Living Lives - One at a Time...

For the past few days, I feel I have been subconsciously reviewing my life. Looking at it from a distant point of view. Going through it, I felt like I have lived so many different lives in this one life and who knows how far from the end it is right now...
Allah has been kind.
I had a beautiful life as a kid...My time in UAE - The land where dreams come true was just what it says like a dream coming true every moment. I had to face many challenges but now that I have overcome them I can say in that clichéd way - It was all a part of growing up.
I then had a brief stint in Aligarh, India... A short but interesting experience.
Then there was the year long stay in Kota, Rajasthan, India - The place where I learnt not only to compete in the Pre Medical Tests but also a lot about the world.
Another year, back at home but this time it was different. They say difficult times reveal the truth. I am really grateful to Allah for that time of test. Through it He revealed a lot to me...
Then it was a 6 month stay in Rampur... Less said the better - A lesson I learnt in detail while living there. However some real good things that happened then included the time I learnt to cook... Yes! I can cook well enough now. ;) And the most beautiful moments were those spent with my grandmom (nani). Nothing in the world can compete with their beauty.
And then on 19th August the beginning of a new life...(17th August according to the Dean records :p ).
I started college, the college of my dreams. I was finally admitted as a student of MBBS in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, India. Just thinking about it makes me happy all over again. And no one knows how many lives I lead now as I live through the 24 hours in the day... But believe me when I say I am enjoying every part of it...
I enjoy getting ready in a rush trying not to miss any of the essentials, deciding whether to have breakfast or be on time in class, rushing out to search for a cycle rickshaw, strolling to the college on better mornings, entering class searching for some faces, enjoying the lectures my way, trying to keep awake during some lectures or fighting hunger in others, slipping out of class to grab a bite before the next lecture starts, catching a glimpse of someone familiar in the canteen, smiling without realising, passing classmates in the corridors, waiting for the majority to return to class in a gang so that none are questioned, thinking of witty replies to the lecturer's rhetoric questions, having fun in the Histology Laboratory and then rocking the Dissection Lab or the Discussion Lab... (I have spoken about it earlier...) and then the Lab the Leave.. I mean Leave the Lab signalled by Sir's banging the table. I love every part of it. Love it when my friends try to calm my frayed nerves as soon as an exam, sessional or even a table viva comes up. Their eyes full of concern, so different from our fun times when they can poke enough fun to irritate me... And I like it when I can help someone, in any small way possible... The inner happiness - simply beautiful....
By now any one can make out how much there is to enjoy... Yes, there are times when I would just want to be invisible & not put up with the nonsense dished out by so many - whether on the way going to college and back or while at college...But as they say it's all a part of life. You have got to enjoy the rose with its thorns... There can be no rose without thorns... So I can satisfactorily say my life seems like a bed of roses...
Something here tells me it will be a part of my future. Then there is a fear what if it is not... But fears fade when someone smiles, someone compliments or when someone just passes by. It's like that someone says, "All will be well. Trust me."
I trust. I trust Allah. He has given me a lot more than what I expected. And I trust Him to give me a beautiful life ahead just like the ones he has given me till date...

Until Next Time
Your lively
Khan...Fatima Khan

Happy Tuesday! Ooops Sorry! Happy Valentine’s Day

People are still reeling from follies of New Year’s Eve when February arrives. Cupid strikes hard, few are spared & ones already hit have intensified symptoms of the Valentine Syndrome… It is characterised by sleepless nights due to night calling or sms packs, days spent in confusion deciding when & what to gift, when & what to say, whom to or whom all to say to in some cases...

Before a cure could be found, cunning businessmen decided to cash further on the love game – Stretched Valentine’s Day to Valentine’s Week. The magnitude of diabetes inducing messages floating around increased. I could’ve gone with the sentiments but the order of festivities didn’t thrill me. Rose, Propose, Chocolate, Teddy, Promise, Kiss, Hug & Valentine’s. It should have been Chocolate, Teddy, Promise, Hug, Rose, Propose, Kiss & Valentine’s – Seems more logical. Time to write to The Valentine Commission for necessary corrections to be made in time for 2013… Until then Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

I know I know...lots to catch up on college but THIS was important. :p

Until next time

Romantically Yours

Fatima...

