Social Sites These Days

I have more than six hundred friends, yet I am lonely. 

I speak to all of them everyday, yet none of them really know me. 

The problem I have sits in the spaces between looking into their eyes 

or at a name on a screen. I took a step back and opened my eyes, 

I looked around to realize the media we call social is anything but. 

When we open our computers, and it's our doors we shut. 

All this technology we have it's just an illusion. 

Community companionship a sense of inclusion yet, 

when you step away from this device of delusion, you awaken to see a world of confusion. 

A world where we're slaves to the technology we mastered,

where information gets sold by some rich greedy bastard. 

A world of self interest, self image, self promotion. 

Where we all share our best bits, but, leave out the emotion. 

Were at 'almost happy' with an experience we share, 

but is it the same if no one is there? 

Be there for your friends and they'll be there too, 

but no one will be if a group message will do. 

We edit and exaggerate, crave adulation. 

We pretend not to notice the social isolation. 

We put our words into order and turn our lives a-glistening. 

We don't even know if anyone is listening! 

Being alone isn't a problem let me just emphasize; 

if you read a book, paint a picture, or do some exercise. 

You're being productive and present not reserved and recluse. 

You're being awake and attentive and putting your time to good use. 

So when you're in public, and you start to feel alone. 

Put your hands behind your head, step away from the phone! 

You don't need to stare at the menu, or a your contact list. 

Just talk to one another, learn to coexist. 

I can't stand to hear the silence of a busy commuter train 

when no one want's to talk for the fear of looking insane. 

We're becoming unsocial, it no longer satisfies...

to engage with one another, and look into someone's eyes.

We're surrounded by children, who since they were born, 

have watched us living like robots, who now think it's the norm. 

It's not very likely you'll make worlds greatest dad, 

if you can't entertain a child without using an iPad. 

When I was a child, i'd never be home. 

Be out with my friends on our bikes we'd roam. 

I'd wear holes on my trainers, and graze up my knees. 

We'd build our own clubhouse, high up in the trees. 

Now the parks so quiet, it gives me a chill. 

See no children outside and the swings hanging still. 

Theres no skipping, no hopscotch, no church and no steeple. 

We're a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people. 

So look up from your phone, shut down display. 

Take in your surroundings, make the most of today.

Just one real connection is all it can take, 

to show you the difference that being there can make. 

Be there in the moment, when she gives you the look, 

that you remember forever as 'when love overtook‘. 

The time she first held your hand, or first kissed your lips, 

the time you first disagreed and you still love her to bits. 

The time you don't have to tell hundreds of what you've just done. 

Because you want to share this moment with just this one. 

The time you sell you sell your computer, so you can buy a ring, 

for the girl of your dreams, who is now the real thing. 

The time you want to start a family, and the moment when, 

you first hold your little girl, and get to love again. 

The time she keeps you up at night, and all you want is rest. 

And the time you wipe away the tears as your baby flees the nest. 

The time your baby girl returns, with a boy for you to hold, 

and the time he calls you granddad and makes you feel real old. 

The time you've taken all you've made, just by giving life attention. 

And how you're glad you didn't waste it, by looking down at some invention. 

The time you hold your wife's hand, sit down beside her bed, 

you tell her that you love her and lay a kiss upon her head. 

She then whispers to you quietly as her heart gives a final beat, 

that she's lucky she got stopped by that lost boy in the street. 

But none of these times ever happened, you never had any of this. 

When you're too busy looking down, you don't see the chances you miss. 

So look up from your phone, shut down those displays, 

we have a final act existence a set number of days. 

Don't waste your life getting caught in the net, 

because when the end comes there's nothing worse than regret. 

I'm guilty too of being part of this machine, 

this digital world, we are hear but not seen. 

Where we type as we talk, and we read as we chat. 

Where we spend hours together without making eye-contact. 

So don't give into a life where you follow the hype. 

GIve people your love, don't give them your 'like‘. 

Disconnect from the need to be heard and defined, 

go out into the world leave instructions behind. 

Look up from your phone. Shut down that display. 

Stop reading this poem. Live life the real way.

