Strongest: weird, introverted, but still cool

Think of this: you're someone who is very introverted. You don't talk that much to other people, stutter a lot, become clumsy at times, and would either go alone or go with a bunch of people. You also try your luck in PC games, but to somewhat no avail or little improvement, if any. You're also this type of person who would come to class with a gadget and would have a knack for a sleep-wake cycle within lectures. Because of your unique personality, you gain haters and friends. Haters who hate you because you're "special," and friends who accept you for who you really are. Despite this kind of behavior, deep inside, you have a wonderful mind filled with creative ideas that you can only express online. Despite all of this, you are a very hardworking person who knows how to dedicate work to the highest level.

Think about it.

This is about a classmate of mine, a friend and a group mate who I've been with since day 1 of Med school. Name withheld, but for sure any reader who's a classmate of mine will have the biggest idea on who this person is based on my seemingly obvious description above. Personally, with no sugarcoating, he is a weird guy with a kinda weird demeanor. Some people, especially those who know him well, would diss him because of his personality. Despite this, only a few accept him for who he really is. He is considered within our circle as a person who should be loved and treated like any ordinary human being. Sometimes, I admit, I kinda bully the guy, but I personally like him because of his real deal, no shit dedication to any work that is being given to him.

I met him back during stress management session, when we were all strangers to each other. The moment I saw him, from the way he stood up, the way he looks, and up to the way he talks, I knew that this guy is not any ordinary person. I saw him as someone who is "special": not the mentally retarded-type ones, but as a person who looks endowed with a potential to bring color to a class of people with different origins. When I first talked to him, I could barely understand a word he was saying because he kept on stuttering. But as time passed by, I started to get used to his stuttering way of communicating. I understand he has this stuttering problem, but nonetheless, he can still communicate. I was with him when we were with our 1st clique. We hung on there until the day I left the old gang because my old friends started to become distant. He was left all alone there, trying to struggle and keep up with what he had back then. I felt bad for him because despite the barrage of bad words against his clumsiness and his weird ways, he never seemed to fight back. He took all of the blows in stride. Define STRONGEST, and I'm dead sure that all of the synonymous words of languages around the world all point to him. With a new set of friends, he seems so comfortable being with the new gang. He found solace in playing PC games (despite his slow progress for improvement), in hanging out with people who really know how to have fun based on his preferences, and in being accepted for who he really is. 

In terms of communicating, he seems not to be the extroverted type. He's active in the online realm: he posts announcements more like any active member in our class. His activeness online is the almost entire opposite of him in the real world. He seems kinda distant to others, but not to the present gang who took him and treated him like a man deserving of respect. His dedication to work is also unparalleled. Give him something to do, and he will not hesitate to work on it. Because of this, I knew that what our classmates see everyday is only a shell of the man he really is. Only a few can notice his importance and worth, and because of this, our friends agreed upon protecting him from any hater that would pose a threat to him.

I posted this blog about him not because I'm bored, but because I just wanted to show to you, the reader, how cool this person is. His being a weird dude doesn't mean people can treat him like shit. His not being able to defend himself doesn't mean people can just diss him and make fun of him. I may be one of those pricks who would sometimes diss him, but despite that, I still accept him for who he is. I would get reprimanded by one of our friends because of that. Haha. Nonetheless, this person who I'm pertaining to has a very beautiful heart and mind that only a few can see: only those with pure hearts who know kindness more than hatred.

To those who still mock him for his shortcomings, I just appeal that instead of making fun of the person and putting out a mischievous smile behind his back whenever he'd say something that would maybe be weird, let's just remind him of his mistakes in a straightforward way. Like what some of us would do (especially me), if he would commit a mistake, we would tell him that he did a mistake and that he should not do it again. But despite that, what is important is acceptance. People should just accept him as to who he is, not mock him and shit. If moralists taught us to love the mentally-challenged ones, why can't we love a person who is just plain introverted, definitely not schizoid, but nonetheless game for anything that is given to him? This goes all to those who have been bad to him, especially the ones who have know him very well. We can say jokes about him, but not mock him entirely, strip him of his humanity and make him feel so down and degraded. He's a human being, just like the rest of us.

