From Malaga to London

You left medicine after you had already started your fourth year. What was your motivation for leaving medicine?

It was not premeditated because I didn't plan to leave; it just got to a point when I couldn't continue. I had already started the fourth year (which I am now trying to finish). I realised that I wasn't ready to become a doctor. I needed to experience a different life.

What happened for you to have changed your outlook on life?

I think the trigger was the year I spent in Italy as an Erasmus student, which opened my eyes to a wider world. I was lucky enough to meet people that made me see that every person has their own path and life is not a straight line. I went into medical school without giving it too much thought. At 18, not many people have a clear idea of what they want to do. I liked science and the idea of helping people, so medicine seemed the logical thing to do. However, what I really wanted at the time was to travel and discover the world, but in Spain students don't take gap years like they do in the United Kingdom.

I did what was expected of me, but I felt increasingly suffocated. I needed to know what kind of doctor I wanted to be, what kind of person I wanted to become. I was overwhelmed by the …