Popping the Bubble

Less than a year ago I was one of the first interns for the Start the Heart foundation. It was such an invigorating and uplifting experience. This internship really helped me learn what Louisville is like outside of my bubble which consisted of my family and friends. I have met a lot of different people and learned about diversity and change. Start the Heart also helped me go to a national conference and experience a world other than Louisville, Kentucky. April 11, I went to Boston, Massachusetts to present a poster at the New England Science Symposium at Harvard Medical School. The amount of pure knowledge and consciousness I witnessed at the conference was inspiring. You could tell that each poster presenter had spent hours perfecting their presentation and hundreds of hours conducting research. It was considered an honor to be there and nobody took it lightly. The judges, the people, and the environment were so pristine that I felt a little out of place. As I spent more time in this environment I realized that medical school would feel something like this. It was extremely nerve wracking at first. Thoughts start to pour into you head on whether you are ready to accept this competitive environment and it is downright scary. Then you realize that you are already in this type of environment and you are succeeding. Start the Heart helped me get to where I am today and I am happy that I played a part in this great experience.