I believe that happiness is ever-changing. For a long time, my favorite quote about happiness was always: “happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting what we want, but rather of appreciating what we have.” While this still holds true, I think your definition of happiness changes depending on what you need in the present moment. As students, we may need good grades in order to be happy. Years from now, we may need a stable job and a family to be happy. How do we define what

During spring break of 2016, I had the pleasure of serving the community of Vienna, Virginia, a poverty stricken neighborhood with a group of passionate individuals who are motivated to change the world. The trip was special in many ways but mostly because of how it put my life into perspective. As college students, the majority of us live in an isolated bubble in which we are not exposed to many of the social justice issues that affect millions of people across the globe. It

The amount of suffering that exists in this world is immense and seemingly insurmountable. Living in the U.S., we are often sheltered from the vast inequities that exist globally, and much of this suffering remains unnoticed—for many people, the saying “out of sight, out of mind” holds true. Personally, I have always been passionate about helping those in need, leading me down the path towards medicine. However, as a pre-med student, I quickly became caught up in the pre-med

When I embarked on my first year at UCSD, I was convinced that becoming a physician was the epitome of everything that I had hoped to achieve in life: a complete understanding of the human body, having the power to save lives, respect from the communities I would serve, and a professional outlet to express my compassion and understanding for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. However, after learning more about heal

After a long, first day at the clinic, we loaded the rundown buses back up with large, plastic containers filled with antibiotics, parasite medication, multivitamins, and all the medical equipment that we could bring from miles away. I could hear the metal trunk doors slam shut as I trudged up those few steps onto the bus and plopped down into my seat. The engine sputtered alive and I imagined the cold shower that awaited me nearly three hours away. I could feel sweat was sti

Recently, I volunteered with fellow fraternity members at the Bannister Family House, a local program that helps give patients receiving ongoing treatment at Hillcrest and their families a home away from home. Never did I expect it to impact me in such a profound way. As we ate with the guests at the dinner table, hearing phrases like "It's been a while since we've had a real dinner like this," or "How refreshing it is to hear music being played," was incredibly humbling. The

I traveled to a rural village in Honduras called Tomatin during this past spring break through UCSD's Public Health Brigades. During this service trip, our organization worked alongside community members to build water storage units, showers, toilets, and concrete floors in order to prevent the spread of diseases within the family's homes. After we completed the projects, we sat down with the family we were working with and asked the grandmother and grandfather what they ar

I really don’t want to travel around right now for two reasons. One: I would want to travel once I can sustain myself financially; go to a destination, buy my clothes and other essential needs at that specific place and once I leave donate them. The second reason is because I feel like I haven’t really explored the places where I have lived and the United States has so much to offer that I would want to see all that before I take on the world. #HumansOfPhiDE #ThroughTheGLass

I’ve always been a hard-headed biology student. I love science. I love structure. To me, that’s safe because science is methodological, calculative, and expected. There’s always a hypothesis, experiment, and results...predictable. And that’s why my first step into a dance cypher led to an unexpected feeling of fear. Never had I ever felt nervous or embarrassed in front of others. In fact, organized public speaking and teaching are my strong suit. But a dance cypher is a compl

In my family, we don’t give each other sentimental gifts but I wish we did. My most sentimental object is something I found in my parent’s room. As a kid, you don’t fully understand the conflicts that happen in your family especially if you’re the younger sibling. Everyone tries to shelter you away from the drama and make life easier for you, but you can always feel the problems. I felt the tension and animosity between my parents. As a little 5th grader, I knew something was