Seven Habbits of a good medical Students

Habit 1: Learn how you learn. Then just do it.

Medical school can be a bit of a shock. We all know it will be hard, requiring long hours, but the sheer enormity of knowledge we need to master (or at least make a passing acquaintance with) can be overwhelming. You will need to figure out how you learn best, and most efficiently. Is it taking copious notes in class? Drawing pictures of dissections? Re-listening to lectures on your iPhone while out for a run? I was a solitary studier all through college, poring over all the required reading and taking notes. I tried to continue this pattern in medical school. This worked fine during the first term, which was largely a review of basic science principles I knew well already. However, after getting my results back on the first anatomy exam at the start of our second term, I realized something had to change. My response was to join a study group. While I might have avoided my areas of weakness when studying alone, in a group, we’d be sure to go over all those annoying branches of the brachial plexus. This is a habit that will help you beyond medical school. The field of medicine is one of life-long learning. We will constantly need to update our knowledge of our field by reading journals, attending conferences, and discussing interesting cases with our colleagues. 

Habit 2: Look beyond your books. 

You may feel like you need to study 24/7, but if you never leave the library, you will miss out on a lot your medical school has to offer. Join clubs, get involved with student government, sign up for a committee. Not only will you contribute to the culture of your medical school and help make it a more enriching place for other medical students, you never know what connections you might make. One of my peers who joined the student government found herself rubbing shoulders with many faculty, including department chairs. When she decided she was interested in radiology, she was able to set up a time to have an informal chat with the department chairman, as she already knew him. By being involved, you will be learning how to network and establish connections that will serve you throughout your career.

 Habit 3: Give back. 

We all spent time in our pre-med years scurrying amongst volunteer experiences in an attempt to become a better applicant, er, and to give back to the community, of course. Don’t stop with that acceptance letter. Medical school provides lots of opportunities; you have a chance to contribute to the community, make connections, develop new skills and, yes, they can go on your residency application. I served as a co-director of our student-run free clinic. It not only gave me a chance to work on my leadership skills, but also helped me discover that I enjoy the administrative aspect of medicine as well, something that impacted my career decisions.

Habit 4: Be adventurous, both professionally and personally – you never know where it may lead you.

 What you may not realize at the beginning of medical school is how quickly the time goes by and how soon you will need to be making decisions about your specialty. Early exploration can be invaluable in helping you make your decision. The summer between first and second year, another of my colleagues had the opportunity to do a research project with the ophthalmology department. Although it wasn’t a specialty she was particularly familiar with, she liked the people she was working with and threw herself into the project. She found her passion and is now starting her ophthalmology residency. Many medical schools offer opportunities to go abroad. Even (especially!) if you’re not an international traveler, these can be great experiences, exposing you to other medical cultures. 

Habit 5: Recognize your own strengths (and weaknesses). 

To get into medical school, you’ve likely been at the top of your class most of your life. The thing about medical school is that all of your classmates have as well. And, when grades come out, not everyone can be at the top of the class. For me, this moment was rather sobering – and demoralizing. Allow yourself not to be really good at everything. Work on your weaknesses so they don’t become your Achilles’ heel, but don’t dwell on them. Instead, feed your strengths. Nowhere in my Dean’s letter does it say, “And she is not so great at anatomy.” 

Habit 6: Establish a circle of mentors. 

Some schools have formal mentoring programs, connecting students with faculty or senior medical students with junior medical students. Take advantage of these. If your school doesn’t have one (and even if it does), be on the lookout for others who may serve this role – you’ll meet many if you follow Habit 2. For me, my mentors come from various backgrounds and fields – a radiologist, a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, a bench scientist and a number of more senior medical students, to name a few. Other medical students can provide invaluable advice on issues they recently dealt with, ranging from how to study for boards (“Make a schedule!”) or how to survive surgery (“Always eat breakfast!”). Faculty mentors help to provide perspective; they’ve seen many students go through the ups and downs of medical school and can give a broader view, or at least assure you that how you’re feeling is not unique. That time back in first year when I did poorly on my first anatomy exam? It was one of my faculty mentors who encouraged me to join a study group. Now, sorting through residency programs, my mentors have helped me weigh my options and look at my priorities.

