JUST READ AND CARRY ON

Medicine is a one big process. The concepts to know, terms to memorize and pages to read are truly overwhelming. It took me 5 years from graduating in College (2013) to pursue my dream. At 27, here I am wondering whether or not I made the right decision and whether or not I can survive the rigor of the training. My first year is filled with the greatest hurdle. I have not yet fully adjusted to the demands of my course and the pathway to Medicine is not yet clear to me. I am just drawing support to a God I know.   In the literal sense, I was broken several times—most especially in my grades and performance. I have read my books, understood the principle, memorized facts and worked hard for my subjects. But nothing seems enough. I still failed in my Anatomy. This is the subject so unfamiliar, bizarre and complicated for me. I tried hard enough to know but my brain is slow to process the image, as if it is rejecting the idea of cadavers, anatomical positions, related injuries an...

The joy of being alive is incomparable despite poverty, struggles, torture and pain. It isn’t easy to experience difficulties, but still it is worth the fight.   Every single moment of our life is a reminder of the unending grace God has bestowed upon us. The continuous battle you and I are facing will never come to an end, because tests and life lessons persist until death. Only death and God can judge us whether we have used our talents and time wisely breathing on this complex yet beautiful World created by our Divine Designer. As the year is coming to an end, we remember the good deeds we have done for ourselves, family, neighbors and society.   Have we done enough to love ourselves and let that love radiate towards others? Did we heal ourselves of our wounds and hatred so that we may be able to heal others in the process? Have we forgiven ourselves for the mistakes committed so that we may be able to forgive those who have hurt us? Because love starts within us; men...

My five months in Medical School was a roller-coaster ride. The joy of being with like-minded people, surrounded by passionate classmates and having strong support from each other has enormously brought me euphoria. I am happy with the company of these people. Theirs is innocence, friendship and happiness. Honestly, I have never been in this kind of Chemistry with people. I am usually the isolated, silent, low-key, socially-indifferent man. But here I am rediscovering myself, my values, my priorities and my principles. I thank God with tears of joy for allowing me to meet these kinds of people in my life. At least to a certain degree, I was changed. Sometimes I literally want to cry during review sessions and after examinations. The demands of academic pressure are overpowering often times.   The voluminous information to be retained after reading is unpleasantly difficult to process. My self-worth has been scarred and this has brought me to tears in most cases. Breakdowns do...

Majority of my time in the Christmas season is just like the ordinary. Rarely have I enjoyed this special period of the year. While for many, especially the children are looking forward for the excitement of this joyous season, I felt less Christmas. Probably, I am too hard on myself not to appreciate the love, kindness, care, carols, generosity of the people around me. I am too engrossed with my life, I failed to see and share what I have and who I am every season of the year. The essence of this year is remembering Jesus’ birth. His was (and still is) a world of love, compassion, mercy, generosity and kindness. The humility of his birth and his presence will always be celebrated in many forms. This season we are asked to extend our gifts of love, caring, kindness, patience not only to our family members but also to strangers, community members especially the vulnerable population, marginalized and needy. With commercialization in this modern time, it seems that Christmas ha...

Getting into medicine is one thing, but staying and thriving in the program is another. The difficulty of this course can not be overemphasized. One who has a low frustration level will not tolerate the voluminous and comprehensive amount of information to learn and memorize. Patience and industry (from an ordinary medical student point of view) is required to stay alive in the program. Every single day your stamina is tested. As a student from a lower socio-economic background, balancing finances and studying for all these exams are equally challenging. Needless to say, excruciating pain and cries (in the literal sense) has enveloped my core. In spite of these, I am drawing energy from Divine Providence. My strong connection to a Spiritual Being is not an understatement. In the school that I am enrolled in, our first year grading system is extensively dependent on term examinations. Majority of our subjects does not give any quizzes nor other source of point system to pull us ...