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I marvel at the clarity that most young adults have nowadays with respect to their careers. Because well, I was an ever-confused young adult; or wait, maybe not.
I
belong to a family of more or less medicos. Starting from my paternal and
maternal grandparents, to my mom, dad, most maternal and paternal uncles, and
aunts, we are a family of a wide array of different medical specialists. From
dining table discussions about patients to some doctor-patient talk, which I
used to overhear while doing my homework in my mom’s clinic; my subconscious mind had accumulated
enough data to evoke the hidden medico in me. Thus, I always knew I wanted to
be a doctor, a cardiologist if I can be specific.
Opting
biology and reading text for the premedical entrance examination thus came
naturally to me. Clearing the examination with an average rank, good enough to
fetch me a college which could grant me a degree, but not as great so as to get
me the top-notch colleges then followed.
“But
just an MBBS isn’t enough nowadays, which speciality would you land up in, is
what I am thinking.” Said my mom, who herself is a gynaecologist, and feared
that I may end up being one too.
Well,
with the busy lives which most medicos lead, that question could certainly be
of genuine concern to any parent, I think.
“Cardiology,”
I was enthusiastic enough to say.
“Cardiology!
Woof! That requires super specialisation. Which means you end up spending an
additional three years in your education. Which is, if you clear the exam in
the first attempt. And then, emergencies, night duties, and an endless burden
follows. We have seen enough of that life. I want something with which you can
take care of your family and have some personal life as well,” she was
thoughtful.
So
you see, till now I had some idea of what I wanted to pursue but it was after
this discussion that the confused young adult in me took over. Since I was an
aimless nerd who though knew what she wanted to pursue, but didn’t know why she
wanted to pursue that; it was an easy task for anyone to confuse me at that point.
“Dentistry
is evolving very well nowadays, there are so many specialisations which have
emerged from within the field itself. The number of dentists who have done
their masters are quite less. You love studying, you can pursue general
dentistry and then specialise in one of its fields. It’s less crowded and the
work is specific and doesn’t involve emergencies either,” suggested my mom
again.
Dentistry!
I thought in my head. I had never been to a dentist before and didn’t know what
to imagine out of it. All I remembered was my dad pulling my front two baby
teeth wearing an overhead light on his forehead when I was a kid. Nevertheless,
since I didn’t have any clear priorities or decisions, I ended up joining the
bachelor’s course for dental surgery in Lucknow city a month later from then.
As
of today, I have well-defined aims, I have a good married life and I know my
priorities well. But back then I was like an aimless goat, all I knew was that
I had to walk. I had no idea about the where and why. Unlike the ram or the
lion, I quietly surrendered to whatever was offered to me.
Yes,
I am a Capricorn (symbol: the Mountain goat) from top to toe. I don’t know what
had made me so interested in the sun signs, but all I knew was that, for me, it
was all in the stars!
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From the book- Is it all in the stars?
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