We Were Comrades

In the past one month, I've met 2 of my ex-batchmates who are no longer with us in semester 5 bcuz they couldn't make it pass the killer final exam back in sem 3... I'm glad that I have the chance to meet them again, at least before they've totally disappear from my life... No, I dun mean that I'll forget all about them, but honestly, what's the chance of me meeting them again in the future when they're either studying abroad or a different field? It's great that I have some sort of conclusion to 2 of my frienships, for I've always hated things to end unconclusively.

Nevertheless, when I think about their situation, I can't help but feel this intense sadness that must have been surrounding them all these time. We were... comrades, in a way, entering med school 2 years ago, probably beaming with pride, for who can deny that only the cream of the crop can make it into med school? We 'battled' together, with the hours of lectures, countless CSU sessions, and the awfully stressful exams. We spent lots of money here in med school, all hoping that they're worth the investment in the end...

Can you imagine how it feels like in the end, when, after you've spent almost RM 100,000, all the money is gone to waste bcuz you can't pass one exam? Some more heartless people might argue that if they can't make it thru, that means they're not fit to be a doctor, for who wants a doctor who knows less than two thirds of the knowledge that is imparted to us? We're dealing with human lives here! But when I think about it, who are we to give such judgements, for who knows whether we'll survive the obstacles in the future ourselves? Will more of us fail along the way and dun have the chance to recite the Hippocratic Oath? And will some of us ended up changing their profession after realizing that Medicine is not their calling after all?

We were comrades, we faced the same trials before, and it's truly saddening that not all of us pass thru the filter. And what's even more saddening is that these drop-outs who can't make it dun have a proper chance to say goodbye to us, the rest of his comrades, but juz disappear unceremoniously, disappear from most of our memory... When we've all graduated, I wonder will we ponder about the people who were with us before, but unfortunately not with us now in the graduation gowns?

People forget too easily...