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So just imagine for a second a train station.

There are people rushing back and forth, times clicking by on the train schedule,

platforms leading to all sorts of different destinations.

And you're looking around for the right platform.

The train with medical school listed as one of its stops,

with a final destination of the medical profession.

As with any train, you need a ticket,

and you look down at your hand and you're holding a ticket.

You've put an immense amount of time, energy, effort, and sacrifice into getting this ticket.

So you rush through the crowd, clutching your ticket in one hand and your luggage in the other,

and you finally find the right platform.

As you await the arrival of the train, you look around at the others crowding the platform with you. And you can't

help but notice that at this gateway into the medical profession, some people have gilded luggage

carried by butlers. And others carry their own baggage and knapsacks tied together with string.

Some carry massive cartloads of luggage,

and others are waiting for the train with nothing but the shirt on their backs.

In this luggage are your childhood experiences,

your educational achievements and failures,

...