The Med Student Life

About two weeks ago I had my Whitecoat Ceremony - a formal, serious ceremony that marked the official beginning of med school. It bestowed on us the responsibility we were taking up as future medical professionals. While we sat there, decked up in our formal dresses and suits, waiting to receive our whitecoats from our professors, we realised how big of a commitment we were making. It hit me hard - amongst all the smiling faces, amongst my family and my friends who had come to support me and cheer me on, amongst all the celebration and encouragement we were getting from our professors and seniors, it started to dawn on me how big of an honor and how big of a deal this actually is. Medical school is a long commitment (I am very literally going to be here for atleast the next 11 years). It's going to be hard, it's going to be extremely tiring and there will for sure be challenges along the way. (Like seriously, I'm 4 weeks into school and have had atleast 60 lectures to finish already with really tiring, long days - and it's just the beginning.) But then I remember how badly I've wanted this, how incredible it is to be in one of the best medical schools in the world with top notch facilities and never ending opportunities, how all my friends, seniors and mentors are in this together and fighting for all of us to make it through, how I've chosen this as a career for myself due to the meaningful work that I believe it will be, and I think it'll all be just fine.

So it started. From the beginning of July all the way to the beginning of uni in August, there were so many orientation camps. Hey, I'm not complaining though - not in the least. After the 7-month long break post high school graduation, I was yearning to do something, to stay busy, to meet new people - and orientation was the perfect way to do that.

Orientation was so much fun. It helped me get used to the truly massive university campus, it helped me make new friends that I was going to be studying with, living with, and also gave me an opportunity to get to know my seniors, who were ever-so-welcoming and friendly. From 5-hr-long back to back briefings (that were really just yapping and napping sessions) to beach days filled with games and challenges, to finale nights with rushed choreos, to ilate night suppers with my groupmates, orientation gave me an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone, to familiarise myself with the idea of starting university, and gave me a glimpse of how university life could potentially be.

During the month, I met some of the most incredible people ever that make me feel incredibly humbled, some of the sweetest people who are fiercely loyal to whomever they care about, and was so glad I was able to fit in and find people that I could relate to and get along with. Here's to hoping for many more amazing experiences with them and all the fun we're going to have :D

As someone who has been dreaming about going to med school for a very long time, I'm ever so grateful for finally being here today. Then again, I don't completely know what I've gotten myself into either...

One month into university, I'm beginning to realise how different university is from school. For the first time, I'm staying by myself on campus - away from parents, away from the comfort of home. I'm slowly getting used to doing my own chores, learning to manage and have full control of my own time, and being surrounded by friends and classmates 24/7 - which is a new and incredibly fun experience.

I also realised how differently I can be seen by different groups of people. Some people see the outgoing, carefree version of me as I try to maintain my social life alongside my ever-piling lectures. Some people see the intellectual side of me, and look up to me for my strengths in presenting ideas and my confidence whilst engaging in serious discussions and interviewing for committees. Others see me as a quiet, mysterious person - someone they can't quite make sense of yet. Regardless of these many different personas, I hope to discover myself and find the best version of myself - one that will make me confident of myself, and make my friends, family and even future patients someone to be proud of and love interacting with.

So far, I have been really lucky- I've managed to find my group of friends, both from the medicine faculty and from the dorm I'm staying at.

I hope to make use of this space to talk about my journey - through my friendships, my academic journey, as well as the experiences I gain from my 5-year long university journey (and possibly beyond?)

For now, that's all from me - need to go catch up on the 10 lectures I have left to do :/