On the Frustrations Over Being Tolerant

Tolerance is overrated.

This is about the unofficial buddy line system that we have in our med school. Supposedly when we enter the first year, we'll get all sorts of abuse and tortures and all those dreaded drama complaints written to the newspaper by those overprotecting parents as you can read these past few weeks, because back then, we were aimless and didn't know how to settle down. So we relied on a senior to guide us. But they started off pushing us around so that we'll get to know them and remember how badly they treated us. That bad? Not entirely. It was because, later on after the orientation, there's something memorable for the rest of our lives. Somehow, only those who've came through have this memories. Understandable.

So supposedly we've got one senior guiding us. We'll at least get a general idea of what should we emphasize more on, how a certain lecturer's teaching style was like, how to even adapt to KL and etc.

Then when we passed through our first year in uni, we've got the junior coming in. That's when we got evil with all sort of difficult tasks and started to torture the juniors, asking them about Brachial Plexus when we know well enough they haven't even any clue what it means, or ground them on the table and talk to them about boring aimless pointless talk about medicine like what i did for the next one hour during lunch time. So that, at the end of the day, we had our share of fun and we pick one junior as our 'buddy'. And it was our turn then, to guide them, and tell them about the university, about the library, or trivial stuff like they should not sleep in Prof Anatomy's tutorial class.

So over the years, lines were formed. Certain seniors pick juniors from their own states. Certain, like myself, as how I still regard myself as, were the 'leftovers' and were picked up by the 'leftovers' line where there's a range of seniors from different states.

But traditionally, when we were in the second year, we were too blur as to how we choose the junior as our 'buddy'. So the final years come in and help us out. Which happened in my line since as long as I remembered, although the final years did say we could suggest one of our choice, whom we've enjoyed 'torturing' earlier on.

But somehow things didn't work that way after 3 years of absence from the whole buddy picking sessions as I went through 3rd year and 4th year. Now that I'm in the final year, I thought I'd compensate for all my little 'buddies', asking the 2nd year for his choice, and negotiated with my own batch-mates and all... to a final decision that we'll take two 1st years into our line, one from my state, and the other of the 2nd year's state.

Drama soon evolved.

The 3rd years asked why didn't I just picked 2 from their states? They're from the same state as the 2nd year. And they want me to help them form a single-state line, because if I get one from my state, it's more difficult for them to pick a junior from their state when they're in their final years in 2 years time.

But they know well enough that the 4th year hail from the same state as myself.

So 4th year suggested to me a girl from my hometown. Which I thought was fair.

But the rest in the line actually disagreed, saying they were not 'in-tuned' with the one from my hometown.

Like, seriously? Do we even have to go there?

Hell they have no idea that when I was in my 2nd year, the final year that time threw me one whom I didn't talk to during orientation. And when I was in my 3rd year, I didn't even GO for the orientation. When I was in my 4th year, I was too busy with exams that I said I don't mind who would be entering my line. And now that I'm in my final year, I've got opinions from all those younger than me, that, when I was in their shoes, I let the final years made the decisions.

And they came to me demanding me to scrap off the idea of me taking one from my hometown so that they could form their own sweet-single state line.

Like seriously, I was on the verge of eruption. If that's how they want to react, fine. I already let you choose one from your state, and now you want another one? It's a bit too greedy no?

The drama continues for a few days, with more than hundreds of sms-es vending frustrations and anger and sadness because some one cried and the others not happy and me trying to say sorry and to explain the position we were in that we couldn't get 2 from the same state because I'm not from their state and I have no rights to go for a second pick before the single-state lines cleared off their picks.

So at the end of the day, I find myself being too nice only brings me more frustrations and emotional disturbances. Am fed up really.

Which was why, I foresee the destruction of ourselves because of our immaturity and intolerance. So very true.


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But the doctor senior soon talked to the little juniors after a dinner one night. Not sure what she told them. But I reckon it was a.w.k.w.a.r.d. I just wished the situation would return to normal...

Then again... this whole choosing which buddy issue had always been a drama since as long as I remembered. LOL. And as how the elder buddy said, it always resolve spontaneously after that, and we'd laugh about how childish we were again.

How true.

Ps: Now don't hamsap with the guys in the pics already!