I have just received an email from my new university. The commencement date for my chosen program, foundation in biological science has been delayed to June!

Naturally, I am not very happy about that, because it will only mean being stuck at home pre-studying for med school! 😛 My contract with the hospital has ended and I am slightly disappointed that I cannot continue. After two months of work experience, I have chosen to put family safety over personal growth, despite the enriching experience, the things I had yet to learn even within my own job scope of a patient care assistant (PCA), and all the people I could have gotten to know more. For now while I am still young, I have conceded to both of my parents, who have made it clear that due to the current coronavirus situation, an extension of contract with the hospital was not an option.

( Do not fear, though: yours truly here may be bored, but I will make sure my readers will never be. I will still share about my experiences working at the hospital, at my previous retail job, and other interesting things!)

With the extended MCO (Movement Control Order) due to the Covid 19 virus, though, I did anticipate a postponed intake date. In between studying two STPM books: one on math and one on biology, I have taken the initiative to seek out certain faculty members through various modes of contact, settling some pre-intake paperwork. My university also has an online portal, which I took the time to do a little bit of exploring.

I am wondering now, with the new coronavirus still on the loose, if our lectures will end up going online on our first day. Online lecturers does feel less plausible for a first day, but the reason why I think this is because I am aiming for foundation in science leading to MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree), and most universities, including mine, have only one intake a year for med school. The foundation intake cannot be pushed too far back, because it fits nicely with the first year of our medical degree, and that fits like a jigsaw puzzle with the next year, and the year after that. A delay in the intake of foundation will affect how smoothly we can transition into med school. Maybe then we will go online.

How strange will it be, to interact with your coursemates online first, for perhaps a few weeks, before meeting them in the real life!

I am not entirely sure how I feel about that! 😛 You see, it really is not the same as having started college, and being forced suddenly to stay home and attend Zoom classes. We have not even started our first day or seen our classrooms / lecture halls, mind you. For one it can be an amusing and lighthearted experience, starting university in a unique way. For another, it can also be frustrating that you do not get to meet face-to-face with interesting people on your very first day. But whatever happens, I will always choose to look on the bright side.

My younger brother’s teachers, teachers from the secondary school I graduated from, also use the zoom app for online classes. I find it interesting watching the lessons unfold soundlessly on the computer screen, as my brother listens to his teacher on his headphones. Once in a while you will get a glimpse of the teacher’s dog wagging its tail, or hear a whisper of their young son memorising chemistry terms; and then we laugh.

Every so often when we laugh about high-tech things, I will wonder about how anything today might become obsolete for our next generations, and I wonder what the future will look like.

I do not know what the future will be like. How things will turn out for Malaysia as we battle Covid 19, what the world will be like in seventy years, how I will handle my chosen career when the time comes. But I do know one thing: I will see the opportunity in every challenge. I am unlucky to be part of this crisis, yet so fortunate to be part of this lesson.

I wonder what university will be like?