Hello from Bethesda!

I apologize for such a long delay since my last post. But now that I currently have no job I figured this was the perfect opportunity to let you know how things have been going.

I'm of course referring to the government shutdown that just began at midnight. And despite it being all the rage on American news stations, there has been little mention of the detriment it causes to the NIH. Except for extremely important people, no one is allowed to work inside, meaning the research conducted and patients admitted for protocols have halted. It's disappointing and amazing to see how political arguments have made such a large impact on people's lives. As a med student scholar at the NIH, I feel in awe of what's going on around me, it's been an incredible thing to witness.

Before last night, research had been going well. It's been a really rewarding experience being able to be at the NIH, listening to famous lecturers and researchers, seeing how they do things at the world's premier research institution.

It's also been great to have a life outside of it all. Far from the constant guilt of needing to study or the lack of time in general, I finally have free time and this thing called "weekends." It's great, you all should try it some time. Here are some pics of things I've been up to around the area:

Well, I assume that's more photos than most can handle.

I did want to post something about the unfortunate death of my classmate, Paul DeWolf. It was so hard for me to post anything on the blog for so long for this reason. It has been such a tragic occasion that is still so difficult to think about, it has been incredibly hard to articulate even to myself how I feel. My thoughts go to his family and close friends. May he rest in peace.