My Moment of Truth

So yesterday I was working at Tulane's School of Medicine, where I'm in my second year of research in the Urology Department.

For those of you interested, my project involves discovering mechanisms behind the spread of prostate cancer to the bones, at which point it is pretty much incurable. My work involves examining molecular mechanisms at play and the cross talk between various parts of the cell signaling pathways.

But anyways, I was waiting for Tulane's Uptown-Downtown Shuttle which they conveniently provide for student who take classes or work somewhere downtown- either at the med school or at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. It was around noon and I had just finished my experiments for the day and was headed back to Tulane's Uptown Campus just in time for my Morbidity and Mortality service learning seminar at 1 pm.

As I stood there waiting in my Tulane hoodie and sweatpants, I noticed that there was free food being set up in the lobby. And suddenly as if they had all smelled it all at once, medical students dressed either exactly the same as me or in scrubs POURED out of the lecture halls and ran towards the food. I moved quickly to get out of the rush and noticed quite a few people that I had gone to college with the previous year.

And then it just suddenly hit me . . . this is going to be ME next year. I have been applying for medical schools all over Texas and the US and somehow that revelation eluded me until I saw students at Tulane that I knew last year and students I didn't know dressed just like me. In just 9 short months I would be one of them, still wearing my Tulane hoodie, still standing in the atrium around noon. If not at Tulane, at some other school this scene was bound to repeat itself. Except this time I'd be just like them, rushing out of the lecture hall to grab some food before having to go back in instead of leisurely waiting for the shuttle to get to my service learning. Suddenly I was totally unsure if I was ready to be a medical student just like all the others.

But then something I had heard the previous week at that very class, my Morbidity and Mortality, stuck out to me. These guys, though seemingly all the same, rushing to get the food before all heading to the same class, were still Tulane students and about as diverse as it gets. One of the admissions directors at Tulane School of Medicine had told our M&M class that "We accept you for who you are and we want you to stay that person." No other sentiment bridges my experiences as an undergraduate and what I'm looking for in a medical school better.

Tulane is one of those unique schools that has a lot of graduate and doctorate programs associated with its undergraduate curriculum. Because of going to Tulane, I, unlike most of my college friends at state schools, get a glimpse into my future that not many students get. And while it is a scary thought, I can't thank Tulane and my undergraduate education enough for preparing me for what lies ahead. I know that while I'm going to take the same classes and study the same notes, I'll always find ways to do what interests with me, whether it's more research, working at a free clinic, learning about international opportunites, or exploring new interests.


So for you incoming freshmen, I'll tell you the same thing that I heard in my service learning class. Tulane accepts you for who you are and wants to you to be that person. You're going to get a myriad of opportunities as an undergraduate here to build who you are and more importantly who you want to be. And some day, you're going to find yourself waiting for a bus and have a moment of insight unlike so many of your peers who will only see what lies ahead after starting med school, law school, or grad school. As a prepared Tulanian, you're going to see your future staring you in the face and I promise, you won't back down.

Only at Tulane . . .

My moment made me engage in self-reflection, a theme loosely expressed in some of my favorite songs right now so I thought I'd add some Youtube videos instead of pictures this time around:

Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3gGQfyVyw

New Soul by Yael Naim:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xey7ffMSqNs&feature=related

La Lettre by Renan Luce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWooP8cFSA4

Barso Re from the Hindi movie Guru: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CAP5NipyH8