What if you chased a dream your whole life—only to discover your real passion just before it was too late?
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor.
Specifically, a heart surgeon.
That dream started when I was a child watching Iryû: Team Medical Dragon, a Japanese medical drama, with my mom. Something about the precision, the intensity, and the ability to save lives captured my imagination—and it never let go.
The Dream of a Surgeon
For most of my youth, every step I took was toward that goal.
I attended medical camps, university open houses, and volunteered in hospitals like Phramongkutklao and Ramathibodi. I even donated handmade face shields to hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
My parents supported me, emotionally and financially. We invested heavily in pursuing that path. I attended events at top medical faculties like Siriraj, Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Chulabhorn International College of Medicine, Thammasat University, and more. I also studied rigorously for exams like the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)1.
To strengthen my academic profile, I enrolled in online courses from top universities, including Harvard University on edX, Yale University on Coursera, and University of Pennsylvania on Coursera—covering subjects related to medicine, health, and science.
Everything in my life revolved around medicine.
That is, until Grade 12.
A Project That Changed Everything
As part of a required school project at Suankularb Wittayalai School, I joined a biology team working on:
An Experiment on Carnivorous Plants' Ability to Add Nitrogen to Soil
(Hypothesis: planting carnivorous plants in degraded soil might enrich nitrogen levels in an eco-friendly way.)
This was meant to be another highlight in my medical school portfolio.
But I wanted to challenge myself and do more. So I asked a teacher if I could take on a second project—and he agreed.
That's when I started:
A Development of a Strategic Role-Playing Video Game to Reduce Student Stress
(A game designed to help teenagers relax and express themselves, built using Unreal Engine Blueprints, VRoid Studio for avatars, and Blender for animations.)
It was my first time exploring anything related to game development or programming. Even though Unreal's Blueprint system is visual and node-based, it required logical thinking, problem-solving, and a deep understanding of systems interaction.
And I was hooked.
I spent entire days building and testing the game, completely absorbed. It never felt like work. It felt like something I was meant to do.
Realizing My Passion (and Facing the Consequences)
That project lit a fire in me. I wasn't just enjoying it—I was obsessed. I talked about it constantly and worked on it nonstop.
Meanwhile, I continued studying for the BMAT, still trying to hold on to the medical dream. But the contrast became unbearable. Preparing for medicine drained me. Coding energized me.
Eventually, I had to be honest—with myself and with my family.
I told my parents I wanted to become a software engineer instead.
It was one of the hardest conversations of my life.
We had spent years preparing for medical school. A lot of money had been invested. And worst of all, I made my mom cry. My family didn't fully understand what software engineers do—they imagined me fixing PCs in a department store.
We argued for nearly a year.
But I didn't give up. I showed them how serious I was: spending hours each day coding, enrolling in challenging courses like Harvard's CS50 (even though the C language nearly broke me at the time), and researching universities that could support this new path.
I also completed my first Scratch project as part of CS50:
Check it out on Scratch
Gradually, they began to believe in me too.
Choosing My Path
In the end, I applied to both medical and engineering programs.
I was rejected by every medical faculty.
But I was accepted into every engineering and computer science one.
I chose the double degree in Software Engineering from KMITL and the University of Glasgow, believing it offered the strongest combination of academic depth and international opportunity.
The University of Glasgow is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world2.
Even though I started later than most of my peers—many of whom had been coding since childhood—I was determined to catch up. I practiced every day using platforms like W3Schools and Sololearn, and I documented my journey at github.com/dulapahv/PracticeCoding.
Where I Am Now
Today, I hold a First Class Honours degree from the University of Glasgow.
I secured a return offer from my internship in the UK before I even graduated.
I have a full-time job lined up—and most importantly, I love what I do.
I made my parents proud.
I made myself proud.
Looking Back
Looking back, I didn't fail at becoming a doctor—I simply discovered a better way to help people, in a way that felt right for me.
That childhood desire to improve lives never went away. I've just taken a different route to get there. And who knows? Maybe one day I'll build something in health tech, medical AI, or digital well-being—blending the two worlds that shaped who I am.
If you're someone who's scared to change direction, or afraid it's “too late” to start something new—trust your passion. It might just lead you somewhere even better.
1 BMAT has been discontinued since 2023, but it was a standardized test used for medical school admissions in the UK and some other countries.
2 According to the Times Higher Education Rankings, the University of Glasgow was ranked 92nd globally in 2021 and improved to 87th in 2025.