How to find the right one/school

The medical application process is like dating - from picking out schools, to filling out the primary & secondary applications, then interviewing, and finally getting an acceptance. It is like nervously asking out someone and anxiously waiting for any type of response. This process is analogous to you researching school and sending out your primary application. Then there's the whole cat and mouse game of flirty texts and awkward dates. This is the secondary application... do the schools really want you? Or are they after the elusive secondary application fee?

​Finally... things get serious in your relationship, you're meeting the parents, and you're "dancing around the room when the night ends" (yes I just stole a Taylor Swift quote, don't judge me!). This is like making that trek across the country to the school of your dream and interviewing. The stakes are so high and you are so close to the finishing line that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. For me the part of the process is the determining step - it is cheesy, but I believe that if you feel it when you visit the school and the city then that school is the school/the one for you.

Admittedly, I am not a logical thinker. I go with my gut feeling and it hasn't led me astray yet ... ok it hasn't led me astray that often. But you cannot force yourself to like someone that deep down you know you don't like - the same goes for medical school, you cannot force yourself to be at a place where you don't get along with the students or enjoy the environment. 

Some pictures during my interview weekend!

For me, going through the interview process I definitely notice a different vibe at each school that I visited. Granted, I am very bias as well. I knew for certain that I wanted to be on the East coast after college, so I definitely kept that in mind when I went on my interviews. The night before my interview at Hopkins, I went to the student mixer and saw an environment where I could see myself in. It was just filled with life - students buzzing around, finishing up their dodgeball intramural games, studying, and just doing their regular student things. I knew right away that this is where I could see myself and all the other schools (or boys) kind of just faded away.

I was definitely intimidated at the prospect of Johns Hopkins being from a public state school better known for its party scene than academics.

However, my interview day was so reassuring and my fears completely melted away. Going home from my interview I couldn't stop talking about how sure I was that this is where I wanted to be. My friends were very supportive but I know they were scared I would be crushed if I did not get an acceptance. Thankfully, somehow things worked out in my favor and I get to be at my dream school next year. All in all, I hope to one day my feelings are as strong for a boy as it is for my medical school!

The beautiful Baltimore skyline!

New Blog For Medical School

In an effort to keep me honest with posting on the blog more through medical school, I have forced my best friend to keep a blog with me! She is going to be in dental school as well as an amazing chef so there will be a lot of good posts from here. 

Here is the link to the new website: Dazzling Doctors

Hope you guys enjoy!

Fashion// Chambray Chic

Currently, I am obsessed with this denim shirt from J. Crew. It is so versatile and can be worn no matter the mood I am in. Whether I am tying it around my waist for a casual night out or dressing it up with a maxi for a day full of meetings - this shirt can do no wrong. 

Romper: Abercrombie &Fitch

Denim Shirt: J.Crew

Shoes: Steve Madden 

I wore this look to a Dan + Shay concert in Old Town Scottsdale. I love how I add that little bit of country girl sass into my outfit with this shirt tied around my waist (btw, I am loving this trend as of late!). These Steve Madden wedges are my favorite to go out in not only because it adds heightage but also it is super comfortable at the same time. 

 Denim Shirt: J.Crew

Skirt: Forever 21

I like how easy it is to put this outfit together, yet (hopefully) it still looks like I put a lot of effort into the look. Whenever I feel lazy, I just throw on a dress or a maxi skirt and it just makes me feel as if I had put in enough effort that day to be seen in public. Throwing the chambray on top of that ties the outfit together and tying it as a crop top add some spunk to the outfit as well. 

I hope you guys give chambray shirts a try! I have always steered away because denim shirts in general remind me of my mother who constantly is wearing one... but who knows?! My mom actually might be ahead of the fashion curve all these years and didn't know it!

Medical School Interview Outfit

 So you finally got that precious email with "Blahh Blahh blahh INTERVIEW INVITE"! Now you're jumping for joy because you're one step closer to the dream that you have worked so hard toward. However, now you have to think about the next steps - interview prep, plane tickets or walk there to save money, host or hotel, pant suit or skirt suit, heels or flat... and the list goes on!

I am no means an expert, but fortunately one of my adviser is very knowledgeable regarding image/branding  and he has been a tremendous help in this whole process. Today, I will talk about my interview outfit and note this is just my opinion and personal preference. So for your interview outfit, take liberty do what you're comfortable with and feel confident in!

Suit: Express
Being on the shorter side... ok on the very short side I feel like pants in general and especially pant suits swallow me up. Therefore, I choose skirt over pants. I think it looks professional yet still shows my personality - girly and fun. I do wear stockings so that I'm not just shoving my bare legs out there :P

Hosiery: Donna Karen "The Nudes" Hosiery
If you do opt for a skirt over pants, wearing "hosiery" (that sounds soooo fancy and Upper East Side New York) or stockings is a must! No matter the length of your skirt, if you are showing even a tiniest hint of your ankle (which at that point might as well wear pants) you should definitely put a pair on to make your legs the best they can look. I like it when they match your skin tone as oppose to black stockings which can look harsh. Donna Karen "The Nudes" offers a wide variety of colors, so hopefully you can find one that matches your skin the best.

Top: Express
My top is actually a tank top. I found that tank tops looked better under my jacket because they didn't have sleeves that would fold into itself when I put my jacket on making me look like the Hulk. But this is a personal preference, I have seen others wear long sleeves and look really great as well. As for color, I really like the conservative idea of going with a neutral shade - in my case, blush. Instead of having your outfit make you stand out, which can be taken as flashy, I think that a conservative look with a neutral colored shirt can never go wrong. 