 Habit 7: Take time for you. 

You are more than medical school – you were before and you will be after. Take time to nurture your relationships, with friends, family and significant others. You may feel all that you are up for after a week of courses is studying in your pajamas interspersed with watching cat videos online, but take a real break and go grab coffee with friends. Take care of yourself. Go to the gym, cook a real meal on occasion, take a walk. Your life should not go completely on hold while you are in medical school. Finding that balance is critical for your career. A friend who graduated last year was weighing his options for residency, including going to his “dream” institution. In the end, though, he realized he would be happier going to another institution that would keep him close to his family and friends. Now, as he slogs through intern year, he is buoyed by his support system. Give yourself the chance to flourish and your career will as well.

Sometimes

Sometimes all you can give is love 
Sometimes all you have is not enough 

Sometimes life is like a dream 
Sometimes dreams aren’t what they seem 

Sometimes laughter can heal your heart 
Sometimes it’s laughter that breaks it apart 

Sometimes the world goes faster than you can go 
Sometimes even fast is still too slow 

Sometimes going home is the only thing on your mind 
Sometimes home is the only place you can’t find 

Sometimes you are too tired to sleep 
Sometimes you are too sad to weep 

Sometimes freedom holds you back 
Sometimes a wedding dress is black 

Sometimes loneliness is what you need 
Sometimes there’s a harvest without a seed 

Sometimes darkness can be too bright 
Sometimes rain gives you delight 

Sometimes you think you understand 
Sometimes you know you really can’t 

Sometimes what sets you free are restrictions 
Sometimes what makes most sense are contradictions.

त्यो  बेला थियो, जब म नेपाली थिएँ !
छर-छिमेकमा सबै नेपाली थियौं,
नेपाली हुनु हाम्रो गर्व थियो
रातो र चन्द्र सुर्य हाम्रो पहिचान
चार जात अनि छत्तीस वर्ण
पुर्व मेची देखि पश्चिम महाकाली
हिमाल पहाड तराई, हामी सबै नेपाली
कोहि छैन पराइ !
अनि आए नेता रुपी ब्वाँसाहरु !
कोहि संसद, कोहि सडक अनि कोहि जंगलबाट
मुलुकको मुहार फेर्ने झुटो नाटक मन्चन गर्दै
१५००० बढी निर्दोष नेपालीलाइ  बलिको  बोको  बनाइ
ससक्त  युवा शक्तिलाइ विदेशिने बाटो देखाएर
मुलुक आज साम्प्रदायिक खाडलमा खसाल्दै छन्
राष्ट्रीयताको ढोंग रचेर
अराजकताको नाङ्गो नाच नाचिरहेछन यहाँ
नत यिनलाई लाज छ नत कुनै सरम
राष्ट्रीयता आज विस्तारबाद सामु झुकी सक्यो
खै तिमीहरुले बुझेको मर्म !!


परजीवी जस्तै मुलुकलाई डसेर तिमीले चार बर्ष
स्वार्थ पुरा गर्यौ आफ्नो
तर अहिले गल्ति सबै अरुको, अनि
तिमीहरु पनि माथि को ओभानो
दाजु-भाईलाई जात-जातमा फुटाई
हिन्दु, बौद्ध अनि मुसलमानको आत्मियतालाई टुटाई
जुन जातियताको राजनीति गर्यौ तिमीले
अक्षम्य  अपराध हो यो, लाग्ने छ आँसु आमाको


खै के भनू म अरु यँहा, निशब्द छु अहिले
तर एक दिन आउने छ,
जो इतिहाँस मा लेखिने छ
तिमिले गरेका सबै पाप र दुस्कर्म को हिसाब हुने छ
गरेका गल्ति लाई आत्म ग्लानी गरि अघि बढ कपुत हरु हो समय हुँदै
नत्र ! त्यो दिन अब टाढा छैन
जब हाम्रो शोक अनि सक्ति....आक्रोश मा बदलिने छ
तब तिमि हरु ले एक मुट्ठी सास अनि एक घुट्को पानी भन्न पाउने छैनौ !!

