Road to MCAT 2014

She Believed She Can, So She Did!

Are you scared of bombing the ENTRY TEST? Do you get nervous just at the thought of MCAT? Is this the only specter that haunts your way? Let’s be honest, right off the bat and admit that studying for the MCAT is not fun, especially when the stakes are so high. Obviously, if you want to get in, you’ll have to put in the time and effort to excel on the MCAT! But still UHS offers no assurance!

Okay let me share My Journey to Medicine, My Road to MCAT! A short story… From Failure to Success! From Rejection to Selection! From a Pre-Medical Student to a Medical student! A walk worth remembering! I experienced rejection; I experienced failure; but I didn’t let it go. And today when I look back, a year (being a Repeater) looks so lame in comparison with what I’ve been blessed with. Yes! Alhamdulillah I’m a Medical student, a RAWALIAN.

“Road to Medical life…  A walk to remember”
 “Doctors are not made, they are chosen”

MY JOURNEY!!

Okay!! I, like many of you, since I was 4 or 5, started dreaming of becoming a DOCTOR.   May be it was due to the environment of our home which was so educational or my Ideal Doctors, “Aappi” and “Bhae”; the graduates of KEMU and RMC. Whenever I encountered the question, “Beta baray ho k kya ban’na hy appny?” there was always an impulsive reply, “Doctor”… It was a kind of reflex action to me. So that idea got deeply rooted in my mind since I was very young… When I didn’t even know the meaning of the word “Doctor” and it sowed the seeds in my mind.  Then as I grew some older, these seeds started ripening and burgeoning rapidly, with its roots adamantly adhering to my every single thought, dreams, ideas and plans regarding my future.. !!

Being a PRE-MEDICAL Student!!

Life went really smoothly and school era came to an end… Everyone used to say that, “College life is fun time of one’s life” but being a PRE-MEDICAL student, you ought to have another thought coming. Life showed me that it’s not a bed of roses at all… The result of 1st year board left me in a dark valley of despair. In- spite of whole year’s night awakenings, securing highest grades in each college assessment and my best performance in each Exam; I made it up to 447 only! Yes, 447… the score that is enough to make you stand no-where!

It was for the very first time I experienced, “Expectations hurt more than anything” This time I started getting tensed.  I never have been that much depressed as in this span of time. This was the time I started doubting my future. I started making many different dreadful scenarios and assumptions regarding my future.  And it was probably my First Mistake. Well, when you start doubting your own future then you are inviting many evils of fears, despair, and hopelessness to build a castle in your nerves, mind and soul. And they mess up all the things together; your diligence, zeal, passion everything and keep you entangled in your own web of doubts.

Then even after 2nd year exams, I wasn’t finding myself in any race among the other Pre-Medical students, who scored brilliantly in their 1st year (my 2nd mistake), but still getting best prepared for the Entry Test for it can change all the game. Okay, 3 months passed; June, July, August and at the very end of August came out our result. I scored 936 and I thought it to be a respectable total … I don’t memorize any single day during these months, in which I slept without calculating the required aggregate. One thing I had learnt from the past, “Dream a little low so it won’t screw you up afterwards”… So this time, I just thought that I should score 950+ to be in a safe zone!!

 MCAT 2013

The thing about MCAT is that you study until you get Mental Hemorrhoids. There are about 220 MCQ’s in the test but literally hundreds and hundreds of concepts you have read in your Pre-medical classes. Nothing quite strikes fear in the heart of Pre-medical student as the prospect of taking the MCAT. This fear is not completely unwarranted... The MCAT is the monster of a test … And in most cases it is the last hurdle along the long path to the medical college… For this reason, there is a common fear that all the hard work put during last two years can be all or none if you crash and burn on the test day!!  A lifetime of work can come down to how well you perform on one day! This is an irrational fear. There is no reason to assume that if you have worked and studied hard and performed well in FSC that all; that‘ll leave you on test day. If u did reasonably well in FSC and prepared for the Test you should do well but what “If?” ‘What if ‘If’s’ will drive you crazy?? Well there is no remedy available!

Ok, then came the DOOMS DAY… Yes, the Entry Test Day 22nd of September, 2013… I was in the best of my spirits. Started with Biology! When I reached half of the MCQ’s, I felt like I’m attempting all of the questions and not leaving a single which is probably not a good thing. Negative Marking is there so I need to be a little more cautious... So, I started skipping the questions in which I was doubtful even a percent or less… And that pattern proceeded in Physics and Chemistry as well… So, it resulted in skipping of 20 questions altogether… I was left with a total of 1000 marks only...

