Ten years ago, Matthew Baldacchino became a doctor at the age of 22. Today, he finds himself living 3,000 kilometres away from home, working in the field of Global Health and sitting on the board of the Youth Health Organisation, all while advocating for climate action and youth engagement in policymaking.

Yet, in a candid and deeply personal reflection shared on LinkedIn, Dr Baldacchino opened up about how the moment he achieved his long-held goal of becoming a doctor was also one of the lowest points in his life.

“I was also the most unhappy I ever was in my life,” he wrote, recalling how, after five gruelling years of medical school, he faced “the most stressful and depressive months” of his life.

He described standing at “a metaphorical cliff” and looking out at the career ahead of him, unsure of how to move forward. The expectation, both internally and systemically, was clear: Hospital work was the ultimate goal. But the path laid out for him felt more like a trap than an opportunity.

“In 2025 it sounds like a baffling concept, but when you've been conditioned pedagogically into thinking hospital work was the ultimate goal, within a system that itself is incredibly patriarchal and neoliberal, failure seems like the only other option,” he wrote.

Dr Baldacchino, who now serves as Director for Policy at KNŻ Malta and is an EU Climate Pact Ambassador, credits the people around him for helping him find a different path – one that has taken him beyond the traditional confines of clinical medicine.

“I wouldn't be here without my friends or family,” he said, expressing gratitude for those who took a chance on him as he explored opportunities in non-profits, policy work, and volunteering. “Their belief in me helped me believe in myself.”

What followed was a journey that challenged traditional narratives around success in medicine. He began to discover new spaces where his medical background could be applied in meaningful and unexpected ways.

“Never in a million years did it occur to me that a medical degree could open so many doors outside of clinical work,” he reflected. “All I had to do was look for another way, even if that meant taking routes no one had ever tried before.”

Looking back, his message to others is one of encouragement and hope: seek out role models and colleagues who lift you up, lean on your support network in moments of darkness, and never feel confined by a single definition of success.

“Your degree does not define you,” he wrote, “but it can open doors to rooms you did not ever imagine you had access to.”

As the medical class of 2015 celebrates its ten-year anniversary, Dr Baldacchino’s journey is a reminder that fulfilment in one’s career does not always follow a linear or traditional path. Sometimes, it lies in having the courage to forge a new one.