My First Impression on them ;)

Friday, 19 August 2011

Enter the first class - BioChem Lab.
Late by 10minutes. What a start! But who knew how many things had already started.....
The usual new student, get her the necessary things, a place to begin & give her the intro to the experiment got over in a matter of minutes. Sania, Kifah & another guy (I never got a chance to ask his name & he soon left college. Must have got admission into another medical college of his interest) helped me to go through the 1 hour of lab. No one really took notice. Things went on as usual. This is what I had thought.

AND
This is what actually started when I first stepped in.
The guys had been waiting for Arshi Tandon, the girl on the Merit List. When I entered, I was mistake to be Arshi. Sorry Arshi wherever you are, whoever you might be.
Then I was mistaken to be a Foreigner, London wali to be exact. ;) They took it for granted that they couldn't expect me to know Hindi.
So the guys (Sohaib, Zaid, Gavendra & some others) decided to give me a hard time....All set GO....BUT that's when I dropped THE Hindi Bomb. The first time I was spoken to I gave a reply in fluent Hindi. The guys couldn't believe their ears. What was more as Gavendra later explained was it felt like watching an English Movie with Hindi dubbing.
They finally gave rest to their amusing failed prank and settled to a Hindi speaking Angrez (British).

The Angrez is now their friend & a part of their "TOPPERS" group....Though not so sure about being an integral part of the group yet....let's say not in not out...but just around. Some things are best enjoyed from the sidelines......

More to come soon...

Until Next Time
Your Angrez
Fatima

The First Week at college or is it....?

3rd September
Yes, the first proper week at college. Eid holidays are over. Things are falling into place. The pace is just picking up....ZZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!


October
Whoa!
It's the second month already! Where did the days fly?
Many things have changed now and my first day at college seems a distant memory even to my teachers. I've become so integrated that almost everyone at college knows me. Teachers don't even remember me as a late joining student. The other day there was a special short revision by our Physiology SR Abbas Sir for the students who had been admitted late. When I got up to go for the lecture, my Physio Lab teacher says "But you're not new, you are old." My smart reply "I am what you may call semi-new Sir." For most teachers I'd always been a part of class rather one of the most interesting elements in class. Amusingly many students feel the same too.

In the beginning of the session I used to sit right in the beginning of the Dissection Table.
 "A short intro to Dissection Hall".
Originally meant to be a hall where 150 students are divided into 10 groups of 15 according to the roll numbers. each group is given a dissection table, lab stools & may be a body to dissect & practise on.
However it's a hall where bodies are never dissected but Ma'am dissects us as & when she or anyone else feels like. :p Here we are told to sit and complete our Dissection Files, study bones we are allowed to lend from the Dissection Bone Bank or just revise our Anatomy portion. Mind it Anatomy Portion ONLY. Open any other book & be ready to face the wrath of the teachers.
What we actually do here is Discussion of all sorts, prospective partner spotting, ice-breaking intros, gossip and.......you won't believe it but we actually manage to study, complete or files & get a good view of the organs preserved for our study. Yes, and we are also shown x-rays & videos of dissection.

Our table is meant to have Roll Numbers 137 - 154. Don't tell me it's more than 15 because we also have roll numbers 133, 134, 135, 124 and some others joining us now & then. As fate would have it, I happen to be a part of the most "happening" table in the D/H (short for Dissection Hall - we have a lot of short forms around the college. I'll tell you about them as we continue on our journey......)

So coming back to my progress story, I slid down the table pretty fast. Now I sit half way down the table. I sometimes feel like the Line of Control between the girls & guys. ;)

The people at our table include Syed Mohd Zaid Zahin, Abdur Rehman, Prerna, Hera, Navnika Gupta, Sadaf Naz, Shamshad, Noha, Ram Prakash, Shadma, Tariq Ahsan Khan Jamal Ahmed, Kifah, Sania, Fatima Khan (Me), Surabhi, Zoha, Ankita & Zeba.....Prerna rarely sits with us.
And the people that join us time & again are: Abdul Basit(124), Sohaib Haider(133), Aqib(134) & Gavendra Singh Rana(136). Aqib & Gavendra are now an integral part of the table. Some others also but then how many names can I remember.....

Finally the guys gave me an insight of their first impression of me........This & lots more in the next post.

