I’m beginning to think otherwise.

I’ve started becoming familiar with a few of my classmates’ interests and life experiences outside of medicine, and I’m just blown away. A part of me thinks that I have nothing to contribute to this class in terms of useful skills. Another part of me hopes that my real talents have not been realized yet. The latter is definitely some wishful thinking.

The truth is, I’m at home in the operating room. No distractions. No competition. No having to listen to other people whine about professors, lectures, and medical school. Just me, the surgeon, the patient, and the clinical team. It’s almost as if the events which follow are pre-ordained every time. A laminectomy? I know exactly how it’ll play out minute to minute. A supraorbital keyhole craniotomy? I can already visualize the potential complications associated with the region.

I hope that flying under the radar is something I should be doing at this point, but I know it’s not conducive to landing a spot in neurosurgery. At the same time, I don’t intend on filling my CV with superfluous lists of achievements in place of meaningful experiences.

If there were only a way to quantify my ability to be efficient… to showcase what I’ve done by assimilating business with technology… to verbalize what I intend to do for microsurgery… then maybe I wouldn’t feel so inadequate. I’d feel like I have a tangible accomplishment (and a niche associated with it).

Oh well, in the end, I’m still lucky to have the priceless friendship of many of my classmates… many of whom have a right to be arrogant but opt for humility instead.

What I can’t stand is when these YouTube users (who remain completely anonymous by not posting any information about themselves) make the highlight of their day putting down the videos of others. I don’t know whether to pity or laugh at them, but these people need to grow up. A first grader could generate a more thoughtful (not necessarily “nice”, but at least more constructive) comment than these ostracized impediments to society who seek refuge in hiding behind a computer.

Okay, I’m done ranting.

If two shy people with an underlying interest in each other have a “conversation”, their body languages may appear radically different than two individuals having an otherwise casual discussion. Perhaps the girl will attempt a world record for the fastest eye-fluttering and the guy will flex all ten of his muscles (maybe eleven for an added effect). Sure, this is good and all, but why do some people (both guys and girls) think that every non-verbal action by the opposite gender is a signal of affection?

I’m fortunate to have only come across a handful of people who think they’re God’s gift to mankind. The funny thing, at least for me, is how sadly mistaken these people are. When Girl A thinks that Guy A, Guy B, and Guy C are all into her based on the content of their communication (verbal and nonverbal), in reality, the three guys are secretly just trying to be nice to her because they feel bad for her. It’s a funny thing… lying to ourselves.

I was “virtually chastised” by a female whom I had never met before for using proper grammar in a chat room with some friends a few years ago. In her mind, writing a sentence with correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling was synonymous with committing a sin and only allowed for “school.” Now I take pride in being different, but that was the first time someone was offended by my grammarian tendencies. I found it rather funny how childish people can be.  

What’s the point in practicing your typing for the sake of nothing? Upon entering college, you’ll need to be more professional in writing vitas, applications, research papers, etc. Why bother wasting your typing opportunities on ridiculously incoherent phrases?

so ‘de nxt TIME u r using slang, rmr ‘dat it wont get u newhere, fool.

Ugh, just seeing it written makes my eyes cry out in agony.

I think too much emphasis is placed on the end result of our ambitions rather than the process by which we get there. We learn a lot about life (and more importantly, ourselves) as we participate in activities and build relationships. Those who are given blind opportunities solely because they have ways to get around the “system” miss out on these chances and are often prematurely thrown into the real world without even knowing who they are. 

So are credentials overrated? No, because the steps we take to obtain them are vital in our upbringing as successful adults. To simply bypass these learning opportunities is to, yes, jump ahead of your peers; however, one cannot take pride in his or her accomplishments without knowing that they were a product of their own, individual efforts. Interventions from mommy/daddy, or the uncle who got you an internship, or the aunt who put the word in for you to shadow her cardiologist, etc. seem to invalidate the parameters of a person’s ability to be independent in our changing society. And for their sake, I really do feel bad. Though they may reap the benefits of a well-paid job and admiration from their peers for the time being, their ability to be independent is displaced by an ever-growing reliance on others.

Therein lies the problem. Humans are living, breathing containers of materialism and hypocrisy. If a good friend of mine landed a six figure job in his first year out of college, sure I’d be happy for him; however, I would still be somewhat jealous of his good fortune. To sooth my bruised ego, I would affirm that in 10 years, my annual salary would more than make up for what he earned in the decade within 2-3 years. Yes, this is an extremely trivial example of jealousy, but unfortunately it’s something we encounter everyday on varying levels.

1. Person ‘A’ has aspirations and desires.
2. Person ‘B’ attains some of the aforementioned goals first.
3. Person ‘A’ becomes jealous and finds excuses to explain why Person ‘B’ achieved them before he could.

In the end, Person ‘A’ still loses. Jealousy will only bring about frustration, anger, and ultimately defeat. In my opinion, when it comes down to pursuing success, ambition unhindered by the accomplishments of others is the best route. Making excuses to justify your lack of success will only keep you trailing in the game of life. 

