I got in!

Today, I feel like a certified nerd.

"Dear Andrea, It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been recommended by the joint UC Berkeley/UCSF Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) Admissions Committee for admission to the MTM program for Fall 2013. Congratulations!"

Wow, words truly cannot describe how excited and uplifted I am because of this! I mean, to be honest, even for all my past achievements, I was not really expecting this. I was surprised that they even asked for an interview. UCSF is a top 5 medical school in the world and Berkeley is a top 5 bioengineering school. I had to muster up as much confidence as I could and convince myself that I belonged with the best of the best (so as to convince my interviewer). That's hard considering I have always felt so incredibly small at HKUST, a school that makes many bright students feel a little bit jaded about themselves (what competitive school doesn't?). And despite it all, an opportunity has suddenly been thrown my way. I am incredibly blessed and privileged and I am especially grateful to all the people that helped me get to where I am. And of course, I thank God for everything.

The big question of course is "So are you going to go?" Well, I am 90% sure yes. After some prayer and consideration, I will probably make a final decision by next week. Turning down a PhD offer with funding has suddenly become a difficult decision. Especially since I love the UC Riverside environment and the enthusiasm of the professors.

For now--Reflection time!

A basketball teammate of mine were studying in the library one day when she came across this slide in her lecture notes for Consumerism and Happiness. Finding it a tidbit I might want to know about, she decided to share it with me. This is where I got stuck on the concept of deviance and it's how it became one of the 3 words I use when I explain why I studied in Hong Kong.

Deviance explains how people interact with the two primary standards of society: (1) the means and (2) the end goal. And I was somewhat flattered that she saw me in the "Innovation" category: someone who tries to do things differently but still tries to achieve culturally sought-after end-goals.

This brings me to article I recently read in the NY Times (The Creative Monopoly by David Brooks) which really highlighted the innovator kind of person I strive to be. Brooks stressed that competition at every level can be a hindrance to creativity and progress because institutional means require that you follow a set path and excel at it. However, creative people are able to find success by forging their way through an unconventional path, something I've tried to do for myself.

I like to think I have many good starting characteristics for creativity/passion:

• Independence
• Longing to be different
• Ability for reflection and learning
• Desire to make the world a freaking better place!
• A small measure of book smart

Seriously, the world needs passionate people (after reading the article, I also happened to research Peter Thiel who supports a lot of young social entrepreneurial work, which is also very interesting!). It's something I've believed ever since I wanted to enter into healthcare-- passion is what creates change. It's a catalyst, a fuel, something that all people can obtain.

I've seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of the deficits in the world. The truth is, there are deficits in everything--in healthcare, in education, in research methodology, in energy technology. Something can always be made better. In HKUST, the concept of innovation was almost brainwashed into my subconscious, with the twist towards business, business, business. Innovation isn't as simple as hard science or recognizing a problem or even simply advocating something. Society is a delicate thing and it requires a certain type of person to implement change based on innovation!

Maybe that's what drew me to the MTM program and maybe that's why the MTM committee believed I am a fit for their program. If anything, my background prepared me and put me in a position where I can take all the things I've seen and learned in life and piece it all together. I am ready to be groomed and it's very likely that the MTM program can do just that for me. San Francisco has so much to offer...

Maybe I'm being naive but I've been naive for much of my life and I think that's part of what keeps passion alive. I don't need to care about being inadequate or incompetent. The door--to a creative career in healthcare/medicine and leading others to having passionate lives--has opened. I may not have the specifics down, but here I am, eager to make a difference.

Well, it's the final sprint in my undergraduate life, guys. Can't burn out now. It's time to win this race.

My boy being a weirdo during our last Berkeley visit :).

Creative people don’t follow the crowds; they seek out the blank spots on the map. Creative people wander through faraway and forgotten traditions and then integrate marginal perspectives back to the mainstream. Instead of being fastest around the tracks everybody knows, creative people move adaptively through wildernesses nobody knows. -- David Brooks (The Creative Monopoly, NY Times)

A Self-Pep Talk

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to have "privilege." It's probably been beaten to pulp by now, but this blog is for the sake of reflection not originality so I am going to go through with it. Note that when I say privilege, I mean wealth--not just in money, but in fiscal wisdom, network, and anything that would lead to the secular view of success.

