I am a girl,who people would call-"Born with a silver spoon".I just have to think of something(anything materialistic,that is) and i get it in two fold,no kiddin(ask my friends).My parents are doctors and I am (I would like to think) the most petted,pampered and protected daughter in my part of the world.I dont blame them,they are just acting the parent role(God-made or man-made or whatever) to the dot.And being the perfectionists that they are,they go the extra mile.
I'm not done here yet.You have to get a near-perfect(I did not inherit my parents' perfectionist gene)picture of me,before I get on with my dream.
I have worn a brand new dress everyday for the first 2 yrs of my life,730 days.Seven hundred n thirty new clothes in the 2 yrs of u'r existence is quiet a bit!!I've been to the best n one of the most posh schools in South India,I've gotten the best education,went for the best vacations,I always got back to school or college with the maximum tuck,I can practically buy the entire warehouse of lifestyle when I go shopping with mom!I wanted to become a doctor n bingo!My parents got me the seat.To simply put it,I have the best n most of what I want.
Hope you've gotten it by now-I'm the "RICH KID".
Now onto my dream,its very simple-I WANT TO BE A DOCTOR.I want to do it all by myself.I want to get there,not in an air-conditioned car,but in my two very own,God-given feet!
When u really want to do something,its like having another violent person inside u.She does not let u do anything else until you've fulfilled her wish!!
I did not know I felt this strongly about medicine until I got into med school.Wow.I belonged there!I found myself there.I thought I chose to go to med school as I did not know much about any other profession.I have been living inside hospitals and seeing it through a doctors' eye even before I was born(mom was working while pregnant).So logically,I thought it a safe choice.
Hell no!!I was born to be a doctor,man.When God thought-"Its high time;this planet needs a dashing doc now",He sent me here.I'm sure of that.I guess,Madame Curie felt the same way about chemistry,Beethoven about the piano,Rafael about tennis and Schumaker about racing!!Yes all of us are born do that one thing on this planet.
Having found my carton label,I lived every moment in med school enjoying medicine.I would like to say,I did complete justice to my books,teachers n patients.No,no,I was just another student,bunking class,goin out,and all.But I loved medicine,I simply loved it.I devoured every word my teachers had to say about it,in & out of class.I loved my patients too.I did not like the massive paperwork,though.Well,tats the system-You cannot have a fun time,all the time.The system sees to that(no matter what anyone is doing in life).
By now u must be thinkin-Gosh,who is this girl!!She is so absolutely lucky!
If u'r not thinkin that yet,well,I'm considered pretty n I do have some very good talents and a bunch of awesome friends.
There,job done!!![I'm kinda cheeky too:)]
But please dont forget the SYSTEM.
The big,monstrous,uncontrollable,feeling-less system!Thats what it is.Let me tell you what this system is doing to my life right now.
In the present scenario,after completing M.B.B.S,its an absolute must to specialize in a particular field for u to be considered a decent doc.Plain n simple M.B.B.S is not enough anymore.And so it is the routine for every student in India to continue studying even after the stipulated 51/2 years in med school.
And being born in India,the second most populated country in the world,where every third student takes up medicine,its THE most difficult task known to mankind,to get into a speciality programme of u'r choice and in the college u want to attend.This time I dont blame the system guys(it has not got its ugly claws on me yet).The entrance exams in my country are the toughest when compared against the world standards.Its the biggest rat race ever!What with 50,000 & more students competing for a meagre 200 seats nation-wide!And with OGcians like me (I'm sorry,I already feel like one without the degree yet) praying for more people to get pregnant,its only going to get tougher by the year.
As you can see,I'm a big gal and have gotten my ideas straight in this issue.So I rolled up my sleeve and started workin for it.I did not get enough time for my preparation though.You need a minimum of 1 year,12 months,365 days of solid ass burning,to crack this test.Well with the 7 months that I got I did get my ass burnt as much as that was possible in those months.I gave the test and I did not make it!
So what will any logical,straight thinking person like me do now....give it another shot,obviously!But what will all rich,over-protective parents,who cant bear to see their daughter sweat it out,do?(You needn't be a genius to get this one)Yes,they bought me a seat!!A lovely,brand new MS OG degree in a gold platter.
But wait a minute!Why does it not seem all gold n glittery to me!To me it looks like a monster sneering,(Hagrid might like it!).Well I didn't and i didn't want to go to that college.Then started the drama at home.Me and my parents arguing on and on with none understanding the other and both right in our points of view.
I cried,n cried,n cried myself out.(I can cry at the drop of a hat!)I was miserable.Michelangelo must have felt this way when his dad refused to get him his first box of paints.
Turning point
I was lying in my bed with my exophthalmic eyes.(For the non-medicos,exophthalmos is a condition where your eyes bulge out of their sockets).Mine became exophthalmic with all the crying I did.So I was lying there thinking-My life sucks,I hate the world and all the like thoughts that dance around in your brain when you are depressed.
Then suddenly like a bolt of lightening,a thought I read long back flashed through all the turmoil in my head.
"THEY CAN TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING FROM YOU,
BUT YOUR SPIRIT,IT CAN ONLY BE SURRENDERED"
That is when I stopped crying.(no offense to my dear darlin friends who kept calling and consoling me-it really helped guys,love u)
I decided,I have a dream and I believe in it,so why sit around and mop!!Once again,I rolled up my sleeve,this time with more determination and went right back to my books.I was back on track,chasing my dream.I can technically give these tests 2 more shots,but I'll need only 1,hopefully.
The college in which I have joined opens this May,I've decided to continue my entrance exam prep in college as well.I want to get into the classrooms where India's best teachers teach and I will get there,I promise myself.
Epilogue
My point is,whether Michelangelo had to steal his first paint box or his dad gave in to his nagging and got him one,he painted.He painted his heart out!
Thats it guys,if you've dreamt a dream,go after it,chase it,hunt the damn dream down.Nobody can stop you unless you decide to stop.
I will come back with a blog saying-"I did it",hopefully soon.
Until then ciao,Dream Chasers.