Anonymous Medical Student
A TURNING POINT
And how this changed my perspective...
Hi! This is my first time ever writing an article like this and to be perfectly honest, I had no idea where to start. Even as a little first year, I knew I had experiences which I could draw upon, but I didn’ t know if I was ready to share anything publicly. As a compromise to myself, this is going to be anonymous … for now.
Anyway, I’ ll get on with it and won’ t ramble too much! As you likely all know, medical students are known for being high achievers and hard workers. With this in mind, I’ m sure I speak for others when I say that this can often mean that pressure is put on us either by ourselves or people around us. For me, I never put the pressure on myself for GCSEs because I was extremely under confident and therefore I did not expect to get anywhere near the grades that I ended up achieving. However, when it came to Sixth Form and applying to university, with the realisation that I wanted to apply for Medicine, I knew that the exams were important and that they would determine my life’ s course.
' YOU DON ' T HAVE TO TAKE THE STRAIGHT AND SMOOTH PATH '
Although this is true, I have learned( mostly from the following event) to appreciate that you don’ t always have to follow the straight and smooth path to get somewhere sometimes you learn far more from taking the jagged, windy path!
So, before I could allow this pressure and many other thoughts to influence me too much, one of the most influential things in my life happened …
A friend of mine was in the Brussels terrorist attacks and came away with serious and lifechanging injuries. Having happened over the Easter holidays( about a month and a half before my final exams), when everyone was welcomed back to school, our peer was still in an induced coma and having to take every single day as it came.
' A FRIEND OF MINE WAS IN THE BRUSSELS TERRORIST ATTACKS '
That first day of term is one I doubt I will forget). As each day became the next, we were continuously waiting for updates and news about how she was. During these weeks and months, I learned how incredibly strong a person, even at the relatively young age of 17, can be and how they can overcome even the most horrific injuries. She never gave up and always showed us that she was fighting; even battling medications inducing the coma in order to correct the nurse about how to pronounce her name. She has since achieved all of the goals that she set out for herself, on waking from the coma, and is on track to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics!
' I WOULD LIVE MY LIFE THE BEST WAY THAT I COULD '
Experiencing this first hand majorly changed my perspective on life. I decided that, rather than being the anxious human being that I was( and still sort of am!), that I would live my life the best way I could and however I wanted because I was and am lucky enough to have my life to live.
' THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO LIFE THAN SIMPLY THE PERCENTAGE OR GRADE THAT YOU ACHIEVE IN AN EXAM '
There is so much more to life than simply the percentage or grade that you achieve in an exam. Yes, we are medical students, but we also have our whole lives in front of us. We are fortunate enough to be able to strive to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves but it is also so so important to take a minute to reflect on our lives and think about whether or not we are living out our potential; not just academically but also socially and emotionally.
Take the time to enjoy a favourite hobby or to go for coffee with a friend or( a new discovery of mine) stay out until 5am at the Raz! However you choose to live your life,( here comes the cheese!) grab it with both hands and live it how you want to. Don’ t let others influence you negatively or stop you from doing what you want. And take the bad things with the good; they help you to grow and learn. Acknowledge the little things that life has to offer but also appreciate the fact that you have your life to live! And finally, a little quote from my B & M water bottle,“ Think Positive and Be Powerful”!
THINK POSITIVE AND BE POWERFUL