I was extremely tensed during test hours that I marked the easiest of the questions incorrectly! Yes, I marked ‘C’ instead of ‘B’ and ‘B’ instead of ‘C’ on my response form in almost 10 of the questions (the biggest blunder one can ever make!)  And when I came to know about this all, it was quite late! So, the questions that I deemed to be correct were incorrect in actual!

I also felt badly the need for word to word RATTA (I would have made) for Biology as even the simple things were mixing that time. There were hardly 3-4 questions incorrect in Physics and Chemistry’s Section. I performed well in English as well but Biology; most of the questions I skipped from this section and most of the incorrect ones also in the same section! Result came as No Shocking News! 879/1100 with an aggregate % of 83.3052%... And I was left with no other option than to repeat and waste a year because it was not possible for me to let go of my Dream I dwelled in, for the lifetime! So, it was a requisite of time to give Myself another chance!!

                               

Year 2014!!! (Being a Repeater)

Medical + Stethoscope + White Overall = A Shattered Dream!

Well, I will never ever forgive you 2013! For many of my tears :’( … This was the time when I found myself in the middle of no-where… Friends getting prepared for the New Era of Life; Medical life! Thrill, fun, excitement … And *Le me with FSC books again in hand revising for the 47th time! Well, it’s really heartrending when you find yourself lagging behind the people that were there with you yesterday. They all took a leap and you still creeping like a snail :@. When you are a REPEATER, you are not sure about your new energy, but you know that you are in a risky situation. There is a chance that you may even succeed in a venture where others before you failed. Situations have an unfortunate tendency to be difficult for you. I told myself daily that your OPTIMISM ought not to be changed no matter what!! Just make sure that the battle you fight today is yours. There may be a great deal of tension in the air that might behoove you to stay detached from the war that’s apt to ensue. One explanation could be rattled ‘Confidence’. Why you doubt yourself right now?? You need to give yourself a long look in the MIRROR! Remind yourself that you can’t stop moving forward just because you haven’t made it last time!!

Well, I haven’t found books hateful, as during this span of time. Yes, I hated them… I used to look at them as if someone’s old love for which one has surrendered everything and that love has ruined it completely!!  During the start of this year, for many a days, I didn’t find courage to face these books again… I never have hated STUDYING but I was just sick of these FSC BOOKS! What I wanted is some new start! Some new books! Some new ME! But everything was OLD; monatomic, but NO I was change!!… I had more the riches of tensions, worries, depressions, and fears ahead!

But wait!! I had two options from there onward… 1st was, I let that DEFEAT define ME; or the 2nd one, I let it STRENGHTHEN me… and I chose the 2nd one … Well, I won’t say that I was a kind of OPTIMISTIC being. There were many sleepless nights during this whole year… The persistent condition of my eyes these day; swelled up, burning red and pearls sparkling all the time (yes, the tears).  I was of the view these days that I‘m the most UNLUCKY being ever born on this planet. Honestly to tell you, I lost the hope of a percent or even less that I, Yes I can get in to a Medical college and Government!!  Uff, no wake up DEAR!!

But someone said to me, “Okay! If we suppose that you are UNLUCKY, as you say; so why you are still relying on your luck… Stop leaning on the luck for even a percent. Just raise your HARD WORK to 100%  ... No space for the LUCK to matter. Some people write down their FUTURE with their own hands… So, let yourself be added among that queue of people, The DETERMINED ones though unlucky!!

Okay, now the 1st question was! Should I need to improve my FSC score! This thing as we all know that improvement of 10-15 marks can’t make a huge difference to your Aggregate. What matters most is how well you perform in your ENTRY TEST… Okay one thing to tell you, I was a Pre-MEDICAL student and I used to dislike BIOLOGY more than any other subject (even Pak. Studies). So, what I needed to do is to improve my Biology. (And today Bio is LOVE)  So, I decided to appear in BIO-2 again!!

Some days, I got up and realized that I’m in the middle of NOWHERE… I have nothing to do but STUDYING and go to bed with the same thing planned for next many of the months. The only thing surrounding me these days was the prevalent Darkness!! I just looked for the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s there. And what I need to do is to surpass this tunnel successfully. I deactivated Whatsapp, Viber, Facebook everything…

I started with BIOLOGY first. I didn’t follow the UHS syllabus as I wasn’t in a position to take the risk for even a single MCQ in this section (Although I skipped some of the Topics from 1st year Bio that included the Botany stuff (plants related portion)i.e. I skipped most of the PLANTAE and also Ch-14’s  starting part and the Kingdom Protoctista. From Bio-2 one can skip Ch-19 and 26 as well!) ... I used to read each line word to word again and again till these words got engraved to the bottom of my mind (with special emphasis on the blue blocks and diagram’s descriptions). For Biology, one needs to lick up the whole book word to word and bits by bits! I revised the Biology for 3 months and by the end of these months, Bio was on finger tips... I wasn’t oblivious of other subjects as well.

