November 12, 2016: The biggest Saturday of my life.

I remember it like it was yesterday, waking up with a mix of anxiety and thrill, not knowing what to expect from the day. “Today will be one of the biggest days of my life,” I thought to myself. I flipped to the other side of my bed to turn off my still blaring alarm clock.

Sitting back, I asked myself,  “Is this really real?”
“Am I really doing this?”
“Harvard?”
“No way…” I thought. For some reason I was still in denial.

I got myself out of bed and turned around to look at the wall. There were all of my honors, my awards, the evidence of my academic journey so far and in the very middle was my printed-out HPREP acceptance email. I read it again for the hundredth time.

”Congratulations!” it read, “It is our pleasure to accept you into the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) at Harvard Medical School and to welcome you to the HPREP community!”

I grinned to myself, “this really is me.” About a half hour later I was in the car with my father on the road to my dream school. “Anything is possible,” I thought.

With ample time during the 55 minute ride, my mind wandered to a couple of things: first, my family; second, the purpose for my commitment to HPREP; and finally, what this opportunity would help me achieve. I knew that HPREP would certainly put me on the road to thrive and accomplish my goal of becoming a Pediatric Surgeon. After which, I would not only best represent my family and make them proud, but I would also get the opportunity to do what I love most: take care of children and aid the future generation in creating a better tomorrow.

Next thing you know we were pulling in next to The Tosteson Medical Building, and even just the arrival to the entrance was exhilarating. Grinning from ear-to-ear, my dad looked at me in bemusement. “You ready?”, he asked.

“I think” I squeaked, my excitement seeping through my every pore. 

Walking into the atrium with him and taking my first step on this new journey was not only electrifying, but I stood a little straighter seeing the pride in his eyes. He was actually smiling for once! I knew his elation was not just for my achievement of making it into HPREP, but of the opportunities he knew this program would provide for me. I truly believe that he had already envisioned my path to success in the medical field.

Sitting in Carl W. Walter Amphitheater with all the students around me was inspirational, I couldn't believe that I was surrounded  by  teens so similar to me. Teens who who shared the same interests, goals, and dreams like me. Teens who also wanted to one day make their mark on the world of medicine and health. To think of the very real possibility that these teens could be my future colleagues or fellow workers in the medical field was spine-tingling.

After a brief introduction, we split into various groups for our first activity of the day: Icebreakers. Depending on what the sticker we received earlier said, we had to figure out the groups and find the other member. One group was the “President's” groups, another the “Pets” group, and so on. In my opinion, the icebreakers were probably the most awkward part of our day, but funnily enough the most memorable as well. Getting the opportunity to meet new people and share facts about ourselves was awesome. Just from the icebreakers I realized that although we may come from different corners of life and have different goals, at the end of the day, we're all still striving to learn more about science and health, and most importantly learn more about ourselves.

Later on, our first lectures took place in the HST(Health Sciences & Technology)  classroom, a beautiful classroom filled with art and HST culture. Our lectures were based on The Foundation of Biology, which I believe is very fundamental and a great way to prepare us for the rest of our time at HPREP. The lunch was nothing less than spectacular, not too fancy, but just enough to seal the deal. Sometimes I wish we could go back to week one, just so I can have some of that lasagna again.

Our day ended with us meeting our pods, mentors, and pod leaders. *Shout out to the turquoise pod!* The last activity of the day was pretty much a "speed dating" type-of-thing in which we had to find out who our mentors were with just a few random facts. The relaxed atmosphere during our spectacular time "speed dating" was enforced when our pod leader, Elorm, played some LIl Uzi Vert, Young M.A, and Rae Sremmurd. I had an unbelievable time, with an astounding group of people. My four weeks at HPREP so far have already done a couple of things for me. It completely shattered the idea I once had about what a typical Harvard graduate, or medical student, should look like. In this little time I've also come to learn that it's not what you look like, or what you know, but rather what you strive to become and what you work to discover that sets you in the position you are. Truly, anything is possible, as long as you have the will and mindset to accomplish it. Carpe Diem my friends.