Life has a way of teaching us through the most unexpected experiences, often in moments that feel daunting. I reflect on this often, especially when I consider my own journey—a journey shaped by illness, loss, inspiration, and a constant hunger for knowledge. One lifetime can feel too short to absorb everything there is to learn, yet the most meaningful lessons often emerge in this brevity.

As a child, I never imagined that frequent doctor visits would form the foundation of my understanding of healing. Misdiagnosed with a heart condition, I spent years shuttling between doctors, traveling from one city to another, until the correct diagnosis was finally made. The confusion, the overwhelming anxiety my parents felt, and the uncertainty we all faced prepared me for more than just physical recovery—it prepared me for a life dedicated to understanding the human experience of illness.

When my father’s diabetic complications worsened, I became his caregiver, managing his condition in ways textbooks don’t always teach. I wasn’t just a student of medicine; I was a son, feeling the weight of his struggle. I learned to inject insulin, monitor his blood pressure, interpret his tests, and navigate hospital visits that left us emotionally and financially drained.

I kept asking myself, “How can we learn all of this in one lifetime?” The truth is, we can’t. We learn piece by piece through moments of care and empathy, setbacks and triumphs, and the lives of those we love and those we treat. My father’s journey—and my own—taught me that healing goes beyond prescriptions. It’s about understanding the patient’s story, their fears, hopes, and pain.

When I lost my relative to breast cancer and brain metastasis, the pain was devastating, but her battle became my greatest inspiration. Her strength in the face of an unrelenting disease ignited in me a passion to push the boundaries of oncology research, especially in breast cancer. I wanted to find answers, to discover treatments that could offer more hope than she received. Her fight inspired my research and deepened my commitment to medicine.

These experiences taught me one essential truth: we cannot wait to make a difference. Time is fleeting, and we must act on our desire to help others now. There’s so much to do and so little time, but that’s no reason to give up—it’s the reason to press forward, knowing that each action, discovery, and moment of care has the power to change a life.

In medical school, I realized that the lessons I learned outside the classroom—from my struggles and my family’s—shaped my approach to care. Medicine isn’t just about understanding disease; it’s about understanding people. We don’t have time to learn everything, but the lessons we gather in our short lives can have a ripple effect, touching countless others.

My journey from patient to medical student to oncology research fellow has shown me that while life may be short, the lessons we gather are invaluable. These lessons—about love, resilience, and the pursuit of knowledge—make life meaningful. And though I sometimes feel that there’s never enough time to learn everything, I’ve come to embrace that every life, no matter how brief, can teach us something profound.

I carry these lessons with me as I move forward in my career, especially with my passion for internal medicine. I strive to blend forward-thinking with the deep compassion I’ve developed from my experiences. Whether conducting research, writing papers, or sitting with patients, I am reminded of how short life is but how rich it can be in its capacity to teach.

Ultimately, we may not have enough time to learn everything in one lifetime, but we do have enough time to make a lasting impact. And that, I believe, is the ultimate goal—not to learn everything ourselves but to ensure that what we do learn is passed on, shared, and used to better the lives of others.

One life may be short, but the lessons we gather can last forever.

Vivek Podder is a physician in Bangladesh.