It is almost a decade since I started writing this blog.
Wowsers. Time disappears bloody quickly.
"Writing" is a bit of a subjective term because I neither write particularly well (stream of consciousness borne out of frustration/emotion) nor have I written on this blog regularly.
It still touches me deeply when I read the comments section of the "I hate medicine" entry (well maybe not the spam posts) as so much of what people are going through is exactly what I've been through/still go through.
I don't think I have much advice for you all and, more importantly, I'm not qualified to give you any decent advice. I've pretty much felt my way through my professional life to date, muddling through (not so) elegantly and so would NEVER want to suggest what the best/worst decisions might be for you. Those are decisions we must ultimately make ourselves. Beth Orton is pretty spot on when she sings:
"this beautiful life that we build by hand
From scraps and shards and broken strands."
Medicine is such a weird career - capable of filling you with unimaginable joy and happiness whilst simultaneously bringing you to your knees at the foot of an unsurmountable mountain of misery. Is there a way to ride this stupid emotional roller-coaster without feeling like you want to hurl? I still don't know.
What I do know is that we are never alone. Regardless of how miserable the world might appear, there are millions of wonderful people out there. Reach out to them and suddenly everything seems a little bit brighter. "No man is an island" wrote Donne. Clever man.
