June. The start of rainy season and so is the school year.
I greeted the first day of class with runny nose. Who won't? With our weather here, a very hot day and still a hot night that we needed to put our electric fan on level three and focus it on us.
On my 2nd year in Med school, the only thing that made me think twice is the money that will be "robbed off" from my parents. All this tuition fees and expensive books and equipment, they are needed immediately. I don't know what my parents are thinking right now but i hope they had seen this coming.
On our first day, we had our orientation as usual. But i had to say that it left a great impression on me. A video*, which I knew then that would make us cry, was shown. It was of a child with cerebral palsy (CP). I was in awe of him as I didn't know that CP patients can talk straight, stand up straight and even walk. He had one thing in mind, that is to enter a race and finish it. For the entire duration of it, i was just stopping my tears from falling. The ambience of the auditorium did not made me comfortable to show my emotions. All the lights were on as they shouldn't be as far as I know and there were students next to you whom haven't known. Yes, our batch is a handful. And that made it even harder.
By the end of the video, I was still lost with the message. I get it, we have a goal, we have to set our hearts on it and ta da! Success! We'll not really that fast and easy. But what made me really think why of all the videos they can get from youtube, why the story of a CP patient. Was it because we are future doctors. And viola! Our University President explained and that made my heart really flutter. It made me renewed. It made me more excited. And i was just all thanking God for sending this people and giving the right message.
And just today, a while ago, on this 2nd day of classes, I ended up confessing to my closest friends of how i felt about the video yesterday. Not to my surprise, they too felt the same. They wanted to cry but since it felt awkward to do so, just like me, they're hindering their tears from coming. And thinking about it, i bet many of us, if not all of us, felt the same too. But oh, thanks for the bright venue that we can see each other's face clearly.
And so, as the classes continued, orientation from each subject given and some lectures made, I had worried for a while again of how I would survive this bottle-neck year as i remembered all the professors say this book is required, this and that are needed. Yes, it's a good investment but since i only have limited resources, i just have to choose from all of those the best armor.
Pondering more and more to the president's statement, she ended that even with his disability, he was able to finish the race just like the others did. And it translates to 'you, even with lack of resources, can do the things, reach the goal that others, with the best or everything in hand, do. And that's how it is, not only in med school, but also in life.'
But I think she forgot to include something - that is, God. I believe, that whatever you set heart on when it's from God, it will be. Otherwise, it will be in vain. We can never separate God from our everyday predicaments, not more even from the things we want to achieve. After all, He is our Creator and He is emmanuel. And the idea of reaching success without God, it will all be empty. Will you still call that success?
With God and faith, believe that you can, even without the fancies in life.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
*the video was about Matt Woodrum. Check out his story.