CURRENT MISSION

Ascend to power and claim my rightful throne, as Supreme Dictator of Earth

ABOUT ME

I do not know a single group of friends who would give a straight answer to any one of their friends for this question. In fact, recently for an application I was asked "how would your best friends describe you in three words?" To which my friends gleefully responded with answers such as: "mutant ninja turtle", "Frumpy Rumply Undergarment", "Plays for keeps", "Hold my D's", and "Ethereal Chunky Brumbershroot". The meaning of which, I can only guess. But in all seriousness, once you wade through the hilarious nonsense, I think they would speak of loyalty as a lifelong friend, my sense of humor, sarcastic nature, and supportive nature when circumstances call for it.

PHILOSOPHY

"You can learn SOMETHING from EVERYBODY"

"When one teaches, two learn"

Interests

As I am short on time, I am just going to post a few snippits from med school applications. Please excuse the lame language: I was trying to sell myself to schools.

"As long as I am in good company, I find most everything to be fun. I enjoy my friends and family more than anything. I spend the majority of my free time practicing music and although my musical obligations for school are often stressful, I do not think it is possible for me to not enjoy the process of making music. When not practicing for school, I can often be found in the music studio I have built in my basement, playing around with one instrument or another, composing a new piece, or recording a new project. I have always enjoyed writing prose as well as music, and my notebooks are full of short stories and half finished novels. Reading, of course, is the natural counterpart of writing, and on slow days I enjoy sitting outside with a good book. Physical activity is also fun for me, and I actively pursue new goals in fitness and sport. I am a member of the KU Swim Club, have competed in several triathlons, love a good game of frisbee, and enjoy hiking and exploring whenever I can."

"Music has been a significant part of my life since the first grade, when I began learning the piano. I continue to play the piano, though since the fifth grade I have dedicated myself to developing my skill with the saxophone. I have also taught myself the flute and the guitar. My brief time playing the flute, which I elected to learn after a car crash injury temporarily prevented me from playing the saxophone, yielded two outstanding soloist awards, which I have also earned on the saxophone. During high school I began to develop compositional skills, and I continue to compose music of a variety of genres from jazz charts, to quartet pieces, and from full orchestral scores to rock songs. Initially just to keep a friend company, I began to take swing dancing lessons, and to this day continue to develop this, surprisingly fun, skill. I also have a strong interest in underwater photography and SCUBA diving, and have been fortunate enough to win several awards for my photos."

• writing
• books
• photography
• dancing
• swing dancing
• dining
• fitness
• walking
• clubbing
• reading
• cars
• music
• jazz
• guitar
• piano
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• scuba diving
• sports
• swimming
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most recent instance that left me completely speechless was during my time in Morocco. We had taken SUV's out into the desert, and camels once the cars could no longer drive. Exhausted from the journey, and sick from the food, myself and three friends stole away from our small camp in the middle of the night, and once we had walked a good while, we laid down amidst the towering dunes of red sand. There, with three people I had only met one month previously, I lay and stared into the sky, and more vivid than I had ever seen it before, the universe stared back. And I felt very small. We lay there for I don't know how long, and echoing in the distance could be heard the Muslim call to prayer. We did not speak for a long while, but simply tried to absorb the endless expanse of sand around us, and the infinity above us.

Another instance occurred in the highlands of Scotland. I woke up feeling a bit sick, but decided to stick to my plan. I drove south half an hour to a tiny village called Glencoe. I parked on the side of the road, put a rain cover on my backpack, and started walking to the start of a path up another mountain called the Pap of Glencoe. The “path” was more of a swamp with a couple of rocks in it, and at several points in was an actual stream coming down the mountain. It was hard work, and as the way became steeper, I found myself stopping to rest after every ten steps. At some point, a cloud rose up from below me, and as it moved in, my visibility dropped to about fifteen feet. It wasn’t long before I had completely lost the “path”, but I kept on moving up, following the footprints of sheep thinking that if they could walk this way, so could I. And I made it. My legs were shaking, and I was out of water, but I made it, and it was worth every drop of sweat. There’s really no way I can describe the view, not even with photos. It was extremely quiet. The only sounds were my breathing, a slight breeze, and the ticking of my watch. When the clouds cleared for a moment, my eyes could behold the expansive, green rolling landscape of the highlands. Waterfalls fell hundreds of feet from unseen sources amidst the mountains around me, and far beneath was some Loch, and farther out, a winding outlet to the sea.

Countries I’ve Visited

Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Spain, United States