CURRENT MISSION

love and be loved - talk to strangers - hug (not strangle) trees - be inspired - be of service, always

ABOUT ME

I've been around the sun 23 times, but deep inside I still feel like I'm 6 years old. Everyday I wake up with renewed optimism for the future and in awe of the world. I'm the person that will go to the farmers market with no money - I just like to watch the expressions on people's faces and admire the colors of all the fruits and vegetables. I think, "Where did this cucumber come from? How many fingers have touched it? Were these fingers wearing rings? If it makes its way into the mouth of a hungry child... will this cucumber's spirit be self-actualized?"

I appreciate the simple things in life, and look forward to meeting people who do as well. I've been in year 'round school since age 18 (long story), planted firmly in the mid-west, so I'm finally ready to be a bit adventurous... but one step at a time.

I can also be a Type A perfectionist who stresses out a lot about exams and grown-up stuff, but... I'm a work in progress after all. = )

PHILOSOPHY

"It's better to help people than garden gnomes." -Amélie*

*If you haven't seen this movie, I'll explain.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm brand new!

Interests

global health, microbicide research, fostering homeless pets, Bikram yoga, urban homesteading, local food, minimalist interior design, video games, piercings, tattoos, Buddhism, SUSHI

• pets
• design
• interior design
• tattoos
• piercings
• dining
• yoga
• gardening
• news
• video games
• socializing
• homesteading
• buddhist
• medicine
• nursing
• social work

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: CORINNE BAILEY RAE. India.Arie, Imogen Heap, Emmy Rossum, Amy Winehouse, John Legend, and if I go to a club it MUST play Hip Hop please.

I like self-help books. = )

I like funny movies. Sad movies make me depressed for weeks.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Recently, I experienced medicine at its best. Our team had just diagnosed a man with terminal cancer and we had to break the bad news to him that he was took sick even for chemotherapy. After telling the family - all 16 members - the family, the patient, the social worker, the nurse, the oncologist, the chair of the medicine department, and I, joined hands in prayer. It was a prayer about life and death and sickness and health...

It was a very special moment and exactly why I think I think healthcare in America is bruised, not broken.