#001 The People Issue

First of all, Happy New Year! And welcome to the first installment of the Hack Medical School Newsletter. All of us at HMS are so grateful that you have given us this privilege to write you. Words fall short, but thank you so much.

We wanted to create this newsletter so we could have more ways to share information and hopefully find better ways to make you doctor & happy. We'll try to tackle a unique issue per week and we will see where that takes us. Cool? Cool. Haha.

Today we are talking about people. And as I have mentioned before, HMS would be nothing without all the various people that contribute, support and believe in us. Including you!

In that light, here are a few things I'd like to highlight about relationships and people that could set the tone and pace for whatever year you'll have ahead.

People matter. Perhaps we all know this and choose to ignore or maybe we forget, but the truth remains that people matter. I daresay people matter the most.

The relationships you keep determine more than you know. Let's list a few. They determine how you dress, how you talk, what you say, where you go, basically who you are and who you become. So this year I want to challenge you; instead of making 500 resolutions and lofty goals, look around you. Look at those you call friends, those you are surrounded by. And ask yourself these questions;

Am I happy when I am with this person?

Have I become a better person as I've spent time with this person?

Does this person look like who I want to be?

Does this person have strengths that I would like to imbibe?

Have bad habits rubbed off on me because of this person?

Does this person support my dreams?

Does this person look down on me?

Does this person inspire me?

Does this person push me to be better?

Here are only a few questions to ask yourself. Take a friendship inventory. Place your friends on the scale, one by one. You might need to cut some people off though (new year, new you? Lol). Your job is to weigh the pros and cons of having these people in your life and then intentionally choose your tribe.  You have to be bold about your circle because when you are weak and can't carry yourself, these are the people who will carry you. If there is a loophole or a missing link in form of a not-so-great friend, you just might fall deeper and deeper into a bottomless pit.

Also, don't fool yourself into thinking you don't need anybody. We all need people. We need each other so let's endeavour to be what we look for in others. For us medics, exams are the order of the day. Inasmuch as our pass mark is 50, sometimes we go through deep oceans and lofty mountains to achieve that. if we let more people in, it wouldn't all be so hard.

I know this is probably some heavy stuff to begin the year with but I really do want you to have the best year. For that to happen you need the best people you can find.

Sometimes you will get hurt and disappointed. In times like those, offer yourself and others some grace. We are all on different journeys and people learn different truths at different times. Be kind to yourself and others. We are all human and we are all growing.

I pray God will make this year memorable, fulfilling and rewarding for you. May the best people for you cross your path. May you have the vision to know them and the wisdom to keep them.

See you next week ;)

Love, OJ.

Speaking of people, have you seen our latest video where I sit down with Tosin to talk about MBBS PART 3? Do check it out, if you haven’t;

https://youtu.be/Ilcb-TvNPrA

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share with a friend 😉