I'm just close to a month into the course but I think I can pass a thing or two on to those planning or preparing to get into the course. MBChB that is. First, all the rumors you hear out there are probably true. Within the past one month, I've done more reading than I've done the whole year. This I did not complain about because I was told that I'd practically be living in the library for the next few years. What no one told me was about the disappointment I would feel after sitting for my first test. I contemplated drowning my sorrows in a bottle of vodka. It just did not make any sense after all the reading. I've also been spending a lot of time in the dissection lab. As a result, my clothes stink such that on lab days, my dad makes me sit in the back, even with the AC on. I see how much he dreads picking me. Formalin is part and parcel of the lab. I don't think my non-med friends would want to hang around me in the near future. And if you thought the teachers in High School were mean because they gave you weekend homework, I'm not sure what you'd think of the lecturers here. You'll have a whole new perspective of the word 'mean'.
You still think you'll find time to go out for 'Blankets and Wine' or enjoy a movie with your friends. Think again. You're not studying for a BA (Bachelors of Being Around), a lecturer once told us. Your time will be spent getting to know Ganong, Lehninger, Snell, Last's and others. (These are names of authors). You'll start refering to them like you know them personally. Our daily conversations go like, "Lehninger said..." .....Finally, I came into this course with the obvious long term goal to be a trained medic. That's changed. My goal is to get to second-year. There's no guarantee. Getting to there is an achievement. They say that's when you can call yourself a medical student. Despite this, I'm happy to be here. I'm neither complaining nor trying to discourage anyone. Follow your dreams and work hard.
I feel inspired to quote Maya Angelou, "If your dreams don't scare you, they're probably not big enough."
