On Monday, May 4th, I received an email from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate Division that my thesis was accepted. I was on the edge of my seat holding back my burgeoning excitement. I assumed this was the email I had been waiting for since submitting my thesis a week ago to fulfill my final graduation requirement, …
Good News is Sometimes Hard to Share
I apologize that it has been almost two months since my last blog post. For many this online silence translated to concern for my well-being, and I am sorry that I made people worry. I haven’t written a post recently for several reasons. First, I wanted to spend the Holidays and my winter vacation focused …
In Thinking About my Death, I Discovered How I Truly Wish to Live
For months, I had two task reminders saved to my computer’s desktop. The note on the left side of the screen listed the assignments I still had to complete for school. The note on the right side of the screen read: “Fill out advance directive.” These notes were a daily reminder of my conflicting identities. The left-side version of me: a 26-year-old medical student with many opportunities ahead; the right-side version of me: a young adult living with terminal brain cancer.