I made it to 31 barely. This could’ve been a posthumous reflection from another dimension but as of May 2, 2022, I’m still in this plane. This dimension. This floating rock. What am I to do with this “blessing”? My whole career and thus my career goals were and are…

I sat across the table from my play auntie ( A close and dear family friend, so she’s family), explaining how my values and understanding of my life just solidified after my stroke. I found it easier to mute the noise and filter out the essential things in my life. …

Call it capitalism, individualism, or what have you. Our society thrives on your pain. Because people in pain buy things and are less likely to “rebel” and demand respect. This mindset bleeds into multiple facets of life. For example, my career of choice: medicine. Medicine is fueled by participants’ ambition…

Trauma is my baseline. Typical. I’m a Black American female. Trauma is in my DNA. Trauma like the verbal and emotional assault on Kentaji Brown Jackson or the convoluted humiliation of Jada Pinkett Smith. Or Trauma like, you know, chattel slavery. “Research has shown that the effects of trauma can…

I smiled as I congratulated my friend for matching into her #1 program. Please see my previous article for some context on the match process. My friend explained the delayed disappointment at not being placed in a prestigious or academic program. …

This is not the end, even though I wanted it to be. Match 2022 thoughts. I scrolled through Twitter and Instagram with the cheesiest smile as I watched a ton of HBCU med grads from my HBCU celebrate their acceptances into residency programs. All the hours and years of hard work paid off and I beamed with vicarious pride. However, that pride was quickly overshadowed…

Or….I am not allowed the opportunity to make mistakes. For example, when the new nominee for the Supreme court, Kentaji Brown Jackson was revealed, her OUTSTANDING qualifications were jeered at or minimized. She has outperformed her peers and she STILL wasn’t perceived as “enough” or “qualified. White men on the…

It felt like someone had clutched my heart and was squeezing the blood from it. I felt lightheaded and clammy. An overwhelming feeling of empathy, pain, and joy washed over me as the patient’s neck doubled in size from pushing. I pulled her legs back further into position to aid…

Rue left destruction in her wake as she went through the storm of her withdrawal. Her performance (Emmy-worthy) felt familiar, unfortunately as she derailed families and friendships.