"Love is a Many Splendid Thing" (lesson 3)

By the end of this entry I would have said the word "love" (or another form of it) 32 times

It's my ever-lasting debate, a dilemma. What should I make my priority in life? It's easy for anyone to say "your family" or "your education" but when you experience the vices and virtues of both, when you love both ever so much, maybe then you'll realize how hard the decision is to make. n

University. It's a dream come true, it's one of the things I hold so dear to my heart, and top it off, the ability to enroll in such a prestigious faculty and study something I have always been fascinated with, the human body. I can't even comprehend how lucky I am to be able to study something I love so much. People say you can study it in so many different faculties, but this is different. I was once speaking to a friend, they asked me why I really wanted medicine, my answer…I'll keep that for later. n

Pause for a second and ask yourself, what is love? Is it merely a feeling, or is a physical change occurring in ones body? To me it is both. Love is a feeling, something that I hope everyone gets a chance to feel however beautiful, or painful it may be, losing it hurts, but gaining it fills you with an unbelievable energy. Love is a physical change, physiologically speaking, hormonal. Someone once told me "To be in love is not being able to go to sleep because reality is finally better than your dreams", and though I believe that, I still have my occasional doubts. n

Love is beautiful. To love your family, your job, to love a particular drink or even to love the color of the new shirt you bought. Love, it takes over you, you feel it because it touches you, your skin, your heart, your whole being. It takes over you. n

Love is painful. To lose a loved one, to hurt a loved one, or to be hurt by a loved one. Love is scary. To fall in love with someone, to feel like your very being is because of them, it's scary. The concept of living them, breathing them, sacrificing for them. What if you are faced with such an important decision in your life, two things you love, but you know that later in life, however hard you work to make them both work out for the better, one of them will have more priority to you than the other. You know the outcome won't be good. But you have to choose. What do you do? Give up on one to keep the other, . "I told you so" hurts. n

Many sacrifices have been made, but never the less the feeling still remains. Why do I want medicine… to help people, I want to help those who can't help themselves. You can say that that’s so clichéd, but it's the truth. many of the student around me, and some of the best ones too, are in med-school for the money, for the prestige, for their families wishes. I want medicine to help people, I love to help people, I don’t care if it won't even make me any money what so ever, for as long as I can help. Maybe I'm dreaming too big, but that's what I want. But what is help, if you cant help yourself. If you can't help your family, the people that you love the most. b

I am always told this. Make your priorities clear, to you, for you. It's hard though. Right now, I can't even differentiate between which t-shirt looks better the orange or the pink (somehow always ending up wearing pink :P) . I am far from a selfish person. One can make promises all day long, but none are for sure. You don't know that in 2 days time you're going to be able to bake the cake you promised for your son's tenth birthday, you don't know if your going to be able to make your car-pooling turn, you don't know if you will be able to make your family your number one priority all your life in 5 years time, when you are at the height of your career. I've seen people who have done that, gave their all to their families, and ended up broken hearted, stuck in a relationship that they don't want, can't love and aren't loved, and they are in too deep to break away. I've also seen those who ignored their families and ended up alone, bitter over love lost and aren't loved. I've also come across the few people who were able to keep both things, but whatever they say, they still know that one thing is taking up more of their time. Is there anyway of making a balance. Yin Yang. Is that even a true concept? c

Can people balance their love for two things or is it always a balance between two opposites, black and white? I feel unfaithful, and I hate that feeling. I know this isn't supposed to be about me, but I can't help but wonder how I'll feel in a few years from now, I can't help but think of what will become of me. Is it right to choose love? I chose to love, I chose love, but love is somehow not uncovering it self just as the "splendid thing" that it truly is, and I am blessed to have, because love…is also, a many horrific thing. b

iDOC