Whew, it’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these posts. I’ve been super busy with school, work, and life, so the blog had to take a back seat for a bit. I’m on Spring Break now so I have some time to finalize the posts that I have in my drafts. For now, I want to fill you guys in on what’s been going on lately.

Life

• Black Excellence Scholarship Ball
  • Last Friday, I attended a formal with my student org. and it was so exciting! It was almost like a Black prom. Everyone was dressed to the nines, enjoying each others’ company– it was just a really good time.
• Sick!
  • About 2 weeks ago now (?), I caught a cold. I was scared at first because I thought it was the flu– I’ve never had a cold that bad. I ended up missing a whole week of work, and I almost fell behind in my school work. It took a while for me to get back into my normal routine, but I made it. My friends were super supportive throughout this time, so shoutout to them.
• Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia
  • My student org., along with our SNMA chapter, and a couple of others, attended our local Black History Museum. My favorite part of this trip wasn’t necessarily the museum itself, it was our tour guide. Of course, she was knowledgeable about RVA’s Black History, but what struck me was the amount of passion she had when telling our stories. She even cried at the end when she was telling us about Henry’s Freedom Box— it was just so beautiful.
• Black Panther
  • The plot, the action, Winston Duke– everything about this movie was just, yes. We went to a midnight showing because it was pretty much sold out almost everywhere at the time. I kind of want to go see it again, it was that good.
• Insecuri-tea
  • I got to see Jay Ellis and Yvonne Orji (Lawrence and Molly from HBO’s Insecure) in person! Jay is tall and Yvonne is a boss lady in every sense, and they’re both incredibly humble. Did you know that she has her MPH?! I thought, “Oh my goodness! We’re almost the same people!” I want to get an MPH (and an MD, as we know), but I also want to pursue other things. Like Yvonne said, “Gone are the days where you can only be one thing”. I basically took that as a sign for me to go after everything I want *shrugs* Also, Yvonne doesn’t play around; she truly knows how to speak her mind whew!

School

• Active Citizens Conference
  • I was able to attend this conference with my Living Learning Community and I’m glad I decided to go. I spent the day learning how to be a better activist and how to use my words intentionally.
• Journey to MD Updates
  • I attended an SNMA panel discussion that covered gap year(s), MCAT prep., and medical school in general. If anything, it solidified my decision to take at least one gap year. I take both Orgo I and Orgo II next year, which is also the time that I would be prepping for the MCAT. Realistically, I’m not ready for that right now. Had someone tried to convince me to take a gap year about a year ago, I probably would’ve been offended and suggested that they mind their own business. BUT… I’m glad that I’ve gotten to a point where I’m actually comfortable (and mature) enough to admit that I won’t be ready. Shoot, I feel like I still have a little living to do before I start the process of studying for the MCAT and applying to med school.
  • I’m waiting on a couple of internship decisions. If it doesn’t work out, I’m gonna start scheduling some shadowing dates. I’ve rekindled my interest in derm and possibly, Opthalmology. I think it’s the procedural element of these specialties that’s pulling me in.
  • I’ve also been more interested in research; hopefully, I can make this happen next semester.
• Triggers
  • I’m taking a Violence Against Women course this semester and once of readings for last week was sooooo triggering. I’m not sure if I was just overanalyzing the text or if it was too descriptive, but I couldn’t even get through it– I ended up skimming. We were set to watch a documentary about sexual assault that day too, but our professor decided to cancel class so people could watch it at their own pace. I really appreciate her for that. Anyway, I definitely used this experience as a lesson to pay attention to my triggers and to give myself the space I need to deal with them.

AK Faves

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts too! I’ll just give a quick rundown here:

• Music
  • I revisited Daniel Caesar’s Freudian and all of Frank Ocean’s stuff
  • I’ve gotten into Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield’s catalogs– their voices are so soothing and I love the messages in their songs
• Style and Beauty
  • I got a new wig lol. Her name is Camilla and she’s from Outre’s Swiss Collection– you should be able to find it on Sam’s Beauty
  • I forgot to mention this before, but I finally got some pieces from Target’s A New Day Collection. The slim fit slacks are my gave and their T-Shirts are so comfy!
  • I finally got a pair of mules/loafers, also from Target– I can’t wait for it to warm up so I can wear them more
• Entertainment
  • I’ve been binge watching Living Single— Max and Kyle are my fave duo!
  • Little Women ATL, The CHI, 60 Days In, and Married at First Sight are my weekly addictions
  • I started reading When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors — I’ve been meaning to get more into reading and this is the book I decided to start with; so far, so good!