You don't need to rush to achieve your goals. It doesn't mean you won't get there. It means that you're invested in your success and will do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams.