Reflections on a year: a loosely spun origin story 

This blog is our baby, although up until this point it had only been mine. And I can say this with such certainty because although it’s out in the great world wide web now, (and open to submissions from UCL students and staff with a society membership) I have placed a great deal of emotional investment into this endeavour… My original intention when I first brought it up to the committee during the last session of workshops for the year was to pass it off as a fleeting thought at the time. Though in hindsight, I doubt anyone thought that as I hurriedly glanced down at my notebook, opened to a double page spread sprawled with a detailed outline of the contents of this “supposed” blog. Some could say that I manifested the very moment at which you are reading this into existence. Nonetheless, I was slightly stunned, and of course incredibly grateful, to have so willingly been given an opportunity to create my suggestion into a reality, and now it’s even beyond the reality I had initially imagined. 

As I am entering my final year of university as the welfare officer of the beloved society that this blog’s genesis resides in, I cannot help but think about the passion and love that I have encountered during the blog’s and my ongoing journey to self actualisation. Undeniably, inclusion health, health inequity, the social gradient in health (or however you understand the discrepancies that exist in the access, delivery and quality of care within local and global population) is a charged topic. These conversations, unfortunately, are regularly disregarded and conflated with identity politics when acknowledging which bodies, minorities and communities are routinely served the worst of what healthcare has to offer. In post-COVID Western societal practice and thought, however, there is a growing understanding and recognition of the indistinguishable nature between all elements of wellbeing, and the material and social conditions of a population. The witnessing of the collective experiences of members of my community had made me aware of the inseparability of the body and its surroundings long before I had the resources or vocabulary to articulate myself on the topic. 

My role in SIHS (student’s inclusion health society) as well as other pursuits in my life are starting to feel like an endeavour I’ve unwittingly embarked on to learn how to be fully present in spaces I had previously thought had no space for my entirety.. In hindsight, I do realise how this was an individualistic and slightly obnoxious perspective that conveniently absolved me from passivity in regards to my interests. The knowledge (and wisdom, I’d like to think) that I’ve accumulated from experience and academia has definitely better equipped me in the arena of conversation amongst peers. Nonetheless, I have a lot more thoughts I want to share, and not just within the familiar confines of a conversation with a politically aligned friend. I really don’t think it’s ever been a more appropriate time for people to start telling their own stories, in whatever way that is creatively because after all, all art is self-expression. That is one of my hopes with this blog, that it is a beacon of creative inquiry and reflection into the depths of emotions that a person encounters when grappling with the cognitive dissonances of healthcare that only become more apparent when working with or being a member of displaced and marginalised communities, for example. 

I won’t lie…The society is full of the loveliest people I think I’ve ever met at UCL, without exceptions, and that’s definitely contributed to my faithfulness to my goals as a committee member. I’ve met people that I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to have met, amongst those people is Jey, who made quite the impression on me when I realised just how much of a romantic he truly is.. Though he would never admit that. But when I’d notice the way this man’s face would light up during workshop talks, full of hope and passion, I knew what he was. Later on, I would find out that the society had actually been born from a concept catered for doctors three years ago. 

Reflecting on my contributions to society, I feel grateful for the support that has allowed me to express myself fully, even during my long-winded critiques of neoliberalism. Though sharing so personally can be challenging, I am glad that the work continues to be fruitful in its own way. I am hopeful this blog will nurture those who long for a productive, creative channel to weave together lived experience and expertise.