... Hong Kong is about wealth and money. Many students who study here have parents that can afford to send them to rich international schools. Many have parents who work for big banks or are insanely successful government workers, executives, or professors. Their parents are willing to pay for their kids' education and give them everything to make life easier. The money buys them cultivation of skills and talents; it lets them focus on things that would otherwise be something one did on the side.

As much as it's easy to say that these people are spoiled and entitled, it would be a reflection of jealousy and an unjustified sense of entitlement. If I'm being honest with myself, I have often felt jealous of people who have what I don't have. But feeling that way doesn't do any good. I'm being unfair to myself.

After all, it's really what you do with your privilege that matters.

That last thought reminded me of the biblical parable of the master and his servants. Before taking leave, a master allotted talents of different amounts (5, 2, and 1) to three of his servants (1 talent was worth approximately 20 years of labor). The servants who were given 5 and 2 talents both went out and doubled his allotment for his master. When the master returned, he rewarded them by setting them over many possessions. In contrast, the servant with the 1 talent hid his allotment in the ground and returned to the master exactly what he was given (1 talent). The master was especially harsh to this servant--calling him evil and slothful and giving the 1 talent to the servant with 10.

I have often thought about what would have happened if the last servant had done what the first two had done. It might have been difficult for him. After all, whats a man of 5 talents compared to a man of 1?

One transparent lesson (out of the many you can take from this parable) is that no matter how poorly the cards were shuffled against you, you can always make something better of it. And in fact, it's your responsibility to make something out of what you have. Because a talent is a talent. Maybe you serve a higher being, society, or even a grander version of your self--but why would you waste your life by hiding what you've got, keeping it to yourself, and turning into Gollum from Lord of the Rings?

For me, I do believe I've been allotted more talents (not in the form of money) in life than the average person and I've got to keep going in life to make the best of those talents. My friends and my family--they are my talents. My intellect and determination to problem-solve, my amiability, my passion for improving holistic health--these are my talents. I may not have the genius to discover time travel; I may not have the charisma to change the political landscape of North America; I may not have the hands of a stellar doctor that changes the lives of thousands. But I am determined to use my intellect and problem solving to make the contributions where I can.

The major challenge, however, is I don't know exactly how to optimize my potential. How could one possibly make the best of our own talents without a clear direction? Without a path set out for me?

But that's another of my talents. The ability to forge my own paths.

Here comes the sun

In the midst of WWII's darkest hour, the famous words, "This was their finest hour" emerged. It was a beacon of radiotransmitted hope-- a mentality that preserved those plagued by the uncertainty of war.

Winston Churchill, with his speech, changed the outlook of a nation. Those words are powerful for powerful times. Still -

This landscape of war can also be microscopic- molecular, even, and Higgs boson-like.

As a final year undergraduate student, spring is the time when all my peers are looking for jobs and dealing with the weights of uncertainty. The uncertainty sticks as a frozen mallet. We forego doors that may never open again or desperately knock onto closed ones. We are lost in what might or might not come. And. In the midst of our darkest hours, we are bitterly tested. I fight my own internal wars- between "comfortable and easy" me and the me that wants to... well, be a winner.

Okay, I'm being overly dramatic. But in all seriousness....

Updates

• Friends are always my beacon of hope. I miss you all! I'm rooting for you guys as I root for my own success. Wish you all the best in pharm school, med school, moving up in your job, landing that job, grad school, etc etc. Love, as always. We shall conspire to take over the world.
• Ummm, need to get back into RESEARCH MODE, pronto. President's Cup is due to April 10th and our team only has one month to collect relevant data!!

Grad School Stuff

• Rejected: Northwestern (March 1)
• Interview: UCSF/Berkeley (March 5) - Super stoked about this interview but waaaayyy nervous, too. I want it bad, guys. I want it bad.
• Accepted: UC Riverside (Feb 14) - An awesome offer! Seriously considering it.

 Notes to Self

• I miss these fools.

• I need to invest in professional photos ASAP.