“I’ve been so disconnected, my perspective is ignorant…” – J. Cole, Sacrifices (ft. Smino & Saba)
To breathe and be – what does that mean? In the medical sense, it might mean to inhale and sense a current state of being. In the currency of current events, it means to exist in the midst of unique circumstances. And in the philosophical sense, it means living in seemingly surreal times.
We have all been confronted with a definition of a new normal. One that asks of a personal and continued sacrifice to remain isolated as we continue to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations. And simultaneously, one that asks us to retain what we may know of the old pre-pandemic world in service to a better future. It’s a seemingly impossible dichotomy to navigate.
We as medical students (and future physicians) recognize these last few months as times that represent uncertainty, inflexibility, and an unceasing grind against our views of what service to others might mean. Prior perceptions of what a career in medicine might have been shattered by the reality wrought by this last year.
We have had varied and intrinsically unique reasons to enter into medicine. Whether it is manifested through advocacy for community members with less resources, education provided for our communities who do not have much medical literacy, or work with a candid spirit informed by a drive to serve others unreservedly, we have all found our way through medical school so far. In that spirit, we are all joined in the common and noble effort to serve all in need.
At this juncture we must ask ourselves one important question. Where can we lead medicine throughout our careers for the betterment of all we serve? This question is multifaceted and incredibly hard to answer. This question asks us to turn our eyes inward and seek out our truth as we aspire to be excellent physicians. It asks us about our connections to our own communities. And ultimately, this same inquiry asks us to interrogate our own souls and find the true depths in which our lived experiences guide our goals.
Who are you? What do you believe in? Where can you find ways to effect that change? When can you do it? And, arguably, most importantly, why haven’t you done it yet? The gap between aspirations and achievements lies in the inability to act. Each of you reading this now has the incredible power in your heads and your hearts, through the pains of your life experiences, to be impactful leaders in medicine, for the benefit of those that you ultimately serve.
To live authentically is to live fully. To serve those in greatest need, and to advocate for those without a voice, is invaluable. Despite the incredible struggles and pain that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought across the world, we are called to heal. But to do so, we must also live well ourselves. Find out what means most to you in your future career as a physician. How do you want to be eulogized? What kind of person do you want to be remembered as? To breathe and be is a call to live authentically, honoring our own beliefs and visions of how to make the lives of those we serve better with our work. It also means to find out just who we are to ourselves and what our deep ties are to our communities.
To breathe and be. To take and give. To support and grow. We share in a communal experience that we call life, and we dishonor ourselves and each other when we fail to answer the call of being present. The past and future exist only as imaginations of our creative minds. The present, what we do now, and who we believe ourselves to be today, is most important. So please, ask yourselves what it truly means to live. We can ill afford to let the present slip through our fingers as we worry about the past. We also cannot continue to be disconnected to the communities we will ultimately serve and sacrifice for either. To fail this is to remain ignorant and incapable of truly serving our patients. To breathe and be – it is the truest aspiration.
Jasper Puracan is a member of the Class of 2021, and graduated from the University of Arizona in 2016 with dual degrees -- B.S. in Molecular & Cellular Biology and B.S.B.A in Accounting. He is a MD/MPH dual degree student aspiring to become a psychiatrist. Alongside his future clinical practice, Jasper also seeks to expand his civic engagement and community leadership through advocacy and policy making. Outside of his work, Jasper spends time reading and testing out new recipes in the kitchen, which have gotten more and more elaborate over the years.