Nothing Went As Planned
In October 2020, I took my graduation photos in my dental regalia and was the happiest girl in the world!
I got my face BEAT for a 5 minute photo (lol), called my parents, sister and fiancé to show them how good I looked and took my FAVORITE picture ever!
I had passed my National Board of Dental Examinations Part 2 exam on the first try, was AHEAD on my clinical requirements to graduate, completed 2 of my Periodontics Residency interviews at some of the best dental schools in the nation AND I was only a few weeks away from MATCHING into residency ... or so I thought!
About a month later, I woke up to a email at 6:53am on November 20th, 2020 saying:
"We regret to inform you, you DID NOT Match" ...
Initially, I was shocked but okay - I thought "whatever, I'll just apply next year" - that logical feeling vanished QUICKLY as I watched everyone else celebrate MATCHING into their residency of choice.
I was devastated; my shock turned into ANGER, which turned into SADNESS, and I immediately began to call myself a FAILURE. I told myself that all of my accolades, my great grades, my class rank, my involvement - MEANT NOTHING. It was all for NOTHING. And I wallowed in self pity for a good 24 hours.
Fast forward to to November 2021 - I am now a wife, mother (had NO CLUE THAT WAS COMING), and a licensed dental professional. Who not only had a job that fit perfectly with where I was in life, but also MATCHED into a Periodontics residency after re-applying.
Not MATCHING changed me.
It made me become more intentional about the way I spoke to and about myself.
It made me realize that my plans ultimately don't matter. I think their perfect and ideal, of course, but GOD sees what is in front of me and he REMAINS ahead of me
AND FOR THAT I CAN SHOUT RIGHT NOW!
My life is a living testimony of God's grace and His ability to consistently show me that even when nothing goes as planned, He has something better for me. I'm praying that if you're reading this, you'll realize the same.
Thanks for reading,
Dr. Aier