From Presidency to Medicine

I am Waad, I'm 19 years old. I study Medicine. Now I wish I had a breathtaking story behind my choice, but sadly I don't. It was hard for me though, at a young age, to choose a medical field. Other than my family influence, I always wanted to provide help to needy people. And Medicine offered as the perfect choice.

I always did very well at school. I wasn't the first in my class, but it was very satisfying. I had very diverse suggestions that I thought I will eventually stick to one of them. But that never happened. I wanted to be a nurse, a teacher, an astronaut, and at times I just wanted to be myself. As I entered high school, the pressure was more as to what should I choose. Because at this point, I had to decide what I wanted my next  years to be like. And I was completely blank. Maths was my only interest, so the obvious option to me was engineering. And since Dad was my role model, and he being an architect, I wanted to be just like him. I never told my parents, I don't even remember them asking. Yes, it is a very democratic family. So I had that choice in mind always. There was this phase in my life, when I grew very, very interested in Sudan. Everything going on there was my ultimate goal. I wanted to know all about the culture, the beliefs, the customs, everything. I mean, I still am, but that enthusiasm is a bit low now. Anyways, the general situation of the country under our government's control is not very pretty. The country was ruined by corrupted government and the people were simply exhausted and can no longer handle such a tiring daily routine. But I realized this ugly truth after I was madly in love with Sudan. There was no turning back. And I couldn't belong to a different country and forget about my first love. So in the 9th grade, I wanted to be the President of Sudan. This is very funny now, but I was damn serious. I wanted to be the president so bad that I started writing down things on how to improve the educational system, and what should be done to the beautiful landmarks in Sudan. It was crazy, but very real. Now, there are different aspects that I should consider. Firstly, my parents then the society around me. My Dad was, surprisingly, very supportive. I don't know whether he was being sarcastic but he really was very encouraging. My brothers would mock me, and he would stand up for me, which made me feel very proud and independent. My Mom laughed at the beginning,  and said that women are not supposed to be presidents. She said that women are too emotional to handle wars, poverty and all that. To some extent it was true, but won't the world be a totally different place if politicians were truly emotional? Then she started nodding her head to whatever I say to her. I think at that moment, she realized that her daughter went completely nuts. On the other hand, the society part was not very pretty. Now I will leave it to you to imagine what people had to say about me being the president. This phase was not long, fortunately to my mother, and I grew out of it quickly. And the reason behind that is the failure of all the previous presidents all around the world. Not a single president that I encountered. And it all takes a little while for them to be selfish. I don't think this little time is enough to build a whole nation. Moreover, it is a huge responsibility. I cannot understand how can they handle all that. So that's right there was the end of my dream. And I was back dream-less. All I wanted from being the president is that I had the largest influence over that area. I thought it was very easy opportunity for me to help people regardless. And now that I am patriotic, I thought that was all that it needed. Afterwards, my grades improved in a short span, and all what my parents saw at that moment was a future doctor. Did I want that? I don't know. I don't remember I was put into any pressure, but that was what I was fed. I started thinking of it, over and over. It seemed logical. To me, what was going on in my head, is that it was the best alternative to being a president. I did not need power, money or fame to help others. And it was a perfect match for my patriotic personality, since my country's healthcare system is tremendously awful. So after thinking of it thoroughly and praying 'Al-Estekhara', I was confident enough to confront to my parents that I wanted to study Medicine. Now, I want to remind you that these are the same parents that said that being a president is not appropriate for women. So their replies were very much expected: Sure! I was registered the next day to a university that I am not very happy in. Things went very smoothly, there were no technicalities, no second thoughts about it at all. Just like it was meant to be. 

I will say that I am very content with what I am today. I still dream that I won't be as greedy as the life I am living pushes you to be. I hope that I still stand up to myself and be that one person that I wanted to be and was made suitable to help others for the sake of humanity and a country that deserves all the best. After all, I know it is not the most heartbreaking story to hear, but Medicine is a blessing. If you have the will, not necessarily the brains, you can be one practicing it. I think we should think openly when deciding our career, even if it takes you to presidency. We don't have to limit ourselves to what is socially acceptable,  or what is expected from you. It should be what you see yourself enjoy doing, because it will always be the pleasure you have in doing it, that will help you in excelling it.