Yeah. I still looked like a kid wearing a v-neck uniform carrying a bag of pastry for the thesis panel. This was me way back then, when I was still a young student nurse, with that beaming aspiration of a bright future in nursing.
Let's put in another picture.
This is my picture with my ICS groupmates. This was just last February after our Clinico-Pathological Conference.
Let's add in another picture:
This is a picture of mine with my friend and classmate from college. He's also a med student just like me.
Why am I showing pictures?
I'd like to share to you how life has been for me 1 1/2 years since I entered the world of Medicine. I know it's too early to show some changes, but I can't stand wasting my sembreak doing nothing.
During the 1st day of classes, our Biochem prof with a knack for scaring students about failing 1st year told us to keep a picture of ourselves during the first few weeks of medicine and compare it with the succeeding pics that we may take as we progress along the road less taken. We laughed it off at first, but mind you, what she said was literally true: med school does change a person.
Let me show you a picture of mine when I was in college:
This was me when I was in 4th year college. My favorite study place was the coffee shop just across the street from my school. I'd go there with a few notes, play songs through my headset, and study away. My study habits back then were just superficial. I have to be honest. I barely get to highlight my notes then. My life was just 80% slacking off, 20% study. Example of my slacking off? Here's a picture:
This was my vice, my addiction: Maximum Tune. My whole college life almost revolved around this game. Sometimes after classes, I'd go to Timezone or Power Station just to play this game. If I didn't feel the need to study, I'd just load PHP50.00 and play this game either by myself or against someone or some people. This was how my life felt before: a pretty fine adrenalin rush fueled up by video games. Hey I had friends! Here's an example:
This was Laguna, 2006. The last time I had friends come over for my birthday party outside Manila when I was in 2nd year college.
Let's get to the topic at hand, shall we?
Medicine has given me a life secluded from the outside world. I have not gone out with college friends or high school friends ever since I stepped my feet inside the (old) halls of my present Alma Mater. How has med school life treated me? It was hell, to be honest. I told a college prof of mine the other day when I visited my old college that I realized that I had to study EVERYDAY, yes, everyday in order for me to pass. Example? Here's a picture taken 2 weeks ago:
But don't exclude reading and reading and yes, reading from my med school life. I'd get to enjoy the company of friends and schoolmates. Here are some pics:
Med school barkada. How I miss them. Haven't been hanging out with them for months because of changed study habits. Before, I'd get to hang out with them, but nowadays, I just hit the library during free hours. I don't know if they still remember me. All I know about is I don't get to talk to them that much anymore. Hope they'd let me hang around with them again if I had the chance. Anyways, here's another one:
That's me (at far left) with the other delegates to the APMC summit in DLS-HSC. It was a good experience, seeing other med students from different med schools. I have to admit, waking up at 4:30am and going there, taking pictures and having some good time with the other delegates was well worth it.
What am I trying to point out here?
It has been a year and a half since I entered Med school. Medical school has changed me from a young carefree individual into a hardworking walking textbook. I'm not saying that I'm a genius and I can give the exact pathology of a certain disease. It's not like that. I'm saying that Med school has made me mature into a person, a person of responsibility.
Responsibility has cost me somehow. I look old now. For my age, I look like someone who looks like I'm almost 30 years old. But I don't regret it. Stress has been a normal thing for me. I never regret entering med and ranting about stress too much. The pressures of medicine make it more challenging and more inspiring for me to get promoted to the next year level.
I still have 2 1/2 years to go before graduating. It's a long way to go, but the decision is still the same: continue taking the road less traveled in order to end up successful in the end.
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