Narasi Perjuangan - Jaanvi Manesh Gindwani

Narrative of my struggle

Hello, I am Jaanvi Manesh Gindwani, but I am usually called Jaanvi. Before coming to university, I previously studied in The Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School in Jakarta.

The faculty of medicine in this university is one of the best faculties to enter to in my opinion. I have heard from many that it is one of the oldest faculties in this university. The fact that it has been there for quite a long time means that over time they have developed with various effective teaching strategies and advanced innovations to pass on to the students of the present-day generation. They are able to pass on years of experience to the students who are willing to learn them. I want to begin talking about the building which stands next to the newly built hospital owned by the university, it indeed is really spacious and beautiful. Pursuing your bachelors of medicine in this university is indeed a great choice because according to me not only do you passively learn about health care or the diseases that revolve around this field, we will also be thought how to apply what we had learnt into the real world. That type of teaching, as described during the orientations seems to be very beneficial for students of the present-day generation. When we are taught to actively learn and apply our knowledge, that would make us good doctors. When are able to solve problems based on the experiences we gain through our course of studying, it will allow us to grow as doctors and enhance out thinking and decision making skills. To add on to that, our analysis skills will also improve. The faculty of medicine in the University of Indonesia in my opinion would not only make us doctors who would have to diagnose our patients when they come to us, but to also be better human beings in order to benefit the society from the noble profession that students are taking today. Being an international student, the fact that we are given the opportunity to study in another country, in another university and in a completely new environment allows students to gain more experience and learn more on the way. The exposure to clinical practice, the continuous awareness spread about diseases about the world, the never-ending workshops and campaigns organized by the students and even graduates in this faculty will do nothing more than help me as a person to grow and explore this field to great depths. To me overall, getting the opportunity to be part of this faculty in this university is indeed a true blessing.

Having gotten to know the rule that each country proudly wants their doctors to practice where they study, I had decided to try and apply to this university. As I had mentioned above, getting into this university is a matter of pride, I am indeed proud of myself of being here. I had applied myself through talent scouting, which is where our scores from the past 3 years of high school as well as additional certificates and achievements are sent in. Once you have been selected from the many who have applied, there are also a series of interviews as well as a psychology test that one has to do. The only motivation I had was my vision, my vision of becoming a doctor after graduating from one of Indonesia’s top universities. It was my vision that kept me going throughout the applications and throughout high school where I would study hard and make sure that I organized as many events as I possibly could. To top it all off, it was the continuous motivation I had received from my parents that I am no doubt grateful for that kept me going throughout the roughest years of my life.

Being in an international school gave me very little options for applying to this university; it was either through the talent scouting program or through the written test. Since the university’s first impression about you would be through the certificates that you had sent them, I had to make sure what I had and what I did was more than enough. So throughout high school, I studied extremely hard and completed all my work on time in order to score decent grades. It was not only the grades that I worked on; it was also the events I had organized in school that might have helped me during my application process. One such instance of an event that I had organized along with my team was an annual blood drive where we worked together with Red Cross Indonesia to collect donors around the school. From communicating with students and teachers, to getting the school clinic ready for the event, spreading awareness about the benefits of donating blood through posters, spreading the news of our event through social media, holding community and service stalls in order to raise enough money for the event to give food to the blood donors, I had learnt a lot in the process of this event. Along with that, I had to work on my talent, which was the main focus of the talent scouting program. Every week, I devoted myself to going to piano classes, which I have been going for the past seven years in order to prepare myself for the large numbers of orchestras, concerts and national competitions that I took part in. I won quite a few prices, and I had worked together with an entire team to bring a concert to life. Lastly, in order to be confident during the interview, I had to work on my speaking skills. I participated in numerous class presentations and presentations in the morning assembly to teach myself how to be confident and fearless when it was time to present your views in front of a large group of people. Though I did not have to go through the stage of writing a test to enter this university, I had worked very hard in high school to improve certain qualities I was missing in order to gain new experiences and make use of opportunities.

When I had opened the website and found out that I got accepted into the university, I was thrilled. I was very relieved that I would not have to go through any written tests and that my position in this university was secured. It got me emotional but at the same time I was very proud of myself and what I had achieved throughout the years because it was my endless dedication that got me where I am today and acted as a path for my acceptance in the faculty of medicine in the University of Indonesia. The days leading up to the day of the announcement was very difficult. It was very difficult having something continuously disturb you at the back of your mind. It actually left me very anxious and I continuously kept thinking whether I would be accepted or not because the reactions of both would be completely different. What had made it worse was the fact that from my school, people have entered this faculty only through the written test and never through the talent scouting program which made me nervous because I was unsure I stood a chance after the numerous number of people who had already attempted before me. On the other hand, all my anxiousness completely disappeared and faded into thin air after the announcement. It was a relief to find out that everything went well; from the scores to the interview and psychology test. I was able to focus on my other school work as well as the re-registrations that were required by the university. I was extremely proud of myself on this day, and forever will be.

To me, having the idea and having the desire to enter the faculty of medicine takes a lot of courage because everybody knows that it is going to be a tough journey and of course a long one. I expect myself throughout the years to never give up, and constantly remind myself when I am at the verge of burning out that whatever I am studying today will help me to save lives tomorrow, and it will help me achieve a dream that I have had for as long as I can remember. I expect myself to just be happy and enjoy the process of studying and practicing medicine. Along with that, I also expect myself to have the courage to overcome all the fears I have when it comes to this field; from looking at dead bodies, to surgery as well as the work load. I do hope and pray as well that my family continuously have my back and support my every decision to the best of their ability. I hope that the people of our country as well as the community can appreciate doctors for the amount of effort they put and the amount they sacrifice in order to serve and do good to people. Lastly, to the students in the batch of 2019, I hope that we can continuously work together and help each other during difficulties because nobody else would understand us the way our batch mates would since we will be walking through the same path along the way.

In the next one year, I want to see myself more comfortable with this new and contrasting environment, I want to be able to interact more with the people of my batch, I want to still be driven towards my main goal. In the next three years, I want to still have maximum energy to study and be excited about everything that I have to do in the future, I want to have great plans for the future, and I hope to have found home in this faculty. In the next ten years, I hope I will specialize in a specific field of medicine and I will be gaining work experience in the hospital where I want to be able to overcome all the fears and anxiousness I had about this phase when I had just began my journey in this field. In the next twenty years, I want to see myself as happy and as thrilled as I was when I had received my acceptance letter in the University of Indonesia. I want to be able to serve people and be a trusted doctor that people will always want to visit when they are having a problem. This journey is going to be a long one but that doesn’t mean I have to lose my desire to be successful in this field.

For those who want to enter this university, and this faculty specifically, I would advise them to study as hard as they possibly can and take every possible opportunity that comes in their way. Getting here is not impossible, but it isn’t easy! You need to be dedicated and committed enough in order to work your way through and enter this university. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about applying since there are various ways one can apply and you never know when you can land a chance in either. Try to improve your skills when you are aware that you are lacking behind in certain qualities such as in speaking English, having effective communication skills, being able to present yourself in front of a large audience or even being able to organize events from start to finish. By improving such qualities, you will be able to spend your time in university completing other productive work since you have overcome your difficulties before you are expected to and to me that is very helpful. Lastly, be mentally prepared and try to stop your fear from distracting you and always motivate and convince yourself that it is indeed not impossible if you give it a try.

Always take a moment to see how far you’ve come! Let that keep you strong and push you further! Never let the bumpy road ahead blur out the journey you have walked through to get you where you are today!

Written By: Jaanvi Manesh Gindwani