Personal - World TravelerThis year I finally made the decision that I wanted to take a gap year before medical school. While I had checked off all my boxes, I really was not ready to dive into the intense medical school application process while I was still a student. This decision meant that I had more time to dedicate to what I was already involved in during junior and senior year.
I decided that since I was taking a gap year, I would do something I had always dreamed of doing, I was going to study abroad! I spent the entire school year working extra hours in lab and in the writing center to save enough money for the trip. It was stressful to constantly be worried about my budget but it all paid off when I had saved up enough to cover the entire cost of the program, my plane ticket, and even a little extra! I had been accepted to the Honors study abroad in Quito Ecuador, Sumak Kawsay: Well-Being, “Race,” and Gender in Ecuador. In my application to the summer program I wrote: Including courses in my education that go beyond STEM courses is extremely important to me, it is the reason why I joined the Interdisciplinary Honors Program. The courses offered during this study abroad program will not only be a great addition to my current pursuit of diversifying my coursework but would also allow me to learn about a country by stepping outside of the traditional academic classroom setting. This was a big reason I chose this particular program; I wanted to give myself the opportunity to explore my non-science interests and to develop a new way of thinking about the world. I had also always dreamed of going to South America, so it was incredible to have the opportunity to combine those two goals. I left for South America in late-July. I spent my first two weeks traveling throughout Peru with my younger brother and dad before I headed to Quito to meet my classmates. I honestly do not know how to capture the experience I had in words. I had the opportunity to take a short break from my life. I did not have to worry about med school, chemistry classes, work, or drama with my friends. Instead, I spent almost two months exploring Peru and Ecuador. I ate Guinea Pig (not a huge fan), climbed Cotopaxi (an active Volcano!), visited Machu Picchu, took a selfie with a llama, visited the city lights for Ecuador’s Day of Independence, went to the middle of the world, stood on the edge of the rainforest, and realized how truly incredible the world is. I came to South America at a time when school was stressful and the prospect of senior year was terrifying. I threw myself into this program so fully, partly as a way to escape and also because I had always dreamed of doing something like this. I returned back to America with a sense of pride in myself. If I could climb mountains at 16,000 feet above sea level and navigate a country with little Spanish ability all while laughing and embracing the challenge, then I could have that same mentality and perseverance here. I know it is cliché to say this, but my time on my study abroad really did give me a new attitude and perspective on life.
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Academic - Truth SeekerI needed to take another English class as well as complete more of my honors requirements. I figured the easiest solution would be to ad hoc an upper division English class (classic two birds, one stone approach). I decided to take English 324: Shakespeare after 1603. I had already read most of Shakespeare’s plays post 1603 so I figured the class would be a breeze and would not impede too much on the time I needed to spend studying for my Biology classes.
The first day of class Professor Knight put up a picture of a very suave looking Shakespeare from the classic film Shakespeare in Love (great film, would recommend). We all stared at the picture for a few minutes before Professor Knight said something along the lines of, “This picture of Shakespeare is shit and is infinitely more boring than the real guy. This is the Shakespeare we want, not the Shakespeare we deserve.” He then spent the entire two-hour class showing us every convincing piece of evidence that essentially proved Shakespeare was a truly terrible person. After the first class it was pretty clear that Professor Knight was not your typical English professor and that this class would be anything but a breeze. We spent the quarter deconstructing Shakespeare and all of his plays. We tried to read his works without the idealistic, romantic glasses that most of popular culture read his work with. Even though I had read most of the plays and sonnets before, I found myself deeply engaging with the material before every class so that I could help deconstruct Shakespeare during class. I discovered new interpretations of the plays and characters with every read and found myself truly appreciating Shakespeare- the angry, hilarious, misogynistic, imperfect man that he was.
For my final, I decided to engage with my favorite Shakespeare play, Macbeth, and several of its film adaptions. While my roommates quickly grew tired of Macbeth being constantly played on our television, I really enjoy the research and process of writing the paper. I included my final paper below: I took an idea that classes and history had handed down to me and then I tore it apart. When I embraced Shakespeare for who he truly was, he became vastly more interesting. I have tried to take this way of thinking into my other academic endeavors. Whenever I am approached with an idea I try and discover the truth, I try to deconstruct the idea that the presenter wants me to believe and discover the truth that I need to know.
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