The prompt this week for my social psychology class made me think about how my life was growing up. I remember one day in particular in middle school. I lived with my grandparents at the time and came home and showed my grandma a good grade I received. At a young age I was expecting that she would just be proud of me, instead she didn’t say a word and turned to my uncle who is the same age as I am and told him that I am a girl and I should never get higher grades then him because boys should always do better. This completely changed my perspective on gender equalities. I grew up working hard to prove that women can be just as successful and until this day I still keep that day in the back of my mind to remind me of what I went through as a child. Growing up I hated how much Asian traditions emphasized the importance of males and disregarded the women in the house, I remember the countless nights I cried not understanding why I wasn’t good enough. It was even harder for me to accept because my grandma is a woman that has been pushed down and stuck to the stereotypical gender roles. Yet, she is doing nothing to break that cycle, she only makes it worst.

I refuse to be just a housewife. I will be a strong, independent, and successful working woman just to prove my grandma and all the other people that have told my parents similar things wrong.

ziyadmd:

In a monumental first for medicine, doctors announced today that a baby has been cured of an HIV infection. Dr. Deborah Persaud, who presented the child’s case today at the 20th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infection, called it “definitely a game-changer.”

Persaud, of Johns Hopkins University Medical School, is the lead author of a report recounting the child’s treatment. The identity of the little girl, who was born to an HIV-positive woman in rural Mississippi, has yet to be released. What we do know is that she is only the second person in the world — and the first child — to be cured of HIV in its devastating 32-year history. If the case is confirmed, it is truly unprecedented.

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Science is amazing!

I have done a lot of research on medical school and have really found that my passion and the way I view myself practicing medicine lies with D.O. school. I made this decision a while back, but decided to wait to tell my parents about my plans for the future. Anyways, I finally had this talk with them and I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I sat them down and explained everything from the differences between M.D. and D.O. and how I need to be independent and grow up. It was so relieving to see how supportive they were. They talked to me about how they never pushed me in a certain direction because they wanted me to do this for myself. They told me they were proud of me because they know how hard I work. This was surprising because I have never heard something like that from them before.

I am so grateful to have parents that have guided me and supported me through everything.  My parents have loved me unconditionally and now that I am older I understand each lesson that was taught. Like a good friend of mine said, parents are like the giving tree, they just keep giving and giving and never expect anything back. I love my parents and I know the relationship I have with them will only grow from here.

An inspiring teacher challenged us to do something out of our comfort zone and hear out people instead of judging them. Today when we were eating this man selling lottery tickets came and asked us to buy some, we asked him to come sit down and eat with us. He quickly ate his food so he could go back to work and as he was eating he was saying I’m so hungry I haven’t eaten all day and this food just taste so good. We asked him how much he made a day and he said $1 some days and if he sells this huge stack he makes maybe $2 and he has two children to support. He says some days people pay for 2 tickets and run away with 10 so he has to pay out of his pocket to make up for the difference. I was heartbroken with tears in my eyes and had to look away. He walks all around the city just to make a dollar a day, that means his family definitely can’t afford to eat meat and rice, probably just veggies. Sometimes we just take for granted what we have and after meeting this man I definitely am even more grateful for everything I have.

I swear people always use you or take all the credit. Don’t get me wrong it’s good to have a group to collaborate with when everything is going well, but when you have a terrible group member it’s just more to add on to your plate. I’m so glad it’s over. Working with someone like that for an entire month is so frustrating. UGHHHH.