Before I Begin - Where I've Been

Either you’ve been wondering where I’ve been — or my ego’s just inflated enough to think you have.

Life took an unexpected turn. I was thriving in medical school: tutoring high school students and first-year medical students, volunteering regularly with the local Latino community, and conducting research on intimate partner violence and gun violence. I presented at a summer research symposium, founded and served as president (and later vice president) of the school’s psychiatry interest group — still active today — and won a poster competition that led to an invitation to present on police suicide at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

But toward the end of my third year and into my fourth year, my health began to unravel. What started as fatigue snowballed into rapid weight gain, panic attacks, joint pain, Bell's palsy, memory lapses (I’d forget how to get home), and a debilitating brain fog that clouded my thoughts. Eventually, after seeing 7 different providers, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I took two medical leaves of absence — each about 6 to 8 months — for antibiotic treatment and recovery. But financial pressure and the desire to finish school pulled me back before I was ready. I struggled. And in 2021, I was dismissed from medical school.

In 2022, I moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area — heartbroken, disoriented, and still living with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), which meant lingering symptoms of fatigue, pain, and cognitive difficulties even after the antibiotics were done. Recovery wasn’t linear. I grieved. I rested. I went to therapy. I distracted myself. And with time — and the support of people who genuinely cared — I began to look forward again.

The job market wasn’t forgiving. After nearly eight months of searching, I decided to give school one last shot. I studied for the MCAT again, applied widely, and was fortunate to be accepted into an accelerated, three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. If all goes as planned, I’ll graduate in 2028.

If you knew me before all this, you knew I made music. I DJ'd. I took photos. I posted stupid/funny things. I wrote. I even did some standup comedy (I sucked but it was fun). During the hardest years, I disappeared from all of that. But now — after a long stretch of healing, reflecting, and slowly reclaiming who I am — I’m finally making room again for the creative parts of me.

This blog is where I’m starting.

Here, I’ll share thoughts — polished or messy — on things like media, psychology, and intentional tech. I’ll also post music, photos, and whatever else feels honest and worth putting out there. I don’t know exactly where this is headed. But I’m here. And I’m writing again.

Thanks for being here too.

For more information about this site and my story, visit the About page. You can also find some of my past work on the Gallery and Links pages.

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