I never would’ve made it without them:

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I never would’ve made it without them.

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None of us.

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We’re here because of others.

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Their help.

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Their support.

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Their love.

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Their decisions.

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Their choices.

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We don’t make it here without them.

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I owe my life to so many.

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It’s why I’ve felt so guilty at different points in my life.

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Three stand out.

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First was in 2007 in India.

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Chandni Chowk.

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Old Delhi.

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My parents took us there.

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Wanted us to experience our motherland.

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But my dad really wanted to show me and my siblings what real India was like.

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How hundreds of millions of people live below the poverty line.

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He wanted me to experience it.

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See the markets where so many people spend their entire lives.

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I was terrified.

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My dad decided to take us on the tuk-tuk Chandni Chowk tour.

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I cried the whole time.

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Felt so guilty.

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How could they have so little?

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And I have so much?

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How?

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It wasn’t fair.

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Why was I so lucky?

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The next was in 2010.

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When the Haiti earthquake happened.

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That shook me.

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Seeing so many people lose everything.

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Went up to my room and cried for half an hour.

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Kept saying ‘Why?’

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‘Why?’

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‘Why me?’

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‘Why did I get so lucky and all these kids didn’t?’

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The last was getting my job in Amsterdam.

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Going from medical school in Scotland to living and working in Amsterdam within 3 months of graduating in an industry I barely knew existed.

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How?

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How did I get so lucky?

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Kept coming back to one reason.

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My parents.

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Being born into this family.

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The privileges and opportunities I have are only because of them.

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I won the life lottery.

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They’ve done so much and sacrificed so much for me and my siblings to be here.

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But it’s not just them.

It’s all the people around them.

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The teachers who taught them.

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Their parents.

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Their friends.

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Their influences.

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Their decisions.

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Their choices.

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I’m here because of them.

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But also my own influences.

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My own friends.

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My own choices.

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My own decisions.

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They showed me the path.

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But I had to walk down it.

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Sprint down it.

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Open every door they showed me.

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Otherwise, it would be a waste.

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What good is what they’ve given me if I don’t take full advantage of it?

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Live the best life you can so you can eventually give others the same.

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That’s my goal.

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Always has been and always will be.

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But I don’t get here alone.

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Far from it.

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I’m here because of my teachers.

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Friends.

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Influences.

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Leaders.

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People around me.

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And choices.

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So I always have to stay grateful.

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Same with you.

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Stop complaining about your life.

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Go do the best you can with what you’ve got.

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But don’t forget the people along the way.

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You never would’ve made it here without them.

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