What if we have children who are born just like him, what would you feel if your child's classmate would treat your child like a douchebag?

This is dedicated to you buddy, just in case you get to read this. I'm sorry if I was such a prick towards you. I was just like that because I just want you to improve and become a better man. I made this into a blog so that not only the people who know you would get to read this, but also the entire world who can maybe relate to what you have and what you are experiencing as of this present.

How I wish I can post a picture, but this blog goes out to the public eye as well. Kaya wag muna. Haha!

You deserve a blog that the whole world should read.

Words of wisdom for this: Let's love each other like how God taught us to love Him. Love God and your neighbor. It may not be a common fact, but it sure is a general rule.

Medicine: 2 1/2 years later

It has been a while since I last blogged about how life in Med school was. Because of the tight schedules we have been experiencing in 3rd year, the time that has been spent on using the computer for blogging has been overshadowed by the tons of paper work, reading, and other academic priorities.

It has been already one semester (actually, 3 days to go before the end of the sem) and it feels like time has flown so fast. It felt like it was just yesterday when we returned to the halls of our school (now on a revamped look) and hurdle another year in Med school. It felt like it was months since we endured 2nd year, and it felt like almost a year since we narrowly passed 1st year. 

Looking back and comparing 3rd year with the past 2 years, this year has been the most mentally toxic of all the year levels. It's true what our preceptor back in 2nd year said: that 2nd year was the easiest. I guess she's right: 2nd year was the easiest, but only the easiest in terms of the schedule and light workload. Back then, we had more time for ourselves, though in 1st year we had the most time because of the few subjects that we took during those times. It is in 3rd year where we soon found out that the demands of academics and clinical work were somewhat overwhelming. 

Entering 3rd year was like adding another weight to the already heavy load students have been carrying since the 1st day we entered Med. Third year, the year before Junior Internship, required us to become more adept into the clinical analysis and application of what we have learned from the 2 years in school. I personally admit that not all of what I learned from 1st to 2nd year came back immediately whenever we had preceptor sessions, but they slowly reappeared and were put into good use as time passed. Despite that lofty advantage, there has been a lot of difficulty in terms of meeting the demands of clinicians and professors. In 3rd year, we are required to think and act like doctors: we interview patients, examine them, and later on form a diagnosis from the findings. Not only that, we were made to submit paper works every week for each patient we checked up on. We have 3 to 4 preceptor sessions, and each session required us to submit a paper case per week. It's like working 3 to 4 papers weekly on top of the interviewing and examining of patients. It is a definitely heavy load for junior Med students. At first, the rigors of it were too overwhelming. The time spent on adjusting to the demands of clinical practice made us get used to these rigorous tasks. Truth be told, because of the loads of paper works, patient interactions, and lectures with exams, time really flew so fast. We thought that life would be so slow in 3rd year. Turns out, it kinda wasn't.

What's new in UERM is that the school has made quite a face lift of their classrooms. Five new classrooms were added to accommodate new and old students. The classrooms are quite nice: they have movie house seats, cozy atmosphere, and an environment that is really conducive to studying or sleeping (pick one). We have a new Skills Laboratory, which replaced the old rooms of the 2nd floor of the JMC building, which is really nice and clean-looking. In terms of student population, the 1st year batch was divided into 3 sections because of the enormous number of students who wish to try their luck in passing 1st year. Also new to the mix is the requirement of some classes to have an arranged seating for students, and a mandatory attendance sheet for strict monitoring of who's attending and who's not. It wasn't like that in the past. It just happened that most students tend not to attend lectures, that's why they made attendance mandatory. There's nothing wrong with it, as long as this is included in the grading system of the student. 

Much as I want to say more to this, I just feel sleepy right now. It has been a long week for me because of the exams, and my mind is still exhausted from all the studying and mentally preparing for this past week.

It'll be a few more months before we become Junior Interns. I just hope that the remaining months would be so gentle to us so that we can be one step nearer to become the future doctors we have been molding to become.