Kristiana Jil Meg U.

De Castro PI10 W2-4R-29

March 23, 2012 Synthesis Paper

On Life and Works of Dr. Jose Rizal and being a Veterinary Medicine Student
As we all have learned in PI10, Dr. Jose Rizal is not just our national hero. He is a Filipino, a person who showed his love for the Philippines through his novels, stories, letters and poems. He may not be on same page with other heroes like Bonifacio and Mabini with regards to the means of fighting for freedom, but he secured our country in his own ways. He is a genius; born with many talents and was able to enhance his skills, Rizal did not let others put him down. He knew he had the chance to become the best in whatever he wanted to achieve and he did not hesitate grabbing the opportunities presented on his way. He succeeded, not only in instigating the fight for freedom but also in having the chance to live his life doing what he wanted to do. It is known that Rizal is a doctor, an ophthalmologist to be specific. He studied Medicine because of his mother. He wanted to cure his mothers cataract and thought of studying to become a doctor. He did cure his mother and served a lot more people in this profession. I can say that he was selfless; the only thing that pushed him in taking up Medicine was to cure his mother but still, he was able to give aid to other people not only in other countries but most specially here in the Philippines. He practiced his profession while he was exiled in Dapitan and asked for nothing in return. He did it with an open heart and a free mind. As a student taking up Veterinary Medicine, I believe that we have some common things with Rizal. We are of same purpose: to cure and treat our respective patients and to find ways on how we could improve the world of medicine. I believe that Vet Med students took up this course

basically because we are fond of animals. May I say that one cannot continue in this course if he/she has some animal issues. We are often compared to human doctors; most say that human doctors are far more intelligent and better than veterinarians. Some say that human doctors are more important than veterinarians because they save peoples lives and not just some cute puppys life. I detest these kinds of comparisons. I, for one, had (will always have) the dream of becoming a human doctor. I can say that veterinarians are no different from them. We both study for quite a long period of time and end up doing our jobs and treating our patients. Rizal was a compassionate doctor; I can say that we also are compassionate with what we do and with the animals that we treat. I am always reminded by a quotation from Will Rogers: The best doctor in the world is a veterinarian. He cant ask his patients whats the matter he got to just know. This always reminds me of my purpose; just like how Rizal was inspired in becoming a doctor knowing what his mother needs. Dr. Jose Rizal and I, a future Veterinarian, may be different in terms of what/who we treat and cure, but basically, we are on same goal and desire.