Look at others as human beings

The world is not in need of more guns and generals, but of more hospitals and doctors

In the World Health Organization (WHO) committee of HNMUN, being a medical student puts you among the privileged few. I was asked by an Armenian delegate sitting next to me: “What in the world is MDR-TB?” Before, a delegate (no doubt a medical student), have been using the acronym which stands for ‘multiple drug resistant tuberculosis’ and other technical terms such as prophylaxis, palliative, DOTS, etc, which sounds unfamiliar to the students of law, government, economics and politics (which made up the majority of the committee).

Other than being able to understand the technical terms, and being a walking dictionary to others, being a medical student gave us an advantage to look at problems substantively. Politicians and economists like to talk about the legislative stuff, and they talked a lot too. But they don't quite have the correct idea on the real situation we’re facing. “Developed countries must supply more AIDS-curing medicine to developing nations!” one said. Well, if there is a cure for HIV/AIDS, we would have eradicated it from this world long time ago.

Realizing the flaws, once in awhile, they would say “Let’s hear the medical point of view”, signaling the need of someone with medical knowledge to speak up front. Throughout the conference, I was invited to speak a few times, and I’ve never felt more purposeful in my life. When the world asked for your opinion, why shouldn’t you feel so? I guess one of the best things about being a doctor is that people believe whatever you say. I am lucky I did my research before. At other times, I would most probably take an ‘intellectual guess’ =P

However, one can’t possibly deny the strong correlation between politics, economy, social systems and disease. So, like it or not, we all have to work together. One time I raised an issue on economics, about how the policy in the IMF and World Bank affects the healthcare system in many developing countries, and the next day, they brought a representative from the World Bank into the committee, in case people like me who lacked knowledge on economics asks the same dim-witted question again. I didn’t talk about economics again that day. Leave it to the economists, I did =PIn the end, despite our academic differences, doctors, politicians and economists worked together to find single resolution. The best thing about health committees such as the WHO is that we couldn’t disagree upon each other concerning the main goals. Of course, no sane person would disagree on eradicating infectious diseases from the world, yes? In other committees, such as the Security Council, they had about a dozen of resolutions to be voted. We had only one resolution, and the voting is just for formality. It was inspiring to see each and every country, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, raising their placard, agreeing on single resolution.

HNMUN was a grand, once in a lifetime experience for me. It was a wide-eye opener. Where else would I get a world-scale experience if not attending the real United Nations General Assembly? But then again, it wouldn’t be the same, because in HNMUN, they send students instead of real diplomats to a United Nations conference. What you’ll get are scenarios impossible in the real world. The United States in alliance with Venezuela, Iraq having dinner with Iran, India working together with Pakistan and suddenly obscured countries such as Saint Kitts and Comoros’ opinions is taken into account. I’ve never knew there’s a country which starts with ‘saint’!

As students, we realize the politics and international affair of our countries, but despite that, we looked upon each other not based on race, religion or political views. That’s the best thing about Harvard National Model United Nations: we look at each other as humans. We believe that the only real nation is humanity. We're all humans, aren’t we?

If You Are Waiting For Tomorrow, Why Not Do It Today?

This post is dedicated to my sister, Fatin, and is inspired by her post titled Memories That Remain. Yup, Fatin is the one I wanted to eat along with fruit loops back when she was 1 =P

If you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you’ll surely regret the day
That you didn’t take that extra time for
a smile, a hug, or a kiss,
And you were too busy to grant someone, what
turned out to be their one last wish

- Norma Cornett Marek

No friend can promise you that they can still be here tomorrow. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. We keep on thinking that everything will be the same tomorrow as it is today. But the fact of life is that everybody has their own path in life, and most probably, sooner or later, you won’t be going the same way. Yet, there’s still many of us who don’t realize what a blessing it is to have your best friends around. Until suddenly, one fateful day, you realize that you have one last day to spend with them. When that day comes, everything else seems irrelevant. It doesn’t matter anymore how many arguments you won on who’s right and who’s wrong. It doesn’t matter anymore how much they owe you for buying nasi lemak when they forgot to bring their wallet. It doesn’t matter anymore who got the most ‘first place’ in class. It doesn’t matter anymore if they cheated when the teachers asked to mark their own homework.

