I think it’s only appropriate that one of my first posts has to be somewhat personal and here it is. If you’re going to be following this blog then don’t get used to this. I’m sure almost everyone who knows me well enough will be surprised with this entry not because of what it contains but because I actually wrote it. I’m going to be discussing three things:
My purpose:
So let’s start with my purpose, my main reason for existence: medicine. I consider myself a lucky man (no not really, I constantly feel like I’m being chased by bad luck) but in this case I am lucky. In this day and age only a few people have a purpose. Almost everyone heads into engineering or business because they’re the only viable options with actual careers. They don’t want to do it, barring a few people, but they do it because they don’t know what else is out there or what might work out for them.
I knew what I wanted since I was 6, since my first grade “What do you want to be when you grow up?” 5 sentence essay. It’s not easy having a purpose especially that to get to what I want I have to work relentlessly for the first 30-40 years of my life, that I almost gave up on at some point but we’ll get to that later, but it certainly is worthwhile. If I was handed 200 millions dollars right now on the condition that I give up being a physician I probably wouldn’t take it. I mean yeah sure, my summers would be a million times better and more interesting and I would be able to build a couple of hospitals even, but it wouldn’t satisfy me. I was born for a purpose and without it I can never be complete. If you gave me half a million dollars unconditionally I would probably spend it all on my medical education.
Some might say this just another doctor’s God complex but I don’t think it is. It’s a beeper inside my head that won’t stop beeping until I’m done doing what I have to do right now as a med student. A beeper that makes sure I’m done studying at least a day before my test, but one that’s non-existent when it comes to other aspects of my life like piano, tennis, swimming, or basketball lessons. I don’t want know where I’d be without my beeper.
My spark:
My spark is what ignited my purpose when I nearly let laziness conquer me and luckily my spark appeared in the 9th grade. Middle School was a tough period mainly because we didn’t actually learn anything at school. My brain began to shut down and I had no thoughts. Now that I think of it, I was the kind of person that I despise now. I would go to school and come home to watch tv. Productivity: ZERO. I gave up on a lot of things and just wanted to sit there doing nothing until one day as I watched tv aimlessly I found a football match and having nothing else to do I decided to watch. Within the first 3 minutes I saw a player I did not know at the time kick the ball above two players from the opposing team then head it in midair to his teammate who gave it the slightest of touches to put in the back of the net. It was magic, out of this world, simply extraordinary. It shocked me how people can be THIS good at something, the play was near perfection. Needless to say the player who gave the ball the faintest of touches to put the icing on the cake was Lionel Messi.
In my less than ordinary life I have never seen anything done with such talent and professionalism. It was like they were playing a symphony and so I couldn’t resist and made sure to watch every single game to see this wizardry. I guess the defining moment was in the semifinal and Barcelona needed one goal to qualify to the finals and couldn’t get it until the 90th minute when Iniesta scored and my heart exploded. I decided to live up to Barcelona’s standards and become as good at medicine as they are at football.
My life support:
The final piece of the puzzle: my friends. My friends are there for the good and more importantly for the worst. Life would be unbearable without them. If you’re reading this and you know you’re one of them then I suggest you bookmark this article because you won’t hear me say it often. The best thing about having a large group of friends is that we all have the same core but we’re all so different. Each one of us brings something different to the table so instead of having one person cheer you up, you get 6-8 different people each in his own way. I’m sure this bothers restaurant owners though because instead of getting a couple of people eating and talking they get over half a dozen people who laugh like maniacs. The best companions for the greatest trip.
*Any attempt to describe or praise my mother’s role will never suffice so let’s leave it at that.
mycircleofwillis 