I was trying to get rid of some old college books from my bookshelf when I found a directory containing the names and email addresses of the 100 aspiring doctors I shared 6 weeks with in Chicago through the Minority Medical Education Program in 2001. I browsed through it and ended up reminiscing of all the fun times we had then. And then I logged on to facebook and tried to look up as many of them as possible. And I found some. It's interesting how almost everyone is on facebook nowadays - well, except for several of those I was really close to. Most of them had pretty common names, so googling them up did not end up in relevant results. One of them had a unique name. And so I googled him up. And I was surprised with what I found.
But before disclosing what I found, let me say something about this friend. As I mentioned, he was one of the closest friends I had when I was in Chicago. He was ambitious and would do everything he can to reach his goals. He got in to a medical school without taking the MCATs and turning in an application. He just sent a letter to the admissions committee of that school (Summer of 2001), the school gave him an interview, and he got in just in time for the beginning of school that Fall of 2001. Again, how he did it, I'm not sure. But I was really happy for him. He was also full of life - always ready to try new things. He went with Anthony (my half-Filipino; half-Colombian friend) and myself to Barrio Fiesta where he tried "Adobong Fried Rice" because "adobo" meant something interesting in his own native tongue and where he sang his heart out (they had Karaoke). He was also someone you can easily talk with.
So anyway, I googled him up and to my dismay, I found out that he was killed in 2005, 4 to 5 months before he was to receive his MD degree. I could not believe it. And worse, I could not believe the story surrounding his death. The person they portrayed in the news did not seem like him at all. But I guess, 6 weeks was not enough time to really know a person.
That made me realize that truly life is short. He and I talked about having a reunion of MMEPers after 5 years (supposedly 2006). That came and went and no one was able to organize anything. Who would have known that even if that reunion was organized, he would not have been able to come.
So, we must really live life to the fullest. Live life with no regrets. Because we'll never know when our time will be up.
But before disclosing what I found, let me say something about this friend. As I mentioned, he was one of the closest friends I had when I was in Chicago. He was ambitious and would do everything he can to reach his goals. He got in to a medical school without taking the MCATs and turning in an application. He just sent a letter to the admissions committee of that school (Summer of 2001), the school gave him an interview, and he got in just in time for the beginning of school that Fall of 2001. Again, how he did it, I'm not sure. But I was really happy for him. He was also full of life - always ready to try new things. He went with Anthony (my half-Filipino; half-Colombian friend) and myself to Barrio Fiesta where he tried "Adobong Fried Rice" because "adobo" meant something interesting in his own native tongue and where he sang his heart out (they had Karaoke). He was also someone you can easily talk with.
So anyway, I googled him up and to my dismay, I found out that he was killed in 2005, 4 to 5 months before he was to receive his MD degree. I could not believe it. And worse, I could not believe the story surrounding his death. The person they portrayed in the news did not seem like him at all. But I guess, 6 weeks was not enough time to really know a person.
That made me realize that truly life is short. He and I talked about having a reunion of MMEPers after 5 years (supposedly 2006). That came and went and no one was able to organize anything. Who would have known that even if that reunion was organized, he would not have been able to come.
So, we must really live life to the fullest. Live life with no regrets. Because we'll never know when our time will be up.
No comments:
Post a Comment