When you know you get to spend one last day with your best friend, the only thing that remains is of the good times together. When you know it’s the last day, you can spend the time taking photos, hoping to capture your memory together one last time. But nothing compares to the memories of just eating together, coming over to each other’s house, go on camping, or riding bicycles together. Suddenly each and every moment spent with your friends, even small things, feels much more meaningful. When you’ve shared years of your life with someone, it’s not easy to let go. There’s so much for you to say, but there’s so little time, and you don’t even know where to start.

Nobody can promise you that they can still be here tomorrow. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. If today is all you get, would you still hesitate to carve a smile, to lend a hug, or to tell your friends how much they mean to you? Live each day as if it is the last chance for you to spend time with them. Spend less time frustrating the little arguments and spend more time saying ‘thank you’, ‘forgive me’ and ‘I appreciate you’ s. You’ll never know when somebody has to go. Cherish each and every moment with them, and life will seem so much more meaningful. So If you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? Because today may be all you get

p/s: Sabar ye Tin, sume bende berlaku mesti la ade sebabnye. Memang la rase sakit hati skrg, tapi nanti lame2 baru tin akan tau hikmaknye. Anyway, ingat bopie selalu pesan, 'yang penting konfiden!'. Bopie yakin tin dapat masuk MRSM gak. Yakin, tapi if tak dapat jugak jangan hampa, coz I believe wherever you are, you'll shine on for everyone!

Blend in but Stand out

I was going through old photo albums when I found this:

Six-year-old me, reading to an audience a story I wrote myself

Sigmund Freud theorized that our childhood experiences define our life as an adult. If that is the case, the picture explains why I’m addicted to the microphone today =P. The picture was taken on a Christmas concert, right before my class performed. This is a story of how a Malaysian kindergartener ends up reading a story he wrote himself to a whole American audience.

It all started with journal writing. Back in 1994, my family and I had to move to the United States. My father had an offer to do his Masters at Harvard Medical School, and for me, I had the chance of a lifetime to have my first schooling experience overseas. Robert Fulghum, a world-known author once said: “All I really need to know in life were learned at kindergarten”. I agree. Well, maybe not EVERYTHING is learned in kindergarten, but at least I learned journal writing there. In my school, kindergarteners are required to write in a journal entry every single day. I was still getting used to English at that time, and every night my parents would teach me new words using flashcards. With my limited vocabulary and inadequate grasp of grammar, I wrote some hilarious entries. I remember writing:

“I like to eat Fruit Loops AND my sister too”!

What I really meant was that my sister and I like to eat Fruit Loops (the breakfast cereal). Because of my language limitations, I made myself sound like a cannibal for wanting to eat my own sister!

Journal writing is the start of my passion towards reading and writing. From flash card, I turn to storybooks, and after a while, I started writing my own stories. I made a short storybook of my own; complete with illustrations I drew myself, on a folded A4 paper. Sometime later, we had a “show and tell” session where we were to stand in front of the class and share anything we want to. Eager to share the book I wrote, I didn’t think twice before raising my hand. So I went in front, read my story to the class, and showed them the pictures I drew. The next thing I knew, I was made 'Student of the Month'!

Soon, Christmas came, and as a tradition, our school organized a Christmas concert where parents are invited to watch their children perform on stage. Each class has to perform, including mine. So my teacher had this ‘great’ idea. As an introduction, before my class perform, she wanted me to read my storybook to the audience! And so I did... My parents came over to the concert and took a picture while I was reading on stage. It was a merry Christmas indeed

Sometimes we are intimidated when thrown into a whole new culture. But we have to face it. We have no choice, because nobody likes an ugly duckling, or a black sheep, or a wolf that runs in a different direction from the pack. We must blend in. Blend in, but stand out as someone. Stand out as someone competent. Show that you are just as good, but never stand out as an outsider or an outcast. Blending in doesn’t mean that we must lose our identity. It's like being a chameleon instead of a clone. You still retain your identity (as a Malaysian, as a Muslim for example), but you are readily adaptable to changes depending on what is required of you. So get your name known, but never as an outsider =)

Have a Checklist!

