The summer of MCATs, chopsticks and caffeine

Summer­-a time when most students are able to breathe a breath of fresh air and escape from the confines of the day-to-day Georgia Tech grind.

Some of us had the privilege of studying abroad in exotic locals, while others worked summer jobs or decided to catch up on exciting infomercials while mooching off of parents.

However there were those seemingly unfortunate few, myself included, who stuck around for the summer semester.

While the rest of you were partying on different continents or catching up on sleep, I was one of the few stuck in the library pretending to study while actually facebooking and/or blogging about how I should be studying.

My summer started off as most summers do, with a trip home to visit my parents.in Las Vegas. Cheesy bright lights, bustling casinos and countless parties galore.unless it's where you're parents live.

In this case, Las Vegas was where I gorged on fattening Momma-food while watching endless episodes of 'Saved by the Bell' and dare I say it, 'The Newlyweds'.

Needless to say after a week of killing brain cells with television and sleeping more than any human being should be allowed to, returning to Tech was a bit difficult. Especially with everything that lay ahead of me.

But things started off well with a trip to Six Flags. There's nothing like screaming profanities in the air while plummeting 200 feet towards solid concrete.

For some strange reason, having your heart jump into your throat is much more fun than it sounds. Coupled with the guilty pleasure of watching people in air lifts drop slushies on Yosemite Sam's head, the park made for an excellent time.

I also tried authentic Korean food for the first time this summer. Mainstream ethnic cuisine in America has a tendency of being Americanized versions of the real thing.

However in this case I was completely lost as far as understanding the menu, but the experience was wonderful as a result. I had mushroom and tofu soup, which was brought out bubbling in a tiny cauldron-like bowl.

I was informed to crack a raw egg into the boiling soup and allow it to cook for a short while...talk about fresh egg drop soup! It was fabulous. I also managed to absorb the intricacies of handling chopsticks.

Although divine food and interesting outings here and there lit up my bland summer, nothing could help me escape from the MCAT.

All apologies to those who've recently taken the exam, as the mere mention of it may continue to strike fear in your hearts.

Studying for this thing was no walk in the park, but the gallons of Starbucks coffee I consumed did make it a bit easier.

At that point if you poked me with a needle, I probably would have bled Java Chip Frappacinos or triple-shot espressos.

Towards the end of the summer, my days consisted of class, work, coffee, and some quality time with Kaplan review material.

After diligently studying for about a month or so, I was able to put things in perspective and realize that it was only a test.

Life would go on, the world would not end, and I would continue to live the dorky yet incredibly badass lifestyle that I had been living.

However it was difficult for other people to understand this. After telling friends that I would be taking the MCAT soon, some would gasp and look at me as if I had Ebola. My mother acted like I was going off to war, making sure I called her regularly and did all prayers daily as she figured I needed all the divine intervention I could get.

The day of the test was insane to say the least. While driving to the MCAT, I somehow managed to get lost with 20 minutes left for the test to begin and also got stopped by a police officer thanks to my horrifying driving skills.

Anti-climatically, I did manage to make it to the test center in time and do the best I could during the testand slowly transition into the new Fall semester.

Although summer classes, work and MCATs aren't the greatest way to spend one's summer, somehow it still managed to be a memorable experience.

So if you find yourself having to stay at Tech for a summer or two, do not fear.

Even if you're stuck with difficult classes while your friends are partying all over the globe, take comfort in the fact that the farther people go the better stories they come back with.

And no matter how mundane or stressful you expect your summer to be, force yourself to have fun and create your own stories to tell.