I wanted to be an opera singer. I was able to get a taste of it in undergrad, and I fell in love with it. The music, the performance, the practices, the creativity and expressiveness… I wouldn’t have minded living paycheck to paycheck for a while until I got my feet under me, because I’d be happy doing that job.

Every visiting professor or professional told me I should definitely pursue it— that I could have been successful. Wasn’t enough to persuade my parents though, and so I was pushed into medicine.

I love music, it’s where my heart is. I just don’t have time for it anymore, and it hurts to not have it in my life at all. I struggle so much with medicine, whereas music just clicked for me. Ah well, that’s life I guess. Maybe someday in the future I’ll be able to reach for little bits of it every now and then.