PURSUiNG MEdicAl cAREERS AFtER SERviNG thEiR cOUNtRy

The ProposalOn a rainy night inMarch of 2011, Ijoined a group offriends for a night offun in Hollywood’srenowned nightlife.That night a friend ofmine had highlyanticipatedintroducing me to this person who she believed wouldbe the perfect match for me. I went out thinking“Right. As if it could possibly be that easy to meet mysoul mate.” Little did I know, Babak Eshaghian wouldbe my Prince Charming.Babak and I connected instantly, and spent the nightchatting away. We had plenty in common, including ashared passion for the medical field. By the end of thenight we locked hands, for the first time. The momentwe held hands I felt what I had learned so much aboutthroughout my pre-pharmacy undergraduate classes,chemistry. I felt a jolt of energy travel up my spine,and the feeling was unique to me. A few months intoour relationship, Babak and I were talking about ourfuture plans and goals. That night he told me that heknew he would marry me one day. I felt the same wayinside, but was not brave enough to say so.I asked, “How areyou so sure about usin this short timethat we’ve knowneach other?” “I knewthe first night when Iheld your hand. Youshocked me, but in agood way,” heresponded. I kept thinking, “I can’t believe he felt thattoo.” I gazed into his loving eyes and knew he wasgoing to be the special man in my life.Around the time of my graduation, I noticed Babakwas restless and a tad nervous. When I asked about hiscondition, he just brushed it off and mentioned thathe was just excited about my accomplishment ofgraduating pharmacy school. I thought, geez, he sureis a lot more excited than I am. The idea of himproposing at my graduation never even crossed mymind.Graduation day arrived, and I was most excited aboutmy parents hooding me onstage and my grandmotherbeing there to share the special day with us. I alsolooked forward to greeting my handsome thenboyfriendBabak and our families after the ceremony.40 Western University of Health Sciences