Meet the Baldemorts

by: Jermae Rubares 

Life is full of beginnings, and most of the beginnings are difficult. Nobody said entering medical school would be easy. Nobody said community exposure would be a breeze as well. Sometimes you just need that extra push, an additional motivation or supplemental inspiration to keep you going. Sometimes I wish perseverance would just come in a capsule, or sometimes I hope patience could come in a pill. Maybe little extra dose of a tablet with gazillion milligrams of understanding would be available in the market too.


Why?
It’s because life is not that simple. Let’s face it, in a world where complex personalities rise, we somehow have to find that common ground in order for us to achieve a symbiotic relationship. Yes, we are all different people. We all have different personalities, yet we share a common goal. A goal which masks the differences we have. 

What is that goal? 
Albert Einstein once said, “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” We want to have a worthwhile life and we can achieve that by serving others, and by helping our community. Armed with the knowledge we have as medical students, we are determined to be the catalyst in the change that we aspire for barangay Mirangan. Yes, it is this common goal which keeps our group strong and solid. It is the same desire that keeps us grounded as a group. With the help of each other we know that we are fearless.

It took us some time to get to where we are now. Before we became a family, we were merely classmates. We shared the same dream, went through the same battles and struggles in med school. However, we never expected community exposure to be this life changing. The experience we had was priceless. What made every single day special was the company of each other. Every ordinary day was made extraordinary because we spent it with each other, from the early ‘good morning greetings, down to the night long tallying. Yes, the bickering and ranting were inevitable, but we managed to make it through. Fights were constant, misunderstandings were present but we never allowed it to get the best of us. Every struggle that we’ve experienced seemed to be better and lighter because we had each other’s backs, figuratively and literally. The endless walks we had, making our way through muddy and slippery routes were not only exhausting but life threatening. The falls and slips we had along the way were countless. But with every fall, accompanied by loud giggles (in the sidelines, of course), comes a helping hand. Yes, we had our fair share of “putik” and “Sadako” moments in the rice fields, our “pseudo-quicksand” experiences and countless others. But instead of whining and crying, we end up laughing at and with each other. It was the best therapy, especially after such a tiring day. It was like every survey day, and every lengthy walk we had, all we needed was that dose of laughter, and everything feels okay. It may sound mean to others, laughing at the expense of others and all, but for us, it is just merely another way of saying, “hey, when I slip, I won’t worry; I’ll just laugh my heart out because I know you’ve got my back no matter what.”


In life, falls are inevitable. We can never stand on top all the time, but when we do fall, it is nice to know that you’ve got this family who’ll lend you a hand and pick you up. Even if you’re covered in mud, even if helping you entails a delay in the journey, they won’t mind. In Mirangan “Baldemorts” family, nobody gets left behind.

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*A brief history of our name, Baldemorts:

"Baldemort means family. Family means nobody gets left behind." (inspired by the Disney movie, "Lilo & Stitch") The origin of our group name came from a groupmate's question about the well-known villain from the Harry Potter franchise. It is also a reference to the bucket or "balde." Like a balde is to water, my Baldemorts family kept me from spilling or wasting my true potential. They shaped my perspectives, goals and dreams for Mirangan, like how a balde gives shape to water. Having at least one balde per household is a necessity given the water conditions of the barangay. Just the same, all the shared experiences ultimately became a driving force for us to become something we all needed. We became each other's balde, strong and united despite the number of challenges we face each day.