Another Milestone achieved in Life -- Graduated from University.

I guess I am back again. Finally, after a hard and long year, I could finally deliver some news. 

First of all, I  finally graduated with a degree in Dentistry. Well, of course, it was so damn hard. (Of course, I still got viva borderline for that killer OMOP subject ). But anyway, I made it. And, it is such a relief. I am extremely grateful for the achievement and the people who have been along this journey with me. 

Final Year as a Dental Student is not easy, clinics started with chaos because we are no longer having an assistant. You need to plan ahead all the time, be very flexible and agile when working. Patient management and time management, and constant planning and replanning your clinical progress are crucial if you want to always be on track. Tackling the patient's expectations as well as playing your abilities and your knowledge up to your strength while treating your patient is important if you want to work accurately and fast. You need to be able to take on any hard bumps (Anything can happen), stress management is key, no doubt about that. 

This final year is tougher,  especially in the year 2020. With a COVID-19 pandemic at hand, it was such a huge blow to our final year. With the MCO in place, Clinics went into a halt for 3 whole months and i have not been home for the past 8 months. During MCO, when you thought self-discipline would kick in and you would study, but instead, you ended up being busy with all sorts of assignments and case reports and online seminars and online classes. Although clinical requirements were cut short, who knew the plan B was even worst than before. I was fortunate enough to actually finish my clinical requirement right on time before the finals, but many of my friends were not so lucky. Of the many peaks of our life, in the final year of University life, a deadly virus robbed away a lot of time, bonding, and memories that we could have had. We had our annual inter-year, but unfortunately, NDIVG was canceled. No Teacher's Day Celebration, no ceremony for result announcement,  and No Grad-Night. No, But, we still managed. Of course, we always do.  

This year, I lost a friend too, who happened to be one of my best friend's boyfriend. I guess the incident was traumatic for me that it always serves as a reminder that how fragile a person's life can be and there's no guarantee if we all have a tomorrow. It makes me determined to try my very best to always live in the moment with my loved ones. 

But I guessed, the one thing that alarmed me the most was my dad getting Stage I vocal cord cancer. of course, I am relieved that we caught it earlier. But, after what happened to my host mum, it shook me as well. Suddenly, I realized that I have reached a point in adulthood that I need to take care of and worry about my parents. With the thought that I may be starting work by March next year, it complicates things because I need to factor it where I want to do my internship. I also need to figure out if it is also strategic and wise to work my plans in line with my partner. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful to have somebody who loves me, but still, both of our decisions are bound to lead us into ripples of waves of unknown directions. It's definitely going to be the stage of a lot of growing up to do as an adult, certain mindsets need to change. ( On a side note, I need to start reviving my driving skills too !) 

Just when you think you have finished university, there would be time for rest, but actually, it's time to prepare for something that is even more challenging in the working life. People say University is one of the best times you will ever have in your life, I never doubt that. But I guess, I just have to take things one step at a time. 

Till then :) 

May the world heal soon.