I started ENGLISH side by side. I estimated. Okay! If I revise 10 words of English vocab daily then I will revise the whole vocabulary in almost 872/ 10 = 87.2 days, Ok let it be 90 days, means time span of 3 months. So, at the very end of these 3 months I chewed up whole vocab thoroughly and also done with Bio completely… (For Vocabulary I consulted KIPS English book edition 2013, I think it’s best for vocabulary. No need to search for the meanings yourself; there are many good books for this purpose, consult them!)

Then I began with PHYSICS. I followed the UHS prescribed syllabus for Physics (that included all the topics both before and after the UHS Topics. And all the stuff I found in relation with UHS topics including books of 9th and 10th as well)… What you need to do for ‘Physics’ is, make a register and compile each and every thing you found in correspondence with a topic (Unit Vise) with special emphasis on Formulas, Units, Graphs and Definitions (you may take help from the books of 9th and 10th as well for the topics like Centre of Gravity, Ultra-Sonics and its uses, Audible frequency range, Defects of Vision i.e. Long/Short sightedness etc). For once this register has been made; you can revise whole Physics in just a couple of days (no restriction, you can take even more). No need to overwork yourself with Exercise’s lengthy Numerical,  just keep revising the Chapter’s Examples and revise them too often that just by seeing the statement you remind both the Formula and the Answer (but not to rely on that answer as values may be changed this time). Okay, it almost took two weeks in compiling all the physics stuff in a register and revising it.

Last but not the least!! Yes, CHEMISTRY .Well you can’t think of skipping even a single topic from 1st year Chemistry because UHS is really shrewd in the sense that they picked up the TOPICS for which you need to go through the whole chapter thoroughly (May be u won’t find all the topics related as everyone has a different perspective and I’m just telling mine! But I think it’s good to be safe). Many of the topics from UHS syllabus may seem to be not in our FSC books but actually they are except a few! So it’s better to Google them instead of panicking yourself. Then CHEM -2, I did only the UHS topics for INORGANIC Chemistry (feel free to prepare only the specified topics and act as if no other topic other than them, is there in your book) But for ORGANIC Chemistry, you need to go through all the related topics as well (And that depends on you what you find in relation with a topic e.g. for Electrophiles and Nucleophiles one needs to go through all the reactions of the book related to Electrophiles/ Nucleophiles substitution and elimination whether they are individually included or not.      
P.S that’s only what I think!). So I was done with all the subjects thoroughly in almost 5 months…

I also made it my routine to revise English vocab side by side with every subject as there was a chance of mixing up the MASSIVE VOCABULARY. I used to revise 50 words daily, after I had revised the vocab for the 1st time (10 words per day). Then when the whole vocab was revised for the 2nd time, I used to revise 100 words per day. (And these words to be revised 3-4 times per day as well, it was like a routine diet for me that’s intake is somewhat compulsory!)  So when I was done with whole vocab for 3 times thoroughly then I used to revise whole vocab daily and marked the words that still needed to be revised. And then revised these mixing words for many a times And YES!! I was sure about these 872 words!!

For English Grammar, I have gone through all the Parts of Speech thoroughly and the whole grammar stuff (that I think every good grammar contain) from all the Grammar books I had a collection of! (Long list=D) (I think a single comprehensive reading (or twice) is just enough, if you are already good in English; which I suppose I was not)  But the major contribution in this regard was of WREN & MARTIN. There is nothing like you need to memorize anything, just make sure you are good in Tenses, the usage of prepositions, relative pronoun; correct form of verb; sentence completion and most importantly you are good in locating the faulty part of a sentence (Mostly, when I read a sentence, my eyes sees only the faulty portion of it just on one glance, even though I didn’t make out the flaw sometimes but I was able to locate it and that’s what needed for the Test)

Let me tell you one other thing that might prove helpful for you… Each time, when I was going to revise any chapter, I used to mention the respective DATE on the very 1st page of that chapter, so it was a way of knowing; how many times the chapter have got revised! … And I gained so much confidence while during last revision of the books; I wasn’t finding any little space to mention the corresponding date!!

