Who I am and Why?

My name is Daniela Salazar. I was born and raised in Medellin Colombia and came to the United States with my parents at age 11. I moved to Naples FL, a retirement community, basically. It was there where I discovered my interest for medicine and my passion for health including fitness and nutrition. I knew I wanted to study medicine, so I enrolled in a Technical High School that allowed me to graduate with an Associates in Nursing. I was an overachiever during high school, my dream was to attend medical school so I did anything and everything to be successful. Growing up in Naples FL, a small town, my dream was to have the "REAL" college experience since I sacrificed my high school one for my medical career. My hard work and dedication led me to receive more than 14 scholarships in my hometown. I was blessed to be accepted to the C.A.R.E. program at Florida State University which enhances and assists minority students to accomplish their academic goals.

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Packed my bags, drove 7 hours, and said goodbye to my parents. Little did I know how much of an impact attending FSU was going to have on my academic and personal life. It was the greatest decision I had ever made. I unexpectedly attended a seminar about a new major that most pre-meds were starting to do, Exercise Science. I completely fell in love with it because it had everything I was passionate about. The human body, health, fitness, and nutrition. Since that day I knew I was not only interested in medicine, but I was driven by these other things that complement our health. I got very involved at FSU in numerous organizations to enhance my application to medical school. I knew as a minority, my MCAT scores were not going to be the best, therefore, I worked in other areas to become a competitive candidate.

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Sometimes medical school seemed like a dream that never would come true, however, I never let anything or anyone stop me and worked diligently to accomplish this dream of mine. It was not until taking the MCAT 3 times that I finally stopped and asked myself, is this really what makes me happy? I had forgotten about other things that I love to do, like traveling, going to the gym, being with my friends and enjoying the simple things in life. That's where the option of applying to PA school came to mind and I was blessed to be accepted to the Charter Physician Assistant Class at Florida State University, class of 2019.

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I have created this website because I have many goals and dreams in mind. I am writting this because I know many students can relate to my story and can get motivated and inspired to continue their medical journey. One thing that I have learned along the way is that, success is not a destination, it's a journey. I want to share my PA journey with you all, my traveling adventures, my exercise routines and meal recipes, I believe life is all about BALANCE and sometimes we get caught up in this "Pre-medical Life" that we forget to Live and enjoy every moment. 

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If you made it this far, Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you continue to follow my adventures in my upcoming PA journey <3

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Love,

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Dani