never pass up on an opportunity.

I cannot skip opportunities. I am here to test my endurance and my focus against all temptations. -I have been following the diary of a Caribbean med student and found it quite insightful. I am enamored by his enthusiasm towards med school which also encourages me to work harder in med.

In one of his posts, he narrated how, at times, he felt like skipping review classes in exchange for a few hours of rest but kept reminding himself that he should grab every opportunity that comes his way. We had a review session for the YL5 students last night and honestly, earlier in the day, I was already thinking of ways to skipping it. I am not a really good teacher and I hate teaching. Also, I am not confident with what I know. Well, to cut the story short, I ended up teaching. Nevertheless, the experience was worth it. I am glad that I came.

on pancakes and coffee.

THEY say that med school is like needing to eat five pancakes everyday. If you don't eat your pancakes today, you have to eat more tomorrow. Guess what, it looks like I have 25 pancakes on my plate right now (not to mention the crumbs that have been piling up since last year).

I started this week with good intentions -read my books in advance, review my notes in the evening then annotate my trans the next day. The problem is, I have been falling asleep hours before my intended bed time and so, no work done. I guess I would have to pull an all nighter - all dayer for the next couple of days if I want to redeem myself. arrggh. yo ho ho and a pot of coffee!

sync.

I have already mentioned in my earlier posts that I keep a journal which contains entries that are more personal in nature. However, there are also some interesting things that I write down here that are not present in my journal -rather disorganized I might say. And so, I have decided to sync my journal with this blog. But of course, somethings are meant for certain eyes only.

In addition, I have decided that I would try to write at least once a week. Looking at my past notes, there are some important things that I have certainly missed out and, a few decades from now, will lose memory of.

it's all coming back.

I didn't go to school today because I wanted to pull an 'all-dayer'. A few hours into studying and my mind began wondering off again. It took me a while to notice that I have been surfing the net for a couple of hours already. Don't get me wrong, my old passion for learning is indeed slowly coming back. Though I was procrastinating, I wasn't mindlessly surfing. I was actually reading the stuff -taking joy in such intellectual stimulation.

I may have not fully dealt with my crappy study habits yet but hey, this is better than staying in bed and being depressed like I used to. Here's to a super productive, super responsive, enthusiastic, non flaky, on time, quality me!

rage!

FOR the first time in months, I caught a glimpse of my old vigor. I do hope this is a start of a more passionate, enthusiastic, idealistic and diligent me. it's kind of late for this semester already -only 26 days to go before the semestral break but hey, it's better late than never.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light!
- Dylan Thomas

so here's the plan.

OVER the past days, I have seriously been reconsidering medical school. I feel as if I have lost all of my passion for it. In fact, I didn't even bother going to school today. I just stayed home and watched Hotel Rwanda,

As I watched the film, I realized that being a doctor is not really my goal in life at all. It is just my means to something more -bringing about a significant change in society. Watching all those refugees and seeing the UN Peacekeepers frustrated at the lack of things they are allowed to do, I told myself, Politics is what I really wanted, needed to be in. I am not saying that I would run for office someday but rather, I would like to have a hand in decision making. And so, my new life plan,

• Finish medical school by 2016 (hopefully)
• Take up residency -currently considering surgery
• Enter the Navy (during residency?)
• After residency, apply to MSF
• Practice medicine in a government hospital (still considering private practice in addition). To augment income, buy stocks, set up business and find other means of earning. At the same time, look for avenues to engage in policy planning.
• Take up Law or MA in International Studies
• Performance in succeeding years would be crucial to be able to be involved in foreign policy making and diplomacy.
• And if A is still willing to go all the way, then :)

Important notes

• I don't need to be in the top of our class but it would be very helpful if I wanted to do practice in a highly competitive tertiary hospital or work with MSF.
• Learn a foreign language (preferrably Spanish, French or Italian). Plus points for MSF and and foreign service.
• Invest in stocks early on. Key to success is time.
• Don't forget political science roots. Read once in awhile.
• Maintain connections. Don't be a hermit. This is IMPORTANT!
• Get old work ethics back! This is crucial at the moment.
• Finally, don't be disheartened. Don't lose sight of the goal.

very sick and tired.

just REMEMBER BATAAN.