One other thing, try to memorize the things that mix up with the help of MNEMONICS. It’ll be really helpful. I used to make my own key words, little mnemonics (though silly =D) and by this I was able to memorize the gigantic tables as well. I used to search for Mnemonics on Wikipedia as well especially for Chemistry (like Electrochemical Series, Electronegativity values, and M.P/B.P trends etc)… For electrochemical series our Sir at KIPS told us a funny mnemonic and because of it whole series is just on my finger tips even today. “Lt. (Lithium) Pervaiz (Potassium) could (Calcium) still (Sodium) marry (Magnesium) a (Aluminum) zoya (Zinc) in (Iron) the (Tin) lovely (Lead) house (Hydrogen) causing (Copper) strangers (Silver) many (Mercury) gazes (Gold) =D”

Okay!! By the end of these 5 months, the HSSC-2 board exams were also about to finish… So, next question arise! ‘Should I need to prepare at home’ OR ‘join any academy??’  Last year, I joined ‘KIPS Academy’. The way KIPS taught us to tackle the dreadful monster, Yes! TIME MANAGEMENT during test hours is commendable. And most importantly, the way they revise the UHS Syllabus as if there was nothing really difficult in it!! Were there anything? So, the major reason to join any Academy this year was that I needed to evaluate myself. So, I joined ‘THE SCHOLARS ACADEMY’. It’s the Scholars Academy that is responsible for again building CONFIDENCE in me. They made me believe again that Yes You Can Do It! You deserve it! You’ll get it! They made me Dream again, think again, fly again, be passionate again! Our Sir once said to me, ‘’beta you are born to be a DOCTOR and we can see it while you doubt! Ups and Downs are the part of one’s life but it’s no reason to stop moving ahead’’

New Soul, New Spirits and New Determination!  

When you are a Repeater, you are the most pessimists these days. What you need the most, is someone that stand by your side, just assuring you each day that ‘You Have To Do it because you CAN do it!!  The one that believes in you so much that you start to believe in yourself too!

New confidence, New Chapters of Hopes and Prayers!

When there remained time span of 2 months for the Entry Test day, I revised the Books by the following pattern…  Okay I have 6 books to revise and 2 months!

A schedule to revise 6 books for 5 times, in 63 days with ease! (Two months aprox)

• 1st revision:- One-fourth book daily (1/4) = 24 days
• 2nd revision:- One-third book daily (1/3) = 18 days
• 3rd revision:- Half book daily = 12 days
• 4th revision:- One book daily = 6 days
• 5th revision:- One subject daily = 3 days

ENTRY TEST 2014!!

Okay then came the ENTRY TEST DAY, 31st August 2014. I have never found myself so much calm and relaxed as during this test. It was probably the 1st exam of my life (except during childhood) in which I finally left my books at 9pm (for many a times it may take till 4am to summon the courage). This was the 1st time, I finally realized that it’s not the revision of the same books over and over again that can give you satisfaction; as the Prayers, the Dua’s, and the time spent with ALLAH  Honestly to tell you, I have always prayed in haste so that I may find a little time more to revise the books once again but still unease, still anxiety, still nervousness, still un-satisfaction apart of the revision of books for many a times.

I had a strong Belief on Allah and Myself! that YES, this is the Test that is in between ME and MEDICAL Insha’Allah  As I started with the test, it seemed me like there is some Devine help with me that helped me in not getting tensed or to panic myself. First I attempted the ENGLISH synonyms, I knew them all and I felt really boastful because these were the solid 50 marks I was sure about from the 872 vocabulary words I kept revising days and nights. Then began with BIOLOGY, this was the portion in which I couldn’t afford a single mistake as I have revised the Biology more than any other subject! (Still I lost some of the marks here) I was done with BIO till 9:40am. Then began with CHEMISTRY, completed it till 10:20am. I was done with the two major portions of the test and left with 44 questions of PHYSICS and 20 remaining from ENGLISH and 70 minutes. I completed PHYSICS till 11:00am and ENGLISH in next 10 minutes and I was left with 20 minutes even then! So, I just looked at my response form as if how many left un-attempted, there were 3 of them. As I was strongly advised by my Teachers and siblings, not to skip even a single MCQ this time, so I just made educated guesses (if u can’t make a choice then just make an educated guess). Then I spent the remaining time praying to ALLAH!

