It's been a while...

I haven't written anything in a long time, about a year or so. This is mainly because I got lazy with this and then completely forgot I even had this. Today, I had an interesting set of experiences from studying Thermo for the MCAT to helping my brother with his PSAT prep to almost being in a car accident and it made me a bit reflective. From now on, I intend on keeping up with this blog mainly as a journal, but also as an informative guide to what life may throw at you, and hopefully anyone who reads this will be able to relate to some of the situations I will discuss. To give you all a brief overview and to allow myself to briefly reflect on my past year, here's what has happened:

I finished my Junior Year (3rd Year since I'm at UVA and we insist on being pretentious)quite successfully. I was able to improve my GPA slightly by getting good grades both semesters despite taking some difficult courses. By far, my favorite course of the year was Biochemistry. It is such a fascinating topic and I encourage anyone who is interested in science to take that class, even if it means auditing it for fun. Aside from academics, my a capella group, Ektaal, of which I am the president, had great success this year. We finally released our first CD and got some good reviews. We also competed in our first intercollegiate performance at Johns Hopkins and received great applause from the crowd. In my capacity as Cultural Chair of the Indian Student Association, we ran an outstanding India Day with numerous participants and a wonderful crowd. I also changed my research focus mid-way through the year. I used to work in a lab doing research on pancreatic islet dysfunction in type-II diabetic mice to determine the potential anti-diabetogenic effects of drugs. It was very interesting at first and the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diabetes is a pretty cool thing to learn about, but pippetting and running Calcium-fluorescence models just became to mundane and boring for my taste. When all said and done, I am now working with Dr. Druzgal in the Division of Neuroradiology in the Department of Radiology at the UVA Medical Center. I'm doing some very interesting work with autism in adults and the Theory of Mind network in the brain(I will go into the detail of my research later as I am sure it will continue to come up). Despite the good times, I also had some unfortunate circumstances this past school year. Since my last post, my grandfather (on my mother's side) died, primarily of kidney failure among other complications. It was truly heartbreaking for me as he was a great motivation and idol for me to pursue medicine as a career. He was an ophthalmologist, and a very eminent one in India. He was probably my #1 supporter in all that I wanted to accomplish whether it be tennis, music, or academics. I really miss him and I will continue to talk about him and some of the plans I have regarding his legacy later. In addition to my grandfather's demise, I also failed to get selected for a few scholarships (sad face), though I did manage to get selected for the U.S. Patent Office Summer Externship Program...which I declined to accept.

So, hopefully that was a brief enough overview of my year. From tomorrow's post onwards, I will talk about that day's events and other commentary and general advice I may have. I've been thinking of a clever way to sign off, but until my creativity kicks in, trite phrases shall prevail...

Cheers!

- BK

D.C. Metro heats up...literally

The past few days, the heat has been unbearable. Given that I am Indian and hairy, the heat is even more unbearable. However, the real problem is not the temperature outside but rather the temperature inside the D.C. Metro rail car. Though I appreciate D.C. Metro providing me with a free sauna, I'd like to inform them that they are doing me and the rest of the D.C. Metro area no service. Given the lack of air conditioning, ventilation, and the sheer number of people, temperatures can rise to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Tough it out you say? Well maybe I can tough it out, being a 20-year-old college student, but how about an 80-year-old grandmother, who can't a) find a seat because there are so many people and b) having trouble breathing. The potential health hazards are innumerable and are not limited to the elderly or to small children. High temperatures can, for example, cause us to pass out or have a heat stroke, both of which are serious issues. It should extremely important to ensure the safety of all Metro riders. Therefore, the Metro system should make sure to provide both extra rail cars to accommodate the flux of passengers during rush hour and make sure that the A/C system is working and running on all rail cars. I saw an old lady today standing on the Metro while wiping sweat off of her forehead like she was in the middle of the Sahara desert while she turned pale. The doctor in me found it necessary to find her seat so her heart rate would go down and she could maybe relax a bit more. I asked one of the people on the Metro to please give up their seat so that the lady could sit down. Luckily, the man was nice enough to comply. I know that it is difficult for the Metro to provide extra cars and A/C given budget cuts and the like. Therefore, I urge fellow passengers to please be wary of other riders and allow the elderly and children to take seats and provide them with any help necessary. If you see any passenger turning pale, coughing heavily, breathing deeply, or sweating profusely, please be a Good Samaritan and ensure that they are okay.

Thank you!

-BK

Hello!

If you are taking the time to read this, then you are obviously extremely bored. However, we already have something in common- BOREDOM! There's nothing more I love than to talk about myself (who doesn't?). I am an Indian American and proudly so. My parents are from South India. I am rising 3rd year student at the University of Virginia. I am majoring in Biology with a minor in South Asian Studies. As the title of this blog suggests, my goal is to go into medicine. I am an avid Carnatic Classical, Bollywood, and Light Music singer (many of my future posts will probably indicate this). The purpose of this blog is to not complain about the "rigors" of the pre-med requirements or to harass professors for failing me. Rather, this blog is mainly a way for me to look back (say 10+ years from now) and see what I was like and what my experiences were. After all, we often learn from our past mistakes and experiences. The blog is completely unedited for the sole purpose that both you and I can hear the real me speaking, not some edited bullshit. If I happen to offend anyone through the course of this blog, I apologize in advance. So here's to a good blogging life (raises shot of vodka)!

- BK