Kept in the Drafts: The right-brain vs left-brain sham

     [I am frustrated. Update: I am not enjoying online classes. Some professors abuse it. This case was one, though I confess it was partially my fault, too. I was just about to submit an essay for Art early when I rechecked the rubrics to see that the theme was changed. So now I have to revise the majority of my essay against my will (partly because it would be such a waste and partly because I am too disgruntled to overwrite this piece.)]

              I was not immune to the faulty mentality of perceiving arts as inferior to the sciences. Before I begin scrutinizing the education system, allow me to share my personal story for pursuing medicine. For I feel admitting that I was boxed into this mentality all the more proves the need to change the way we perceive the arts and sciences.

            The reason I pursued medicine was simple: I felt like it was the only field I can be satisfied in the future. But down to its core, isn’t that what we all want—to have our existence, however brief, meaningful? When I was younger, I have always deemed the sciences as a noble discipline, forward-thinking, and necessary. Whereas the arts and literature were subjects only there for mental relief. I have come to realize that that was futile and unappreciative of me of the arts. As I got older, I begin to speculate whether this perception was not uncommon for many, and whether or not it was a product of a system—perhaps one that is now obsolete.

 

            Many would blame the current education system for favoring children who can most efficiently regurgitate the knowledge fed to them. It idealizes uniformity and apprehends individuality by taking it for granted and setting such standards that will not favor individual growth, rather, standards that would please the industry. It’s like saying, ‘you are all special, so that does not make you special.’ Alas, years of this kind of mentality has turned into a culture-- one that confines our artistic potentials with the phrases ‘that is just a hobby-s,’ ‘anyone can do that-s,’ and ‘find a real job-s.’

 

            It has come to me that we have limited our understanding of the arts as mere thoughts translated into different media like in paintings, sculptures, or songs. I learned that it does not simply end there. There is art in human experience itself. In my case, I choose to see the art in medicine. Art is manifested in the lives of those who aspire to become medical professionals when it reminds us that we are not just healers, we are creators. We mend wounds to build futures. And I hope that we create a near-future wherein the potential of a human person is not compartmentalized to a dichotomy of the arts and sciences. 

 

            Before I become a doctor, I was an artist. And I will continue to be one even on the day I walk out the operating room for the umptieth time. I will not limit myself to either/or. I believe I have both the inherent capability and freedom of pursuing what makes my life meaningful for the people around me and for myself.

 

            I hope you find it as a takeaway that the education system mustn’t approach medicine (or the sciences in general) and art as mutually exclusive entities; rather, as passions that come hand-in-hand. There is no segregation of the right-brained and left-brained person. For in actuality, we need both to live meaningful and worthwhile lives.