"I keep pushing myself to do better every day."
-Mahdiya Rizvi
Author: Alfisha Sabri
August 2021
As long as my father was alive, he was my mentor. Now, I don’t have any role models as such. However, I do have a dream, a dream born out of my passion and love for medicine. It is my love for medicine, my welcoming attitude to new shifts, my father’s will and wish for me to get educated in an Islamic and safe surrounding and background, my fascination with Iran’s culture and beauty, and God’s will, of course, that designed my journey from Allahabad to Tehran. Being an international student has been one of the most beneficial yet challenging experiences for me. To top that, the field of Medicine is one of the most wearying and exhausting degrees on earth.
It requires persistency, perseverance, and focus, which is physically and mentally draining. Yet again, to double top that, I have recurring pangs of emotional instability being so far away from the family. However, the Tehran University of Medical Sciences is one of the best universities out there. Linked hospitals with medically advanced technologies and hi-tech learning systems have given me the chance to experience different styles and patterns of education. I also got the opportunity to meet and gain from excellent professors and mates. Hence, I keep pushing myself to do better every day.
Coming back to my dream, from the time I started taking an interest in biology, the brain as an organ always stood out to me. It is incredible and fascinating to follow how it works. With progress, I've realized that I'm more inclined towards surgery and O.T. instead of just writing prescriptions and diagnosing the diseases. As I move further in my career, I have developed a connection and affinity towards the trauma line. Hence, I aspire to become a successful Trauma Neurosurgeon. After finishing my education at Tehran University, I aim to get into a residency program in the USA. There are numerous challenges that I face daily.
Besides the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion mentioned above, there is always the ticking clock of financial insecurity. I have worked hard to secure a partial scholarship from my University and keep working assiduously to ensure the other half. But more than anything else, all these exhaustions are minute when considered in comparison to my love and proclivity toward medicine, something that has given me a reason to carry on and live to fulfill my dream.
There is my unwavering goal, but I am also beginning to realize the importance of my journey. It has helped me to grow personally as it gave me prismatic exposure to different eccentricities and people and has also allowed me to take in the allure and cultures of distinct lands. To be honest, there is nothing quite like being on your own in a completely alien land.