‘‘Allah Almighty, the most merciful! I don’t know what’s best for me but YOU know the best! I just find it difficult at my side to even imagine myself not as a DOCTOR. I find it really hard to smash the Castle I dwelled in with my own hands. But Insha’Allah I’ll be contended with Your Decision for Me because it’ll be the best IA ’’ And yes, I was finally satisfied with my performance!                                                

Okay, one thing I didn’t tell about yet!! Yes, My TARGET this year. Actually, I happened to go through a document quite often this year, ‘ROAD TO MCAT 2012’. It was a Ray of Hope for me! So I used to assume myself in every single line, each word, and every single thought of it. So I also used to estimate…  My EXPECTATION last year; emm 950... REALITY; 879… Means difference of 71 marks… So if this year let my Target be 1100 and if difference would remain the same i.e. 71 then I need to score 1100-71= 1029. What? ‘1-0-2-9’ Oh My…. So consciously or unconsciously I started praying for a score of 1029 in Entry Test. Neither a single less; nor more… just 1029! So my target was to score 1100 and Expectation; 1029! (71 less…=D)

Well! Result came within a week and I scored 986 ALHAMDULILAH with an aggregate percentage of 88.5325%. So the difference between my expected score and the Reality was 43 in fact .

What you need to do!!

There is no need to feel regret or shame about the things that have happened in the past. Turn negative experiences into lessons!! You have plenty of free energy. Now is a good time to make plans and to get involved in your commitments. Your vitality doesn’t have any boundaries. You’ll be amazed at how much you can handle when there’s an end in sight. Your whole attitude lightens, so take the bull by the horns and create your own incentives. If you never go after what you want, you’ll never have it!!

Just remind yourself that He is watching! Your efforts, your deeds, your patience!! Remind yourself of how good it would feel to have it all one day. Don’t let go. Don’t give up!!

 “Some childhood dreams are so intense that they penetrate deep down; in your nerves, mind and soul! And build a Castle with solid concrete there… Dreams are the wishes that heart makes! No matter how hard you try, you can’t get rid of them! So you decide either to gain courage to demolish it with your own hands or proving yourself capable of dwelling in that castle” (My daily diary)  

I began to realize, how important it was to be Enthusiast in life. If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it with full speed ahead! Embrace it with both arms, love it and above all; become PASSIONATE about it!

Turn to the sun, and the shadow will fall behind you!!

Your engine is oiled up and ready to go. Put yourself in high gear and don’t let anything stand in your way. Never again are you going to walk out of an exam saying, ‘’I studied forever and really felt that I knew the material but this bad grade is not a reflection of my Efforts and my Knowledge”

Today you may satisfy yourself with options like D-pharmacy, DPT, DVM or BS in any related field but one thing to tell you, there can be literally no SUBSTITUTE for MBBS/ BDS and if you have got another chance as a Repeater, Don’t Waste It! Very few people are lucky to have a second chance. So, consider yourself LUCKY and if you are really passionate, the STETHOSCOPE will be yours as a DOCTOR in near future Insha’Allah. Allow your PASSION to become your PURPOSE and it’ll one day become your PROFESSION!! IA 

Few lines from my Diary, 2013!

“Dear STETHOSCOPE! Don’t know whether you are made for me or not… But I’ll make you MINE one day with the will of ALLAH IA, for you have been in every single line and every thought of my Existence and I won’t give up on you whether the sky gets rough!”

‘This road is thorny still I smell roses’

             

One Poem I have composed last year and I would like to share it with you fellows!!

May be it can become a source for Someone, Somewhere; to keep going, keep struggling, and reaching to his/her PASSION and DESTINY one day!! May be yours, Yes you reading! 

When Darkness seems the only Way,

Find your way in that way,

With flame of Diligence lightning your way!!

When Despondency seems the only refuge,

Don’t let yourself engulf in that deluge!!

Reside instead in the Castle of your Dreams,

Be a bird of HOPE, instead of DESPAIR!!

Life is GOOD if it’s still UNFAIR,

Believe you can, and you are halfway there!!

BEST OF LUCK!

COMPOSED BY: MEHREEN NOOR

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What did u say? The Shepherd’s son, “A Diplomat?”

