Thursday, November 26, 2009

TM Speech #1: AnatoME

Do you know where your orbicularis oris is? If not, then try doing this (puckering up my lips) Try doing that the whole day and when you feel pain around your mouth then you’ll know exactly where it is. Yes, it is the muscle around our mouth. The orbicularis oris is just one of the 639 skeletal muscles I have studied and memorized during my medical school days. I have studied all types of muscles, bones, teeth, skin, vital organs and everything that covers anatomy or the study of the structure of living things. But for tonight, it is a great privilege for me to share something with you that is far more interesting and exciting than the 4-inch-thick anatomy books that I used to read. Do you want to know what that is? Great! It is my own anatomy.

I was created some time 9 months prior to April 21st 1983 if I’m not mistaken. Born and raised in the city of Paranaque by a single mother, an only child, the princess of the house but never a spoiled brat. I lived with my loving grandparents together with my cousin who became my big brother, protector and idol.

I’ll start the cross section of my anatomy with, my upper extremities which include my hands that do not always give a pretty readable handwriting. But it is for the love of the arts where my hands create imagination into reality. I remember a time when I would have art exhibits at home and invite my friends and relatives to come over.
I started painting when I was 4 using watercolor on paper. At 12, I began using pastel color on board then soon after at age 16 I found myself most comfortable with acrylic paint on paper or mixed media. I find inspiration from all sorts of subjects such as scenic views, wonder of nature and some spontaneous ideas from my own impulsivity just like this prawn that I had for dinner a few years back. Yes this is a prawn. I also use my hands and ears to create music. Piano, flute, guitar and drums are some of the instruments I tried to learn how to play. But the guitar gave me a home through which I created my first few songs that made an entry to ABS-CBN’s Himig Handog Song Writing Competition in 2002.

Next, my lower extremities or legs and feet for numerous travels and adventures I’ve been to where ambulatory endurance is certainly required. I am a true blooded adventure seeker. I have been to couple of countries already and have traveled independently. I have tried different sports like basketball, boxing, badminton, have swum in the seas of Bali, Boracay, Bohol, Phuket, pacific ocean or probably just a part of it. I also incurred this scar (here, can you see it?) from trying to outrun a car with a motorcycle. Pretty crazy huh? Yes I am pretty and crazy.

Now we’ll go to the transverse section of my anatomy. My brain, my brain is a conglomerate of neurons, working together 24/7, shooting electrical signals like lightning to take control of everything. It is the master of every movement and every word that is coming out of my mouth. I spent a total of 8 years in college, 4 years of Psychology at St. Paul Manila and another 4 years of med proper at the UERM. I have been given awards and recognition in school as a Dean’s Lister and a student leader. I have actively participated in numerous events and organizations, written 3 major theses, 2 in college and 1 in medicine where the title is already like a paragraph in itself.

Only to realize, that is if you remove all the abovementioned parts: the education and accomplishments as a product of my brain, the artistry and creativity of my hands and the willingness of my feet to take me anywhere, I wish. Only one part will remain, that is my heart. Some people can live even after taking a part of their brain in surgery like for example the had an accident, some are handicapped without hands and feet, some are blind or deaf and mute or is brain dead like Z Gorres, but some do wake up from that state of coma and live a full life simply, because they have a heart that fights for life. My heart is the biggest part of me! It is where I keep precious memories and people who molded me into who I am today. It is the heart that motivates me and makes me whole. As in Gestalt psychology “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. We can live with some parts missing but never, ever without a beating heart.