“Let go of the idea of what is normal, and go live your life the way you really want it to live.” ― Shanti

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Today I am 22. That is so weird to write. In the time between when I slept and when I awoke (not too long ago), I became 22. Wow.  Of course, this is not original at all, but I started my morning with (1) a flurry of text messages about my sister’s and friend’s airline struggles and (2) Taylor Swift. The Taylor Swift bit is the unoriginal aspect of this morning.

I like to treat my birthdays like New Year’s Day. I made birthday resolutions or goal posts for emotional, spiritual, and physical growth. In addition, I tend to make lists of what I have learned over the past year of my life. Today, I’m going to share with you my list, some of my goals for the next year of my life, and my plans for the day!

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“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” ― Bill Cosby

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I like to think of humor as the best sort of medicine. Whenever I’m having a hectic or pretty dreary day, I look up parodies made by medical school students. I find it heartening that there is a collective sense of humor in the almost doctor community. Below are my favorite medical school parodies. Also, I just stumbled upon the Medical Emmys (Memmys)! What a wonderful world!

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“Or we step forward into the unknown and assume it will be brilliant.” ― Christina Yang

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I want to start by providing the entire quote: “Whenever we think we know the future, even for a second, it changes. Sometimes the future changes quickly and completely. And we’re left only with the choice of what to do next. We can choose to be afraid of it, to stand there, trembling, not moving, assuming the worst that can happen. Or we step forward into the unknown and assume it will be brilliant.” ― Christina Yang  (hands down: best character from Grey’s Anatomy).

I am currently in a state of recovery. Those of you who watch Grey’s Anatomy know what I mean; Christina Yang left Seattle Grace, her person (Meredith), and the love of her life in an effort to advance her career at a developing medical research center in Switzerland. As an individual who loves Christina’s character (I respect her charisma, her intellect, and her resolve), I was sad to see this character exit the scene only ten seasons after I became a fan. I do have to say, her exit was perfectly orchestrated and the quote, which inspired this post, stuck with me. The future is both nerve-wracking and exciting. Yesterday, I shared some of the reasons why I am beyond excited to be an MD/MPH candidate at Tulane School of Medicine. It would be unfair to claim that I never had reservations. I have thought of myself as the East Coast type, born in the right city (NYC) but raised in the wrong state (Louisiana). And so, I applied to many East Coast medical schools in addition to many Southern schools, in an attempt to be closer home. Then, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted and now, I have faith that the decision to be closer to home is the right one.

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“The patient, though conscious that his condition is perilous, may recover his health simply through his contentment with the goodness of the physician.” ― Hippocrates

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In two hours, I will begin the last exam of my undergraduate career. In five hours, the exam will be out of my hands. In six hours, I will sleep. In light of the end, which of rapidly drawing near, of my undergraduate career, I want to think about what comes next: medical school.

Last year, around this time, I was panicking about my personal statement: what could I write that would communicate how I felt about medicine; what would medical schools thing about what I wrote; how would I compare with others? I wrote an essay that was simple (no bells or whistles) and the process of answering the AMCAS prompt: “Why medicine” (paraphrased) re-affirmed my passion for medicine and my interest for public health. And so, I applied to programs with strong MD/MPH programs or medical schools renown for global health initiatives.

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“You will write if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of a result, but think of the writing in terms of discovery, which is to say that creation must take place between the pen and the paper, not before in a thought or afterwards in a recasting. It will come if it is there and if you will let it come.” ― Gertrude Stein

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My friends keep buzzing about AMCAS bootcamps hosted by the pre-health advisors on campus. Sure, I’m not really keeping up with the application timeline for this cycle (after all, I am going to medical school in a few short months) but I do have great empathy for my friends who are terrified about the next couple of months of application season.

The concern I hear most often is about the quality of their essays. It is difficult, I remember this well,  to turn out application essays of high quality in a timely fashion. Luckily, I had many amazing friends (L, A, SC, and SY) as well as family members who read drafts after drafts of my essays. I want to pay that forward. And so, at 11:45 AM, the widget here will allow you, my amazing readers, to enter a contest to have two of your essays: a personal statement and/or perhaps application essay(s). If this is popular, I may do this sporadically throughout the crunch time of application season (June-August). Best of luck!