In taking time to reflect on this past year, only a handful of words come to mind that truly encapsulate how this year went. As cliche as it sounds, all I can think is, What. A. Year. This was truly one of the most remarkable years I have experienced in the span of my short life. The latter half of 2019 was full of adventure, loss, highs, lows, and an unthinkable amount of learning experiences. The beginning of 2020 was full of epiphanies, a pandemic, political education, racial injustice, and even more learning experiences -- and I wouldn’t trade what happened in this last year for anything in the world.
I came into the fall of 2019 excited for what was to come. It was the year that many pre-med students dread -- the year for Organic Chemistry. I was volunteering, shadowing, working three jobs, joined a sorority, had an executive position for a club, and finally felt that I had everything going for me. That feeling alone is one of the first indicators that the fall of 2019 was not about to go as planned. Because of that hectic semester, I found that it is important to understand when enough is enough. There is only so much time in the day and above all else, it is most important to get enough sleep. Not only this, I encountered a quote that will resonate with me for the rest of my life, “You know that you can do anything, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it all.” My twin sister Kirby was the one to finally tell me this, after weeks and weeks of me killing myself to complete all of these extracurriculars, socialize, exercise, and try to sleep, it was clear I had not set myself up to be successful. Regardless of this, I made it and learned more about myself than I thought possible (I mention this same quote in my first year-in-review and it is truly astounding how much a person can continue to evolve). As the fall semester came to a close, I was preparing to embark on the greatest adventure in my lifetime: my service trip to Uganda. The cover photo of this page is a scene I captured on Christmas day as I walked home from the home of one of the villagers (named Grace) who had invited me to spend Christmas with her family. When I think back to Uganda, I think of this photo. I remember the simplicity of their life on their farms and the work ethic that Ugandans display every day. This trip was much more than showing me what I was lucky to have in the States but showed me what I didn’t need and truly needed most. I traveled alone, going over 16,000 miles and trusting that all of the planning and weeks of preparation would fall into place. This trip taught me courage, confidence, and above all else, fearlessness, for there is nothing like having to catch a taxi with a stranger at 6 in the morning when it’s storming.
As 2020 began, I was determined. I had shed extracurriculars and was set on changing things. Little did I know that change would make up the majority of the spring semester. It was early afternoon on a Tuesday when I made the executive decision that I was no longer interested in attending medical school. I was scared, unsure, and felt totally free of what seemed like the burden of applying to professional school. Weeks went by and I had settled on law. I was going to reform healthcare, or so I thought.
One of the most frustrating things about loving something is that it is really difficult to let it go. I found this to be the case with my relationship with medicine. I truly could not let it go. I am still unsure of what my future career may look like -- whether it is in medicine, law, or both -- but I am relishing in the lack of “pressure” I have decided to place on myself. One day at a time is all I ever think to myself. And thanks to quarantine, the pace of life has seemed to ease, allowing me to discover a greater importance in forming meaningful relationships and staying close to the ones I love. I am excited for this next year to grow more, learn a lot, and continue to discover the person I am meant to be.