Medicine vs. Creative Writing?

The UP journalism club, with a well-established reputation of producing excellent journalists, invited the FEU Advocate for a forum on Libel just last January 26. One of our writers, little-but-terrible Larra Domingo, brought me a form containing the requirements of the Creative Writing course under UP’s College of Arts and Letters. I could satisfy most of the requirements but I can’t deny that some part of me is still somewhat inclined to Medicine.

I have much great respect to the practice of Medicine which probably reared ambivalence in fully pursuing the course. I don’t want to be half-hearted when I finally enroll in any Med programs in the country. This line of thought kept nagging in the back of my head while reading the full context of the Creative Writing’s requisite list.

On Creative Writing
The first books that I’ve read are R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. When I started reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles triggered my habit of spending siesta time with a book, iced tea and some chips. I loved and admired Sherlock Holmes. Then, during one visit of my cousins from Marikina—Ate Kat and Ate Kim—they insisted in going to Southmall. As these two shared the same love of books, the first store that we were in was National Bookstore prowling around the fiction section. After a seemingly long search, because it didn’t exactly take longer than an hour, we finally queued for the cashier. I was lost in discussion about video games when they suddenly let out a controlled and well-disciplined, as if a toilet-trained toddler, shriek upon the sight of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. They were like drug pushers for me, so I grabbed one copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone—that’s when I fell in love with Joanne Katherine Rowling. After finishing it, that’s when I wanted to learn how to write. Such event impregnated me with a dream of producing my own novel, which is still in its first trimester. This is why I want to pursue the course.

But Medicine has an undeniably strong pull on me. Plus the idea that I can still write even if I aimed on being a doctor somehow multiplies ambivalence by four—which again brings me back to an earlier conclusion of not applying as a Med student unless I am fully ready and willing to devote half a decade, and more, in mastering the nooks and cranny of human anatomy and physiology.

Any thoughts?

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Curriculum Vitae

I found my previous file! During our community immersion last semester, we did the same personal profile for the compilation. And we were asked again to provide the same for our geriatric concept. By blind thought, I just thought to post it here. ^_^

EMAIL ADDRESS:
edge_guevara@yahoo.com, www.livewire-edge.blogspot.com
HOBBIES: writing, reading novels and other interesting reads, listening to music, blogging, watching movies, travelling, volleyball, badminton, playing video games; (woohoo!) FF!, Tekken, Pocket Fighter, Audition, RO and RAN Online, photography, dancing and sleeping (haha!)


Educational Background:
Primary Education: Saint Francis of Assisi College System – Main Campus, Las Pinas City
Secondary Education: Saint Francis of Assisi College System Science High School
Tertiary Education: Far Eastern University - Manila

Motto: “Huwag ka’ng masiba kung nilibre ka lang”

Unforgettable Experience:
I may appear as someone whose shyness seems to be a boring history subject, more like devoured by a nonexistent Dodo bird, but I think, or what I like to believe, I retained a decent healthy amount of self-respect. Such miniature, tiny and Tinkerbell-like aura of bashfulness announced its existence while performing, which is hopefully perceived as dancing and not some tribal ritual sacrifice, in front of weathered adults. Since the location is populated by dorms and apartments of collegiate students, it is, to my misfortune, inevitable for FEU studes or UST passersby to see what the seemingly senile activist movement is all about. Though hugely disbelieving, I felt embarrassed of my feeble attempt to move my extremities—dancing.
Let’s just say that I’ve done it before, during our community immersion at Balubad, Cavite, but I was holding on the fact that I won’t see those people ever again, which is like being under the influence of alcohol making me braver and nonchalant of any disgrace. Hopefully, this holds true even for the recent atrocity because those people, whose eyes are cursed by my dancing, would probably, hopefully surreal, see me again. Well in any case, I was able to discover that I’m not exactly shameless—or so I think.

Learning Insights:
Disgustingly, I’m a pessimist. I wasn’t expecting the number of geriatric clients who showed up for our program. I had certain prejudices with inhabitants of Manila. Provincial people are, in my perception, easier to converse with and invite. Such chauvinism hindered my usually strong vigor in being more friendly and amicable to community people. My enthusiasm was blatantly hampered by such premature misconceptions, this could be attested by my groupmates in our previous community immersion. Fortunately, I was able to revise such resolve at a conducive time. Wallowing in such mediocre attitude longer would result to no ones upliftment, especially our group’s. This taught me the need to always have an open mind and delete unnecessary judgmental stereotyped files in my mind’s desktop, which is thankfully reformatted by the experience.

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Point of Exhaustion

There comes a time when you’re tired of trying to explain your side over and over again, especially when you know that you’re on the right track while people see that you as evil. The first thing that I assure before explaining myself is that I am talking to people who are open-minded. Stubborn, shallow or closed minded persons are useless, and pointless, to talk to. They can only see from their own perspective and will fail to incorporate your vision despite what reality served.

Here’s the thing, no decision is done haphazardly. For people who decides based on gut feeling and ‘heart’ those are un-sound judgments. First of all, the heart is a muscle. It is an organ that pumps blood. Logically, use your brain to address any situation. No matter how personal or involved you are, for you to decide objectively, you should see clearly.

Emotional decisions are derived from immature and childish thought process. Often, decisions resulting based on mood are biased and is aimed for the benefit of the limited few. People who makes subjective decision-making, or drives with overly personal fuel, are those who fail to see the bigger picture, a better understanding of such occurrence or the definition of a scenario.

Let’s just say that I’m through explaining myself to such people. I cannot waste my time again. I will only explain myself one last time and that’s it. I’m through. It’s not my responsibility to open the minds of immature thinking and shallow judgment.

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