Francesca Solari – A letter to my younger self

By Francesca Solari
ST3 Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Welsh Rotation

Dear Fran,

Firstly I want you to know it’s all going to work out and it’ll all be great.  This is you talking from the future and trust me, the hard work pays off.  You’re now an orthopaedic registrar!  I know, doesn’t that sound insane and awfully grown up?  You also live in Wales, yes, you’ve made it back to the motherland and I’m sure granddad, Aunty June and Uncle Reg would be proud.

You have always been ambitious and always had a dream of becoming a doctor, never let go of that.  Because when you get there and you achieve it it is amazing.  You are doing things you never imagined you’d be able to do.  You now fix people, you help people, you save lives.  At times in your life you never thought you’d be able to do that, so trust the process.  The hurdles you’ve overcome are what have made you the doctor and the person you are today.  You’ll get to your third year of Biomedical Science in Sheffield and not have a single offer to study medicine.  It’s painful and you feel worthless, but it wasn’t your time then.  You weren’t ready.  And that’s ok.

Now a key reason you are who you are today is because of that decision you made with your flat mate to try the 'Give it a go women’s rugby' in freshers.  Do not say no to going to this!  Joining the rugby club was the best thing you have ever done.  You’ve made lifelong friends, pushed yourself physically and mentally further than you could have dreamed and you’ve got some great stories to tell.  Enjoy being an athlete, representing your university a record number of times and being a bad ass scrumhalf.  The lessons learned on a Wednesday afternoon become so much more relevant in time than you could ever imagine.

Something you need to be better at is communicating.  You give so much of yourself to others that you never know how to ask for anything in return.  This has, at times, left you isolated.  Learn form this, because 2020 and 2021 are coming, and without giving too much away they’re going to suck!  Do what you can to share yourself with the world, don’t be worried that no one wants to hear what you’ve got to say.

Finally.  Don’t take life too seriously.  Yes you have dreams and aspirations, but have fun and enjoy yourself.  Stay silly, stay weird.  Laugh.  See the world.  And try not to worry about what other people think of you.  You’re awesome.  You’ll do things at your own pace and in your own time.  Remember that everything happens for a reason, this will get you through the hard times in Sheffield and Swansea.  The light is at the end of the tunnel, trust me, its amazing and brilliant and you’ll love it when you get here.  Remember to enjoy the journey too!

Love, future Fran