Don’t be a TOURIST. Be a DOCTOR. Or an ENGINEER or something

Here’s the deal, anyone can be a tourist. That’s what’s easy to forget. It doesn’t take much effort or skill to hop from attraction to attraction, rack up stamps on your passport, and go in the flashing light tunnel connecting the Bund to Pudong. Why be that kind of traveler, though, when you could be something so much more courageous and unique? Like a doctor. Or maybe an architect or journalist. Or something with animals. But not a tourist.

Look, every once in a while we face some life-defining decisions. Where to go to college? When to pop the question? Whether to pull the plug? But one of the most universal and relatable has to be: Do I go to this super touristy restaurant right on the main square, or do I go into a career in medicine and really make a difference? I hate to say it, but the choice should be pretty clear.

Sure you could go to Rome and never leave Trevi Fountain. Or you could go to 4 years of medical school, 5 years of residency, and save lives on a daily basis. You could also be an engineer. That’s a super interesting thing to be. With a really high ceiling compensation-wise. Just don’t be a tourist.

Change your worldview. Expand your horizons. Suture wounds and set broken bones. But don’t take a picture with that gold painted street performer. Don’t eat at a McDonalds next to the Tsukiji fish market. Don’t be a tourist. Be a doctor.