Source: boredpanda

I once saw a comic strip depicting the lives of university students studying different majors. As you might have guessed, the artist portrayed it as nerdy and mundane. Many would imagine seeing a thick wire-rimmed bespectacled girl (or boy!) sitting in the library, with a thermos flask filled with coffee, head buried among a pile of hard-covered medical books outside lecture time. The person would probably be pale-looking as he/she has no time to waste under the sun playing sports and enjoying outdoor activities. I would not blame you if you had ideas similar to these, as I once had such thoughts too.

Contrary to popular belief, medical school students do enjoy and play hard to during their university years. To me, stress is inevitable but it comes in surges, especially when you have an exam or assignment deadline looming 'round the corner. People start panicking, library cubicles get booked out, lecture halls become more empty and I start promising myself to study 2 weeks in advance for the next exam. Every single time.

Nevertheless, it was not difficult for me to strike a balance between studying and playing, although I do believe that my scale is usually tipped towards the latter. Hahaha!

Source: redbubble

I remember studying late into the night (call it ‘studying’ but God knows how much of those were just time spent trash talking in the IT rooms) and all the mamak outings at 3 am. Now that I think back, I probably only stayed back in the campus so my friends and I could go out and have our daily post-midnight ‘makan’ sessions.

I remember packing our passport and driving into Singapore late at night just for McDonalds and doing grocery shopping at 2 in the morning; taking the weekend off to attend a wedding out of town; or even driving 2 hours to a neighbouring state for a Japanese anime movie. Oh! And the trip to Universal Studios during Halloween to get spooked by ghost houses and jump scares. Impromptu as it might seem, my bunch of friends were always up for the challenge. The thought of doing something ridiculous always seems welcoming. We definitely live up to the motto “Everybody only lives once. If not now, when?”

I also remember pouring buckets of water on our deans, professors and even the CEO during the Ice Bucket Challenge (a challenge done to increase awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) a few years back. Who else could pride themselves on doing such a notorious thing on their lecturers? Having that said, they were a cool bunch of people who willingly accepted the nominations done by the students.

My 5 years in university were kept busy by a variety of events outside the usual lecture and hospital teaching hours. Inter-varsity sport events, open mic sessions, cultural celebrations, multi-national food fair, gala nights and charity auctions. You name it, I’ve done it!

I had my fair share of fun and craziness, some of which I would not trade for anything else in the world. Doing it with the right company just makes the experience 10 times more unforgettable and memorable. Ultimately, it is up to you to choose the kind of life you want during your university years. A little bit of everything often makes up the best concoction!