ASDA Dental Dose Blog

As pre-dental students, we are no strangers to pressure, heavy course loads, long lab hours, and feeling like we have to be superheroes. There’s comparison, timelines, applications- it can feel like there is no room to fall behind. No room to be uncertain or human. Maybe you, too, have thought, “I can’t do this.”  This doubt is normal; it is not the problem. What you do next is. 

When you fall- whether you fail a class, have a tough semester, personal setbacks, or burnout- you have to ask yourself, “Can I pick myself back up and take one more step forward?”  The more you do it, the more natural it becomes. Over time, resilience ceases to be something you “try” and becomes more of who you are. 

I say this as someone who did not take a straight path to dentistry. 

In high school, I was the kid who slept through every class and missed more days than I could count. I did not understand GPAs, colleges, or careers. With several gap years to boot, a college degree and dental school seemed like things that belonged to other people that were far more organized, driven, and those who had it all together. If you would have told that version of me that one day I would be sitting in the front row of every lecture hall, passionate about learning, and determined to perform my best, I would not have believed you. I did a complete 180. 

So, what changed? My mindset did.

I used to believe that life simply happened to me, that my past defined me. When I finally discovered dentistry, it clicked: empathy, communication, and the chance to make a tangible difference in people’s lives. I could not see myself doing anything else.

But alongside this dream came an uncomfortable realization: If I wanted to make this dream come true, I could not keep letting fear control my life. 

Even after I discovered my passion, the hurdles did not disappear. Every time I regained my footing, a new challenge showed up. I felt behind. I felt too old. I felt like I did not fit. I saw other students and thought, “How could I ever keep up with them?”

I started to notice something in the stories of people around me. The most successful people weren’t always the most naturally gifted. They were not the smartest in the room, the most confident, or the most “perfect”. They were the ones who kept coming back. They were consistent. They stayed long enough for their efforts to compound.

That is when I realized that resilience was a strategy. 

It meant deciding setbacks weren’t condemnations, but opportunities to learn. And over time, what felt like my biggest challenges became one of my biggest strengths. 

Resilience is recognizing that insecurity and embarrassment are temporary. It was starting over after the pandemic, changing majors, and seeking the next opportunity to grow. But it also meant doing something even harder- forgiving myself for not starting earlier and refusing to punish my future for my past. 

On the days I feel stuck, I remind myself that somewhere, someone with my same doubts and setbacks is still showing up. If they can take the next step, so can I. And most of the time, that next step is smaller than you would think.

Resilience does not always have to be dramatic. It could be reviewing one more chapter when your brain feels like mush. It is answering out loud in class, even if you get it wrong. It could be waking up an hour earlier to get it done. Resilience can also mean showing up for your community, even when your own week is heavy. Resilience is taking responsibility without self-hatred and choosing growth over perfection.

Resilience is a skill that pays off greatly- in dental school and beyond- because hardships and adversity are guaranteed. But rest assured, you do not have to be fearless. You just have to take the next step.



This Article was written by Alex Zaharie:

I like to paint in my free time, lifting weights has been a hobby of mine since 2022 and I’ve been powerlifting for the past year at UHPL, and I’m a big movie and music lover!

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