AFTERWORD

After finishing this journal, I’ve once again come to realise just how much I’ve changed over the previous two years.

I walked into medicine thinking I’d be doing it for myself – it was my one true passion, and furthering my knowledge was my main driver. It only took a few weeks for all that to change. As passionate and driven as I was about medicine itself, my outlook shifted quickly. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about me. Suddenly, I was doing this for my patients. Not only was I taking care of them, I started to care about them. I might’ve turned a bit soft and mushy, and maybe even a tad too emotionally involved, but that has undoubtedly made me a better doctor and, more importantly, a better person. And that, I owe to the many mentors I had the honour of working with and learning from.

I also walked into medicine thinking it’d be the only thing I’d wanna do for the rest of my life. A few months down the line, that changed too. With time, I started to realise there’s way more to life than just medicine. While I wouldn’t say it’s just a job, I’ve come to understand that it shouldn’t be the sole thing my life revolves around. It may be my calling and my one true passion, but that doesn’t mean I can’t branch out or prioritise other aspects of my life. Difficult though that might be – especially given the workaholic that I am and my monomaniacal obsession with medicine – I had to take a step back from it in order to see that clearly.

And so… here’s to another chapter of my life coming to an end. Here’s to a new one about to unfold. And here’s to everything life has to offer.