Every other day individuals around the world share numerous universal experience, and the most common one is making choices in life. One’s life is never complete without having the privilege or the freedom of making choices. Life is filled with endless opportunities and possibilities of it, whether real or imagined. One must always be responsible for its consequences. In some way or another, every decision we make will direct us to a different path or will change our life forever. As humans, our basic nature is to be dependent or to seek some kind of support for survival. From the first breath till the last one we take, the only relentless support we receive is from ourselves and our family. Family. It is a single word with various connotations to it. Take a moment and ask yourself what it means to you, I bet everyone has a different understanding for it. For some it’s about sacrificing every comfort to keep them happy, to safe guard family’s name by behaving a certain way, compromising your desires to fulfil their wishes or “Family means supporting each other’s choices in life with no hesitation or limitations.” E Lyn’s family have always supported her choices in life no matter what, just as long as she is happy.
Lee E Lyn’s undying passion for medicine came about from the endless moments of spending time in the hospital as a young girl. However, this time around in this narration there is a twist. E Lyn had to make brave and bold choices in life to reach wherever she is today. Choices that fulfilled her desires along the way, choices that brought her from one path to another, choices that completes her heart.
E Lyn experienced endless possibilities of opportunities by making her very first choice – IMU. Her passion for medicine navigated her to pursue a degree in Pharmacy. By embarking on this choice, a flood gate of new ventures poured into E Lyn’s life. IMU gave her the space and platform to discover her true calling. She learned a lot about herself, more than she expected she would. With a smile on her face she expresses “All I can remember was, there were a lot of dancing and we had so much of fun even though it was hectic being a student. Also not forgetting on how we didn’t fall asleep in one of our classes – Psychology.” 
There were few turning points in E Lyn’s life, the fondest one was during the fifth semester. A friendship that bloomed into love. E-Lyn identifies her relationship with then boyfriend and now husband as the “studios couple”. They both did their compulsory Provisionally Registered Pharmacist (PRP) attachment together in Tawau, Sabah. It was a great stepping stone for their relationship which grew stronger. Another experience that shifted her mind and heart was when she discovered her desire for teaching. It was confusing at first, as she always thought she would end up being a pharmacist but the satisfaction of seeing the look on her students face when they understood what she was teaching surpasses the awkwardness. “Those are priceless moments a teacher can experience” is exactly what E Lyn said. As stated by Abdul Kalam – “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If people remember me as a good teacher that will be the biggest honor for me”. E Lyn always put herself in her student’s shoes as once upon of time she was one of them. As a lecturer, she always lends her support whenever they needed any. She then knew how her lecturers felt, always wanting the best for their students and also how difficult it is to manage them due to the generation gap. This made her to thrive to be the best version of herself. In 2013, she took the leap of faith in pursuing her masters while lecturing. It was non-other than her home ground – IMU. As much as IMU was the place that got her to discover a lot of things, it was also the place that gave her the leniency to teach and pursue masters comfortably. In 2015, E Lyn courageously presented her research paper on diabetes in Canada which landed her an International Diabetes Federation (IDF) travel grant in the same year. She also has the intention to do her PhD to expand her knowledge and give back to the academic world. 
She came in as no one, discovered herself, left as a pharmacist and now back as an educator at the School of Pharmacy, International Medical University. She proves that nothing is impossible. All you have to do is make choices in life, embrace with courage and see where it takes you.
| There are many factors that could make or break an individual. It is all depending which path we choose to follow. |
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Lee E Lyn is currently a lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, International Medical University (IMU). She has been teaching since 2013 and she is one of the IMU Alumni Association Committee members. Written by Asyraf Zulkipli, Alumni Relations Office (ARO)
