Growing up, I had a natural curiosity about the most random things, like why do we cough? What causes hiccups? How do they happen? Early in school, the science classes grasped my attention because they focused on explaining how things work. I also became a lifeguard and was responsible for the safety of others, which had an impact on my life vision. During my senior year of high school, I knew I wanted to do something that combined learning in depth about science and taking care of people while I was at it. As I took off for college, I had my eyes on medicine.
In college I had a friend who was set up with a girl. When he showed me a picture of her, I immediately noticed the other girl next to her. She was gorgeous. A couple months later, the same gorgeous girl was at my sister’s birthday party. This was my sign and I had to make a move, so I introduced myself, asked for her contact, and our story began.
At first, she avoided me because my interest in her was so overt. I remained persistent though, and we realized we had a lot in common after all, especially our desire to pursue medicine. We are both Islamic and Arabic, so it was easy to connect over cultural values. Our interest in each other grew and after talking for just a few weeks, we decided to meet each other’s parents. Right away, I made my intentions clear. I was interested in their daughter with the idea of marriage in the back of my mind.
Since then, we focused on building a genuine friendship. We supported each other through the process of applying to medical school. Now that we’re both in, it’s nice to be there for each other for the rollercoaster ride. We spend a lot of time just Facetiming while we study since she’s at LSU.
I’m excited about our future. We want to get married in medical school and try for a couples match during 4thyear. We’ve discussed how emotionally ready we both feel but distance complicates things. Additionally, her parents aren’t entirely supportive of this due to our lack of a stable source of income. I think their stance is frustrating but understandable, as I’m relatively young and jobless. Their approval matters a lot to me.
If you’re going to be in a long-term relationship in medical school, you need to be unselfish and introspective. Think about your intentions, end goals, and how ready you are to be committed to someone else during such a stressful period. Do you love that person or just how they make you feel? These things will play a huge role in whether you bend or break when the going gets tough. When you take the time to build a love founded on true friendship and mutual respect, that kind of bond won’t fade in the presence of adversity.
Story: John Kouam, Photo: Sujaan Lal
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