So I ask my readership – what problems do you find yourself facing regarding jealousy?

You just failed an exam. Your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke up with you. A member of your family passed away. There are an infinite number of scenarios which would make someone “hate life”, and while some are considered to be more emotionally draining than others, the end result is the same – you can’t change the past. Stop complaining about how hard life is, get over the hard ship, and move on. And this brings to mind another thing. I’m not one to judge without a reason, but when people broadcast that their life is less-than-perfect to the rest of the world… are they trying to gain sympathy or something? That’s an awfully pitiful way of doing it. If you cope with hardships by seeking comfort from others, TELL THEM what’s wrong. Stop trying to be a mysterious, depressed person just so you see how many people have the decency to go out of their way to inquire about your problem. 

I’m strongly against the death penalty and suicide as means for ending life. Regardless of our religious upbringings, I think many will agree with me when I say that living is the hard part. Dying is far easier. Similarly, those who claim that “life sucks” are just looking for an easy excuse to sooth their suffering. A person’s life is the sum of his or her actions, and everyone’s life is riddled with unexpected hardships. It’s how swiftly and effectively we resolve these hardships which defines our character. Are we a person who flaunts every problem to the world, or are we more reserved in our handling?

It really irritates me when I hear that “life sucks” from people who have no idea what true hardship is. At the end of the day, there’s someone out there who genuinely has it worse than you. For their sake, count your blessings and take it upon yourself to move on. Otherwise, continue at your current pace. One day, you’ll realize that no one is going to even spit at your problems, and the only person who can resolve them is the same person who should’ve been resolving them from the very beginning – you. 

I’ve heard way too many of these faulty and unprovable comparisons:

• Girl A is so much “smarter” than Girl B.
• Boy A might not be the “smartest” person around, but he has a lot of “street smarts.”

What does this even mean? Hasn’t anyone ever heard that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” If this is true (which I believe it is), then why can’t it also be extrapolated to intelligence too? It should be! Intelligence is an especially touchy subject. We all constantly pit our wits against each other competing for recognition, the best jobs, etc. At the same time, we like to think that intelligence manifests itself in two forms – “book smarts” and “street smarts.” Again, what does this mean? If you ask me, it’s just an excuse. Those who aren’t as gifted in the classroom will naturally claim that they possess skills elsewhere – in this case, perhaps social abilities. I’ve never heard a brilliant classroom student claim that they lack such skills. At the same time, I’m strongly against the notion that one’s intellect is largely based on genetics. A little? Sure. But genetics are no where near as important as one’s motivation to succeed. You can’t teach someone to study hard. No amount of parenting can force a child to be passionate about academics. Only the student can.

So again I ask… how do we measure such abstract traits like intelligence? Not by IQ tests. Not by GPA’s. Not by test scores in general. And most importantly, not by what other people’s perceptions are. We measure it by how well each of us uses our upbringing. This implies that the meaning of “intelligence” is highly variable, but regardless, it illustrates how we cannot define a concrete way of measuring it. Consequently, comparing one individual’s intellect to another’s is inherently flawed. I know many people who’ve been privileged with incredible gifts, but fail to use them to their maximum potential. Rather than embracing their abilities, they waste time pursuing pleasure. It’s another reason why I believe a single person is capable of inconceivable accomplishment, but people are infinite pools of ignorance. But anyways, back to the topic.

The only, indisputable way of claiming that you are “intelligent” is that you can genuinely say that you’ve made the most out of your upbringing. Coming from a relatively privileged upbringing, I had little excuse NOT to strive for perfection in my undergrad studies, but there are others who have to work for their education, raise a family, etc. While they may not have a stellar GPA, they have what others like to call “street smarts” but what I call “common sense.” That’s funny to me… we call it “common sense” when in reality, it’s not all that common. I guess I’m just sick of science students comparing GPAs and grad school entrance exam scores with each other trying to assess how they rank amongst their peers. This isn’t the way adcoms do it, and it shouldn’t be the way we compare ourselves to each other. A lot more goes into being “intelligent” than having great numbers. 

1. The annoyance is “insignificant.”
2. The annoyance is “experienced by all.”
3. The annoyance is specific to “only you and a few others.”

So for example, being insulted by a friend isn’t a pet peeve since many people find that annoying. But, as Wikipedia illustrates, if elevator doors which close before you can get in is something annoying, that could be considered a pet peeve.

Here are some of mine:

• The “swish swish” sound of wind pants.
• Being on speaker-phone (or a three-way phone call) without knowing
• Drivers who practically sit on their steering wheel latching onto it with both their hands as if their car will run away.
  • People who can’t park properly.
  • People who tailgate.
• People who complain about the same thing over and over and over again but do nothing about it.
• Girls who call themselves fat but are half of everyone else’s weight.

Yeah, some of these are bogus, but that’s the point of a “pet peeve.” Now I ask my readership – what are some of your pet peeves?

In other news, I’ve crossed off #2 on my Bucket List.