And when I touched that black smooth surface and saw my clear shadow in that Prado I was mesmerized somehow. I kept on touching the bumper over and over again for a long time and then a man sitting in the car choked me by his whisper “what do you want little chum?” I said “nothing sir” and kept on watching the car, then accruing my courage I dared to ask “may I ask you from where did you get this car?” he smiled and answered “I am a bureaucrat and Pakistani government has given me this car for my use” I asked abruptly “can I get this car too? And how shall I”? He said “for this purpose you have to study a lot.” I pondered something for a moment and then answered “I want to study but I am a shepherd’s son” that man had judged my dedication and love for study by the way I was talking” He replied softly “then buy a book of ABC and ‘Alif, bay, pey’ and learn it” he handed me some money to get books. Now there was a problem that who will teach? He told me that “go to any masjid nearby and ask the Imam to teach you. He will help you certainly”. I expressed my gratitude and tears came out of my eyes. I was hanging b/w the state of excitement and grief. He patted me on my shoulder and left. As he left the place I kept on watching that car which infused a new soul in me and forced me to keep my verves higher to have that car. That was the turning point of my life. I made up my mind and went to the market nearby and bought those books. That was end of my happiness and then I was back with my herd. I felt like my destiny is to near but I had not an even tinge of that, that how hard I shall have to strife. On my way to home, I kept on making plans that how to hide my books because if my father had seen my books he would definitely have torn them into pieces as there was no concept of education in my family and we never had a desire to acquire knowledge. But later I realized the importance of education. So I finally hid those books in my sweater and reached home by evening. I could not sleep whole night. I kept on thinking that how shall I meet the Imam? What will be his reaction? Then the next morning I went with my herd. I was keyed up and felt like flying in the sky with freedom. I was not being able to forget the car I wanted to get. I left my herd to graze in the pasture and went to the Masjid. An Imam was reciting Holy Quran. I stood by his side, fervently waiting for him to finish his Qiraah. When he was done I narrated my whole story. I was a 15 years naive boy and he showed his sympathies and promised to help me. He taught me my initial lesson as “Alif is an erect tree in the garden and Baay is the boat having a dot beneath to support it.” I thanked the Imam and joined my flock of sheep. I spent the whole day learning my lesson. Meanwhile two sheep escaped and I was haunted. I had an idea that how I would be treated by my father. So when he came to know about that, he battered me with a wooden stick. I got to many bruises on my whole body but I bear all that and did not tell the real story. Then days passed by and my three sheep ran away again. That was the day when my father pounded me to an unimaginable extent because he saw my books. He snatched those from me but I was contended because I already learned them whole heartedly. I could not stay back from acquiring knowledge and achieving my goal so I decided to leave my home. My despair situation is hard to be reported in few words but I was the only friend of mine except Allah Mighty. I mounted courage and left my home at mid night. Outbursts of tears were hard to be prevailed by laughter and smile. I walked on a lonely road for hours and reached a town. My feet got stabbing pain because I have been walking since 8 hours just to go away from my village not to be caught by any one. I sat on the foot path. I thought about my family and could not resist crying more and more. Then after several hours I was stable enough and was hungry. I got up and saw a tea hotel in the street. I asked the owner to give me something to eat in the name of Allah Almighty. He gave me a chapatti to eat. He inquired me from where do I belong and what do I do? I told my story truly to him. He offered me that if I shall wash dishes he will provide me shelter and food in return. I accepted the offer. Now I used to wash the dishes and in my spare time I  used to study. I gave matric exams and got A+ grade. My owner advised me to study further. He was an angel in disguise sent by Allah Almighty for me. Then I cleared my intermediate exams with A+ grade and after that I started preparing for B.A exams. I used to wash the dishes till evening, then go to teach some students tuition and at night I used to study. “Another triumph!”  I cleared my B.A with first division. One day my manger was praising me in front of his friend, so his friend advised me to appear in Civil Superior Services (CSS) exams. As he heard about my devotion, assiduousness and diligence for studies he helped me a lot in getting syllabus, books etc. I left the hotel job and joined a school as a teacher. Then after returning from school I used to study 12 hours a day and sleep hardly for 4-5 hours. Faith in Allah Almighty and my abilities, hardworking, willpower, optimism and confidence in whatever I was doing were the prime reasons of my success in life. I gave my CSS exams and when I got to know about my success I lost my mind. I did a prolong “Sajda e shukar” and thanked my Allah Mighty. I was allocated in foreign services. “Yes! I did it. I am selected…  I am a diplomat!” 

Friends! never under estimate yourself.  Allah Almighty has put some abilities in every person. There is a need to search that ability, work on it and polish it. Allah Mighty has given you everything. Don’t wait for opportunities to come but be the one to find them. Don’t let yourself knock down by others because you are what you are! Don’t let people become a hindrance in your way. I must suggest you to think positive to make your life positive. Carve your destinies the way you want them to be. Just do it to believe it. I narrated my whole struggle. Now it’s your turn. Good luck!

Note: This is a true story told by a trainee in Civil Services Academy but I personified it for you people. Never quit in life and keep on struggling till you reach your destiny. Failure may disappoint you sometimes but when life give you challenges don’t say “why me?” instead say “try me!” 

