The Harlequin - chivalry is not dead; a mystery, a jack-of-all-trades; have the king's ear, but also listen to murmurings of the common folk; believe in the value of force and also literature. Truly the puzzlement of the age.

I couldn't have said it better, even if I tried.

Now some stream of consciousness: Having spent the first half of my life in a semi-developing nation, my life now would be very different if it were not for some seemingly random, chance occurrences. I consider myself truly fortunate to be doing the things that I'm doing, surrounded by really amazing parents and friends. My approach to life and what I do is shaped to a great extent by the way I was raised and where I grew up. After living on welfare in the "white ghetto" of a big US metropolis and attending an inner city high school with metal detectors where whites were a minority, it's been off to the East Coast for the last 8 years for college and graduate studies. Having seen how the poorest and richest people in America live, I've tried to focus on the important things in life, to poke fun at and never take myself too seriously.

On relationships: For myself, I came up with the 3 C's – communication, compromise, and commitment(but I think they also work quite well in general). I'm a straight shooter and will call you out when I think you've done something wrong, but also extend unqualified praise and gratitude when merited. I expect the same from the other person. Also, I never take the other person for granted. I think respect and admiration for the other person and what they do is very important because then you become a fan of him/her and you root for him/her to be a better person and also better at what they do. I have absolutely no problem admitting when I've done something wrong and apologizing for it. I'm very liberal and open-minded in my political and philosophical outlook both in my personal life and when it comes to others.

What I'm doing with my life: If you live in this country, you most likely have an opportunity to make a positive difference in a lot of people's lives. Ultimately, what I would like to do is make a positive difference in as many people's lives as possible. A lot of times the biggest difference can be the smallest gesture of kindness and the biggest reward a smile. More practically speaking, though, I'm in the MD/PhD program at a local medical school, currently doing my PhD in molecular neuroscience. The nervous system is fascinating and disorders that affect it can impact on uniquely human traits such as language and higher reasoning, which can change people in astonishing ways. Medicine and science can be very rewarding but at the same quite demanding endeavors; I greatly enjoy doing both, and I'm quite dedicated to what I do. Needless to say, I keep myself busy as there's always more to do.

In general, I think there is nothing more powerful, in real life or in fiction/film, than the triumph of the human spirit over adversity so anything that deals with that, I'll most likely go for.

Favorite:

Books (in no particular order): One Hundred Years of Solitude, Beloved, Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea, My Antonia and other Cather, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Awakening, The Stranger, Lord of the Flies, Ficciones, Our Town, A Streetcar Named Desire, Siddhartha, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (read this last one in one of my favorite classes entitled Affect: Biological, Psychological, and Social Aspects of Feelings – yup, we definitely did talk a lot about our feelings) – unfortunately haven't had a chance to devote much time to reading any good fiction for a long time now.

Movies – I doubt you'll find another person who's seen fewer than I have – nothing against going to the movies, just always seemed to find other things to do; Borat was a classic, and I did see The Great Debaters online recently and liked it a lot. American Gangster was great too. What can I say – Denzel is one brada who can act.

Music – anything from ABBA to 50 cent but Jimi Hendrix (Are YOU Experienced?), G'n'R, Deep Purple, Eminem, 2pac, The Game, Akon

Food – I try to eat as healthy as possible; fish and fruits are on top of the list.

Some quotes that I particularly like:

"Education is our passport to the future for the future belongs to those who prepare for it today" – Malcolm X (The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a powerful book).

"Never did a crime I didn't have to do" – 2pac

"All of you snakes in the grass can call me Mr. Lawn Mower" – Lil Wayne

"I wish all of life was just extracurriculars." – my friend Jackie H.   Send me a message!

Profession: student
Interests:  anything, stimulating conversations, sports, science, medicine, crafts, literature, music, art