Until Next Time
Dissectingly Yours
Roll No. 150

Don't Tell Me About the UAE National Day

Come 30th November and I was as moody as moody can be. My friends couldn't understand what was wrong with me. I decided to stay away from the Gulf News website. Logged on to Facebook and Twitter but the status messages raised my irritation. Everyone was writing and writing  & writing about the awesome national day celebrations.... I didn't want to even hear about them. I wanted to forget that it was 2nd December. 

Finally today, I got the courage to face my fears. The video coverage, the pics - all in all the National Day Coverage was excellent. My mood too has become stable as I come to terms with the fact that I couldn't be a part of the celebrations I love the most. I am in India but my heart still yearns forAl Emaraat al Arabiya al Mutahhida. Congratulations to the UAE on having come so far and wishing them the best for times to come. Now perhaps I should call my family and forgive them for being a part of the celebrations without me....

Starting College - One day at a time.....

Greetings

Busy being dynamic for the past some months....Still dynamic but making time in my busy schedule :p

I have joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India as a student of MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery). That was on 18th August, 2011. Thought I'd update before the year ends. :p


Well, I'd been waiting to get into college for a long time now and the experience till date has been priceless. Hopefully there are going to be infinite such experiences ahead.


THE FIRST DAYS:
Didn't know what to do, where to go, who to ask, rather what to ask..... Thankfully the day ended at 10am it being Friday & Ramadan timings :)
Next day was a little better but mark my words just a little. Attended class of some of the best faculty members in the college. No matter how much I tried that smile on my face couldn't be hidden. What was I SOOO Happy about? Me being in the college of my dreams. Well...made some friends....friends..such a simple word. We'll talk about "friends" later.
So took a few phone numbers and before I know, I'm on my first bunk from college. Yeah, had to rush to Dubai, UAE for my Visa renewal, etc etc... Also had to enjoy one of the best Eid ul Fitr celebrations there. :D


So I properly started college on 3rd September 2011. The classes were good till we came to the Dissection Lab. No we don't dissect cadavers here. Nema Usman Ma'am dissects us when we are upto no good :p
With all due respect to ma'am, that class instilled in me a fear so strong that I used to have palpitations for the next many classes only on her sight.


But the fact was: I had finally started college in full swing & I was loving every moment. To know what came next, click over the next post. ;)


Medically Yours
Fatima Khan

Will It Matter In The Long Run?

Have been chatting with a new found friend recently & we had a spontaneous exchange of thoughts brought about by a totally random sms chat session. It's time I shared them with you.

From infancy we are brought up with a certain amount of fear. Fear of God, fear of parents, fear of the person who'll take us away if we don't listen to our parents, fear of displeasing someone...
As we grow so do our fears. No, don't deny. Yes, we realise Santa's not coming & no one's going to take us away. They dare not. We know all the Emergency Numbers by then...

Our fears are about expectations. We fear the consequences of failing the expectations of our teachers, schools, parents', extended family, society and above all our own.
We spend our lives in fear. Very rarely do we fail so badly that we come face to face with our fears...We fear whether the class monitor has written our name for talking during class. We fear whether the boy/girl at the front of the class will invite us for her birthday party or not...We fear this a lot.
Then we enter the rocky teen years. For those who do fall in relationships at this age, fear of heart-break is constant. Fortunately I never had to live with this fear ;) I believe there's a time for everything. Teenage is definitely not the time for relationships... There's so much to enjoy. Wait! There are other fears too. Fear of what do we say why we aren't following a certain trend is a MAJOR one.
Shifting to the oh-so-important pre-college years. We fear every step of ours. Will this lead to our goal or take us back to square 1?
Enter the tween years & the fear of missing the job of our dreams or a long-awaited opportunity...

We glide through it all...Everyone does. Yes, there are ups & downs. MAJOR ups & downs...but it all passes.

If & when we take perspective of our life years later when we have that top job or our choice of career, (people rarely do for fear it might disappoint them)...we realise that at many times we did fail. The bigger truth is that failure didn't prove fatal. If one tries smartly enough, failures are stepping stones to success...

One may have all that they feared they won't and then they have a new fear-"What if they lose it all?"

In the long run none of our fears matter. What matters is whether we are living a wholesome life accepting & enjoying the consequences of our independent decisions.

My friends, let go of the fears that don't allow you to breathe freely, that inhibit your potential. Sit back & enjoy the ride. No, I don't promise it's going to be a smooth one but fearing doesn't solve any problem. Face the fears & enjoy the bumpy ride. ;)

Until next time,
Fearlessly yours...