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Being An MCAT Repeater!

Depressed? Shattered? Or might have faced defeat for the first time in your life? This is what conveniently explains that you are an entry test effectee. Or probably, going to be a repeater for an entire year. Now, as you have decided to spend your next year with this label, let me give you a tip. Never feel like a repeater, just never! Because it will make things turning out worse for you. ‘’Each day is a new one’’, don’t dare to take this proverb for granted; if you want to spend your next year peacefully, trust me. I have repeated twice, yes TWICE! But now I’m in SIMS. Yes, wahi central AC wala SIMS :-P

Okay let me share my last three years with you which were truly nasty yet amazing. Actually the second opinion is what I have realized recently. So, without any more delay, I tell you that in my very childhood, I was taught by my parents that if anyone asks me ‘’baray ho k kya ban’na hai?’’ I’m supposed to say ‘’main doctor banu gi’’. However, I never thought about it really. Resultantly, I was an average student till my matriculation board exams. In point of fact, it was more like I had never taken life seriously before that and to tell the truth, I am really glad to have this part because I think I have enjoyed my life to its fullest till my matriculation. It does not mean I am advising you to follow me. Your parents might screw me for this :-P

Anyway, board exams approached and somehow I started studying day and night, completed my course and surprised everyone with my brilliant marks. Last part was actually so enjoyable. I got into LCWU for my intermediate and joined our beloved KIPS which was actually the turning point of my life. I had so much competition around me, honestly, I felt like most dull and idiotic person who had no goals to focus at. I actually thought about it one night and decided, I was going to stand out and so I did. Two years passed in no time and I had managed to make my way to 2nd year annuals. Everyone had high hopes about me as I had done great in matric and first intermediate year. Theory went well and practical exams came up. Meantime, I started preparing for MCAT. I know it seems the scariest part but trust me, horror is yet to come. You know UHS, don’t you? Our dearest university which can never go easy on students, announced that MCAT paper will be held on 20th July, right after twenty days, my practical exams end up. I mean honestly, twenty days for cramming more than six books? :O  I felt like quitting at the very moment, I came across the news flash. But, reality is reality, and we are forced to face it anyway, no matter if we are ready or not. So, the result of this mess was I got panicked and failed. Yes, I failed! Being a topper of your class, how it feels like failing in MCAT, you can never understand, or maybe you do, whatever! I was just broken. It felt like it was end of my life. You may feel same but let me tell you, it’s NOT. See, I am still alive with a damn good life, cherishing each moment of my holidays and waiting for my medical class to start  :-) 

Getting back to the story, it took me few days to come out of the shock of failure and I stood up again. I thought about options, like doing CA, quitting medical line, getting into any other professional streak but they seemed too lame, to me, to even think about. I just wanted to be a doctor. Nothing else! So, I became a repeater. A depressed, shattered repeater, waiting for some miracle to happen. But, again, it was real life, not a fairy tale. After a few months, F.sc result came like a draught of cool breeze in that blazing phase of my life and I got 980 which were undoubtedly brilliant marks. Now, don’t think I’m boasting off, I am not really in position to do so. These marks gave me some push-up and I regained a bit of my lost confidence. However, somehow, I never felt I had brilliant marks in F.sc. Probably I was being too pessimistic to consider any positive thing which, fortunately, happened to exist in my life at that time. I think yes, it can be the only reason of being extremely insensitive to my abilities. But I guess it does happen when you face sudden disappointment of your hopes. After all, it isn’t tranquil to see the castles of your dreams getting smashed in front of you. You feel helpless, just too helpless. Anyway, coming back to the story again, all the mess I was having in my life ended up in ruining my already not-so-good health. I had frequent emotional outbursts and lots of crying, without no apparent reason. I just felt alone. My friends had moved and my life was stagnant, devastated, and ruined. You might feel I was being over-sensitive but trust me, it does happen when you lose faith in yourself. But why am I telling you all this? I don’t need an emotional drainage now. The sole purpose of making you bored with my story is to make you realize that depression never makes things better. If it ever did, I would have topped in my next MCAT, but I failed. Yes, again! Now, you might be thinking that I was lucky enough to make in board exams but in reality I was an idiotic person who could not even pass an MCAT paper for the second time. Let me tell you, our dear UHS is a lot more horrible than we think it is. It just changed the pattern and pooled the test for A-levels and F.sc which always happened to be separate. We were given a syllabus sort of thing with some recommended books and asked not to join any academy at all. Now this is what we call confusion. Students were so befuddled and uncertain about the kind of test they were going to face. And those scary recommended books. It was just mess. Or probably, I took it on my nerves. Whatever it was, it was bad, just BAD. Now the question is, how did I handle it? I bought a recommended book for each subject and started with new passion. I was like ‘’patak patak k sir, gira dy knowledge ki diwaar, ratta maar’’ . :-P

