Art Light/D7000/2014/Chicago Art Institute/Chicago, IL

What a beginning. This last week has exceeded all my expectations in so many regards. It is hard to even describe what it has meant for me. I knew the NIH Fogarty Fellowship would change my life, but now I have a lot to live up to. I have met so many wonderfully talented and driven people; it’s the truth when I say I have met the future director of an NIH institute or a clinical scientist who will discover the next breakthrough in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  That is the kind of potential my fellow scholars possess.

This is the kind of potential I possess.

I know my career is just in its  infancy but this last week has confided with me the confidence to control my destiny. I can be a family medicine physician and I can be a clinical research physician endeavoring to optimize primary care delivery. Working to change the systems in a way to provide personable care that is cost effective and life changing. The latter excites me. I know I have a long road ahead of me and a lot of important decisions to make, but I can feel the excitement in my gut. This opportunity will allow me to grow and become someone that moves the world. I’m just now starting to take my first steps on this journey.

Now I just need to get to China.