Shoes: Gianni Bini
YES! These are my favorite shoes I wear all the time. They are pointed-toe black suede pumps. I initially bought them for my class where I needed to dress up professional in and have fallen in love with them ever since. I wear them everywhere which have good and bad consequences. Good because they fit like a glove, yes admittedly after each interview I curse myself for wearing them but during the day portion I don't look funny walking in them at least. Bad because they do get dirty, but there are always techniques to properly clean them so I'm not too worried. 

Accessories:
I try to keep my accessories at a minimal. It's not pictured above, but I do wear my Dogeared "Free Bird" necklace to my interviews, it's very dainty and doesn't distract from the look. I also wear my Michael Kors Watch in rose-gold tone as well which further enhance the professional look in my opinion. I also wear my small dainty infinity ring as well to interviews. 

Express Skirt Suit

Donna Karen "The Nudes" Hosiery

Gianni Bini Pointed-Toe Pumps

Dogeared "Free Bird" Necklace

Michael Kors Watch 

Outfit of the Night// Black & White

Top: fashionnova.com

Skirt: fashionnova.com

Shoes: Gianni Bini

Watch: Michael Kors

Adventures // Exploring LA

My internship has been all I wanted and more, not only have I gained so much from class and my internship placement I also get to be in California for the entire summer! This has been super exciting for me to be able to explore LA and all it has to offer. 

We visited La Brea Tar Pits, this is a museum where there are dinosaur fossils. But since we got there late the museum was closed, so we contented ourselves with exploring the outside and climbing on random creatures. Attempting to get on top of this bear was not easy, my face may or may not have been squished into someone's butt during my attempt of climbing on... 

One of my favorite movie is No Strings Attached and part of the movie took place outside of the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA). This is where they were fighting after their date, needless to say I was super excited to see all the lamp posts in person!

On the days that our internships would end early, my friends and I would drag our bums to the beach. Although there are a lot of gorgeous beaches, the most memorable would be Venice Beach for me. The vibes, the performers, the street vendors - this place has it all!

For 4th of July, some of my friends and I went to Downtown LA for a free event the city was holding. There were a bunch of artsy activities we got to partake in, this picture shows one of them where we painted the fence! We ate delicious food from food trucks and watched fireworks sprouting out of the trees. It was a really fun way to spend 4th of July with the other people from my program. 

One of my favorite places in LA is The Perch. There is a balcony overlooking what feels like all of LA... but in reality due to the smog only partial view of downtown LA.

Laguna beach! The drive from LA down to Laguna took foreverrrr, but it was soo worth it. I have an embarrassing confession... I am a huge junk TV addict. So going to Laguna Beach fulfilled all of my wild teenage dreams of being Lauren Conrad. 

Last but not least, one of my favorite part of the summer was having my friends coming to visit. I felt so bad because the weather was horrible the weekend they were in town so when we went to the beach we got rained out. But we did get a chance to go to Six Flags! And it was just really good to see some familiar faces. 

My Experience in Public Health this Summer!

The public health internship I am a part of is MCHC/RISE-UP placed me in Los Angeles with a group of other interns to study and work in this City of Angels. I really don't know how to sum this amazing experience I have had into words but I will try my best to. 

On Mondays and Fridays I am in "class" in the broadest sense. There could be people from different public health organizations coming in to talk to us about their work, leadership training which involves a game called "Starpower" which resembles the American socioeconomic struggles, or a field trip. And then on Tuesday through Thursday, I work at the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA). Yes, I bet you are wondering why does everything I am involved with this summer has such long names. Imagine trying to fit in these names with harsh character limits and you can just see a glimpse of my struggle haha. Anyways, at CCPHA I work in a multitude of realms to prevent childhood obesity. It has provided me with the incredible experience of working in a non-profit organization and seeing how passionate everyone in the organization is about the cause. 

One of my first assignments at CCPHA included giving a presentation to around 300 high school students on the importance of the beverages they are consuming. It was a really great public speaking experience since we really had to employ a plethora of tactics to keep the attention of the students because after all at that age I wasn't listening to anyone or anything either. 

A big aspect of my work at CCPHA includes working within the community to engage the citizens in these critical issues that are affecting their everyday health. This picture is of the Champions Summit and Recognition Ceremony which is an event I worked on. It was so much fun being involved with his event because I love working within the community and just being constantly busy throughout the day. There were over 200 attendees to this event so the whole day was just filled with various errands to do. ALSO, the keynote speaker for the event, Martha Gonzalez, is a BADASS. There is seriously no other words to describe her passion and achievements. Not only is she a Grammy winner (for the band Quetzal which is a rock band committed to use their art as a catalyst for change); she got her Ph.D. in Women Studies; AND she is a Fulbright Scholar! I was so moved by her talk, she is such a motivational individual! 

This is me at the Health Summit that I worked on!

All in all I have learned that working within public health every day is different. Just the other day I was assisting on a video shoot for a public service announcement. Then a couple of weeks ago I was meeting with City decision makers to discuss grant opportunity and garner support. I have had such a blast and couldn't have asked for a better internship placement coupled with the fact that I get to be in LA! I will post more on all of the fun things I've gotten the opportunity to do in LA!