Today, a fellow delegate gave me booklet titled ‘Travelling to the United States’. It includes a checklist of what to bring and what not to bring. When someone gives you that kinda stuff, it means: “You better pack your bags ASAP, or you’re gonna regret it!”

This is not my first time travelling to the United States. I went and stayed there for more than a year. But I was only 6 back then, and no one gave me any checklists before departing. Without a checklist, all I wanted to bring along to at that time was my video game and a Malaysian flag. Unfortunately, my mother wouldn’t let me bring the video game. So I just brought along a Malaysian flag and spent the time along the way to the airport worrying about how to spend my time without my video game. That’s about all I could recall, but thanks to the miracle of cameras (although not digital), I get a snapshot of the departing experience:

I have no idea why I’m bringing along a Malaysian flag. I guess I was a proud, patriotic boy. Or maybe I thought that the Malaysian flag and the American flag look similar so I brought it along hoping that the Americans wouldn’t notice. The tie and tucked-in shirt suggests that I’m a neat person since young =P

15 years passed by, and I can't believe I will be heading to Boston once again. I did plan to visit the place again someday, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon. As a 21 year old, I am supposed to settle everything myself. So I got myself a US visa, bought conference attires, winter coats, boots, and I didn’t even intend to bring along my video game (how much I have changed, I bet Boston has changed a lot either).

As life gets more hectic and demands more and more of your time each day, it's wise for us to have a checklist. Unlike elephants, we tend to forget, and as humans, we are privileged with the ability to write. Sometimes we are overwhelmed with the things that we need to do for the day, and we don’t know where to start! Checklists give us a whole perspective of our daily obligations, and allow us to prioritize which are the ones to be settled first, and which can be settled for later. Simple, yet useful

Experience is the Best Teacher

Yesterday I waited impatiently for today’s Annual General Meeting, where my term as the Head of Public Relations will end. I longed for a good rest from all those student activities. I deserve it. As the Head of Public Relations, I was constantly running from one place to another, answering calls most of the daytime, and checking off 'to-do' list items (which I never run out of). I need to slow down a bit. Slow down to the speed of life. So this morning, I finally got the break I deserve. Yay, freedom is in the air!

But unfortunately, by noon, I was cut off from the air of freedom again. A short election was held, and everyone in the hall (well, most of them. Some others are just ignorant and came over only to have free breakfast and lunch) voted to elect their new leaders. Long story made short, I was elected as the new PKPMI Chairperson. As if I am not traumatized enough by the result, they made me go straight to work! Soon after announcing the results, the former Chairperson said: “Congratulations Lutfi, you're the new Chairperson for PKPMI, now I leave this meeting for you to handle.” I was like: "Whaaaat???"

Me, maintaining my cool as best as I can =P

I didn’t say it out loud, of course. Maintaining my cool as I always do, I went on to chair the meeting. So there I was, handling the meeting to elect other members of the ‘parliament’. So I got myself a Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, etc. How come they don’t get to work instantly? Anyway, I was glad to be elected as the Chairperson intead of another Head of Bureau, because the work of a Chairperson is not as hell. As the name suggest, all a Chairperson does is sit on a chair and order people around all day long. Hehe

So I got my rest for only 30 minutes. It's okay, people say that:

Experience is the best teacher

I know that it won’t be easy. There are expectations to meet. Those people voted for me because they believed in me. Moreover, I may secure 60% of the vote, but I am still left with 40% of the student population that wishes someone else is the Chairperson. I need to convince those people too. I am not trying to satisfy each and every student, because that’s just impossible. Realistic goals, I must set. I don’t have many plans in mind right now. That’s because my mind is currently focusing on the exams next week and my trip to the United States next month. But I do know that there's a whole new experience ahead of me, and I hope it will make me a better person in the future =)