We may have had  plenty of Revolutions in the History of our Nation. But what we really need at this moment is an Intellectual Revolution. Changing the name of a System doesn't make the big deal when the Rulers are the same with the same old mentality. May God bless us all Nepalese to overcome smoothly form this kinds of Political Crisis and many critical conditions in our society.  

मेरो मातृभूमि: नेपाल

सुन्दर-शान्त-विशाल
मुटुभन्दा प्यारो
मेरो देश नेपाल
सोचमग्न छु
परदेश भूमिमा बसेर
छटपटी हुन्छ
एक घुट्को सोमरस पिउँछु
घाउहरू चर्चराउँछन्
लामो सर्को धुँवा उडाउँछु
शितल हुन्छ
सुकेका छैनन्
अझै रगतका टाटाहरू
रोकेका छैनन
टुहुरा लाला-बाला
अनि
बिधुवाका भक्कानोहरू
फुलेका छैनन लाली-गुराँस
उम्रेका छैनन बनमाराहरू
रिसको आभेसले झटारो हान्यो
भर गिलास सोमरसले मिटाइ दिए
लामो सर्को तानेर धुँवामा उडाइ दिए
कहिले जङल पसेर
कहिले शहर बसेर
बिकासको बत्ती
झ्याप्प-झ्याप्प निभायौं
न बस्न दियौ
त बाँच्न दियौ
युवा शक्ती बिदेश भगायौ
कन्सिरी तातेर आयो
एक घुट्कोमा बोतल रित्याए
एक श्वासमा खिल्ली सिद्याए
सोमरसले घुमाएको हो कि
धुँवाले उडाएको
आधा-बिहोसिमा बरबराएछु
राष्ट्रनायकहरू हो !
मेरो देश आज
चिहानमा सुतेको छ

NEPAL: My Motherland !

Still cannot get to sleep, I turn lazily to the other side of the bed. I open my eyes to glance at the alarm clock; the green digits read 2:00. Five more hours and it is going to come to life, force me out of bed to go to University, to work, and back home late at night. Time never stops, does it? Time passes away with each blink of an eye, and it is up to us to utilize it. The feeling of uneasiness grips me again; and the reason is suddenly clear. I have been thinking about what next after graduation.

There are many Nepali students like me in Germany, and many more scattered in countries all over the globe, who have left Nepal in pursuit of higher education. The number is definitely substantial, as I myself have only a handful of friends back home. As students we make immense sacrifices to get that degree we came here for. We think of graduating as our salvation. We hope for an International dream, to get rich and have that perfect house and the perfect job. But what are the chances? And what about Nepal, the essence of who we are? I had an array of emotions. Shock, admiration, confusion, respect.

My confusion is indeed justifiable. When one goes back to Nepal and gets a “good job,” one may earn monthly a week’s wage here, even for a minimum paying work. There is also the question about the lack of opportunities. It is indeed tough for a country to get investors (both foreign and domestic), to invest money when it is still politically instable. Another opportunity lost, because Nepal could gain a lot from the recent trend in globalization. Over 80% of the total Nepali population relies on agriculture; over 80% of the European population were agricultural too, but in the 17th century. It was before the industrial revolution there, which transformed their society from agricultural to industrial and today to technological. Are we 4 centuries behind? It pains me to admit, but the answer sadly is “perhaps.” Perhaps, although our county has had many political revolutions, what we really need is an intellectual revolution.

Nepal doesn’t lack talent or intellect. Nor does it lack natural beauty or appropriate geographical location. I think Nepal is very capable of competing in today’s global market; all it needs really is us – we are the future of Nepal, and it is up to us to determine its fate. Most of the people that I talked to did want to go back to Nepal if there were opportunities. They talked about the prestige and respect they would have back home; the familiarity, family, quality of life and self-respect. We all saw no reason for going back.

As I analyzed my confusion again, I realized that I was asking the wrong question. It is not just the question of where we will be working after graduation. The real question is what will each of us give back to the country to which we owe our identity? Or will there be no members of our generations to shoulder the responsibility – will there just be a void?