The board exam journey has been one of the most difficult phases of my life. My plan on June 23rd was to take my final COMSAE (practice test for the COMLEX) to make sure I was prepared to sit for the actual exam on June 30th. I was taken off guard when I hit submit and ended up with a failing grade on this COMSAE 108. The vlog starts off with my raw reaction to this news, as I drove to run some errands post practice test. It's really important to show this side of medical education. Most students have to work extremely hard and make tremendous sacrifices to succeed in medicine. And even with dedication and determination, you can still fail. My biggest struggle is that I don't want to sacrifice attributes of my lifestyle that give me purpose and enjoyment in life (being healthy, athletic, in good spirits and a solid surfer). And the hardest part of this current journey is that I have given up much of those qualities in order to prepare for the COMLEX and the USMLE, yet its is still not enough. You'll see that in the middle of the video I start making excuses, going against logic that I often use to succeed in surfing "We're trying to find a way, rather than finding an excuse (TRAINING TO SURF THE NORTH SHORE video)."

As of right now, I'm not on the track toward success for these two exams. But I'm trying to find that path and doing everything to achieve my goal.