Well, I had information. I used to answer every odd question, my teacher ever asked me in the class and he always said, you deserved it last time, but you will get it this time for sure. Sadly, he was wrong for the first time ever I failed because I had ignored F.sc and the paper I faced was whole F.sc based. There were so bookish lines stuffed in the form of MCQs, and all this resulted in my damn failure for second time. Can you believe it? A girl with 980 in F.sc failing in MCAT twice? I don’t know if you can, but it happened. Now, I don’t think I need to explain my condition again. You have already read my miserable story and I would never like you shutting this post just because of my boring story for another time. Just make everything twice or probably thrice, I am not sure. Actually, the difficult decision was what to do now? I don’t think a sensible person would think about MBBS again after all this mess, but I have a strong feeling that I am not sensible. I am proud of it anyway :-P

So, point is that I thought of not giving up on my dreams. Why should I? Dreams are not always for being broken. Yes, if you think that going to any other field and becoming successful man one day, will make you forget about your broken dreams, I do controvert. If you don’t try at all, you will regret. So, never quit. And this is what I did. I joined Punjab University’s pharmacy department just for a side option. I was not ready to risk another year after all. I joined it but never owned it. Yes, I was being an idiot, but who cares? I had my dreams to follow and they were just enough for me. I bothered going university for hardly two to three days a week because I was just too lazy to leave my bed in the morning. Thanks to my friends for managing so many proxies for me :-PWell, all I waited for was MCAT session. But let me tell you one thing, I never studied F.sc crap for whole year until I joined academy in my prep leaves. I risked everything, another year of pharmacy just for MBBS. OMG, how daring of me :D

But there was a difference this time. I wasn’t confused, nor depressed. I was just determined and so sure that I can get through this and that is what happened. In spite of so many hurdles in my way, I did it. I did pass MCAT after two years. Honestly, I studied for twenty days because of my damn typhoid in the month of July. However, I made through it, and this is all what matters. Achievement, isn’t it? Well, my friends and teachers do say it is an achievement. But I think it is what was determined to happen. And what Allah always wanted for me. Now, at this very moment, while sharing my story with you, I feel it was so unwise of me to cry and get depressed. These things never help. We have to face reality and we have to get up on every fall. Because defeat is temporary and giving up is what makes it permanent. Always remember, there is a bunch of positive things around us even in darkest time of our lives, but we make ourselves so busy in complaining over negativity and ruin our peace of mind. I had so many positive things in last two years. Yes, I had. But they will need an entire post to get wrapped up and this one is already long enough to make you lose your interest. So, wait for next one :D and last but not the least of course, be proud of yourself being a repeater as you are a warrior, not a quitter.

Written by Hira Shaheen ....

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The Road To MCAT 2012

The Story of a student ...                                        

I am an ordinary student and was not the leading star. Though I always wished for being the No.1 . I am not as spiky and cannot beat most of you at brilliance and intelligence. But in the MCAT 2012, I did it. Not through my brilliance or sharpness or intelligence; but through three unique characteristics.

These three characteristics are different from the above mentioned ones but are equally powerful. These are resilience, will-power, and hard-work. Brilliance is nullified by resilience, sharpness by will-power and intelligence by hard-work.

                                                      The Year 2011

I’ll always remember 2011 as the most difficult year of my life. I scored less marks in F.Sc. (887/1100). I did not learn from my shortcomings in F.Sc. and continued the trend till MCAT 2011. I never took notice of myself and kept on wasting time. I never realized that tomorrow my dad has to step down and I have to take his place. I never looked at the merit lists of 2009 and 2010. All the year I kept thinking that 80% is more than enough. I never understood that in a country like Pakistan, there is a heavy competition for survival. You take a short nap somewhere in between and you are left way behind.

The biggest obstacle in my life that kept me away from success was Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook. I look behind and see myself sitting all day long on Facebook aimlessly; and now I think what the heck was I doing? I could have used Facebook to learn the concepts.  I could have used it to practice MCQs which are posted on a lot of pages that aim to help you out in studies. But sadly all I did was to use it for “chatting and talking”. (I still do it, it is such an addiction. But there is a lot of difference in my today and my yesterday).But Facebook is not the only culprit. Cable TV is also a major hindrance in my way.

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