Reflections on the Orientation day.
(In the first day of orientation in C.I.M., we were tasked to write our reflections on certain quotes or sayings. The following is the one I wrote when I was “confined”, doing a bit of “deep” thinking. Haha. J )
A famous clergyman once said “…No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined… No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined” How can these wise words be applied to you as a C.I.M. medical student?
Steam or gas are (or were) considered valuable commodities because they are used as fuels to make engines function to benefit humans. However, these fuels cannot be of much use if it is let loose and go anywhere the wind blows. It can only serve the engine when it is confined in a gas chamber or tank and is focused on the right spot.
Likewise, as a C.I.M. medical student, this fuel/steam/gas can be a metaphor for my desire to become a doctor someday. This desire will not benefit anyone if I just let it fly by my fickle moods, laziness or winds of adversity or discouragement. I must undergo the necessary “confinement” through the excellent training in C.I.M. so I may be able to succeed as a future doctor. Also, it personally means that I have to “confine” such a desire within the bounds of discipline, commitment and diligence to study and survive (and succeed) in C.I.M. In so doing, C.I.M. can direct me to that right spot (or opportunity) where I can run and function to benefit society by exercising my expertise in providing for people’s health needs.
Moreover, such “confinement” may mean losing certain forms of happiness, liberties, or freedoms; but as Abraham Lincoln once put it, “as you give up such freedom, you may soon discover other freedoms which were previously unknown to you..” To me, this “future” freedom is the freedom to experience the fulfillment of saving other people’s lives, to be God’s agent of healing and, hopefully, to be able to hear Christ tell me someday, “Well done, good and faithful servant… Come and share your Master’s happiness,” (Matthew 25:21).
Hope this won’t remain as an essay but be truly lived out by me in my daily decisions here in C.I.M.