Maybe it's written.

Tonight, I watched Slumdog Millionaire.*

I won't give away the ending or release any spoilers, but if you read any generic review about the movie, you'll soon learn that many critics have pegged it as "the best movie of 2008," a story that "lives up to its premise even at its most far-fetched, creating a beautifully realized and edited film" (Roeper, Ransom, Rotten Tomatoes). It's been nominated for 10 Oscars and 29 other awards, and it's won almost 50 other awards (IMDB). To top it off, Dev Patel, the actor who plays the lead character in the film, is only 18 years old - and he was starring in his first-ever movie role. His stellar acting skills even earned him a (playful) slap from Sharon Stone.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, "Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny." But if there's one thing that the writers and actors of Slumdog Millionaire have proved, it's that destiny isn't simply the result of inevitable, uncontrolled events. It's in your own hands, if you're willing to take the necessary risks and fight for it, against all odds.

I wonder if Dev Patel ever realized the caliber of recognition and fame that was in store for him, if he recognized that he'd already begun to build his destiny the moment he was cast in the role of Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire. M. Night Shyamalan has already picked him up for his next movie, Avatar: The Last Airbender, set to be released on July 2, 2010. Vikas Swarup, the author of Q&A (the novel that Slumdog Millionaire is loosely based upon), probably didn't expect his story to be adapted into a film and become an international sensation, either.

I'm not sure I would ever be able to survive in an area with a lifestyle as surreal and hardening as the ones that Indians have learned to endure and embrace, every day in the slums of cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. But, whatever I end up doing, I'd hope that my future work at least creates some semblance of an impact on a wider audience, however pale its scope may be in comparison to a Hollywood-Bollywood blockbuster. And, who knows, maybe my fame will come in the process, if deserved. Maybe it's written.


Or maybe I should just stop blogging and finish my readings for class.


*Kelli and Alec: So sorry for watching it without you; I promise I'll still see it again with both of you on Friday!

February, found free.

The backstory

This past weekend, on January 31st, I took the dreaded MCAT. The night before the test, I tried to go to sleep early, but it was nearly impossible to do so while visions of electrical circuits and resistors floated annoyingly through my head. I'd take sugarplums over physics any day.

When I went out to my car the next morning, all my windows were iced over, and, even with my defrost setting and heat on full-blast, I had to wait for what seemed like an interminable amount of time to be able to see through my windshield. Luckily, I arrived at the testing center safely, albeit slightly sleep-deprived and cold, and made it through the entire exam without any major content-related issues or technical glitches.

After months of investing time, energy, and emotion, my long-term relationship with the MCAT finally ended at 12:34 p.m. I'll find out whether or not the tumultuous commitment was worth it when my scores come out on March 4th. I celebrated the sweet end of the MCAT era fittingly, in the sweet company of close friends and the even sweeter comfort of peanut butter mousse-layered chocolate cake from Cafe Intermezzo. Then, I did the one thing I hadn't been able to do for the longest time - I slept peacefully, sans physics, chemistry, or anything remotely academic cluttering the corners of my mind.
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The punchline

I don't remember what things were like before the MCAT was a part of my day-to-day schedule. Now that I'm free to not study, I've found myself filling every available "free" time slot with an event or meeting or errand, because the thought of unchartered territory, of having nothing at all to do, is worse than having to follow the most meticulously-planned schedule in existence.

It would be interesting to see how many of us constantly complain about having copious amounts of academic or professional work because we find those responsibilities socially restricting; but then, when we're finally given freedom to do whatever we want, precisely what we coveted, we end up running away from it rather than embracing it.

It's February, and, although it wasn't easy, I've finally found freedom - freedom from the MCAT and from the stress of once not knowing what I would be doing after graduation. But it might take awhile longer before I can learn how to really be free.

High, lighting too much.

I've taken so many practice exams in the past couple of days that my brain is now in default MCAT mode whenever I do anything. While reading an article in the NY Times tonight, I tried to use my mouse to "highlight" a specific sentence on the screen - until I realized I had just attempted to use a highlighting feature that exists only for passages on computer-based exams like the MCAT.

This begets the question, even outside the context of such a test, how much is too much? And what is it that makes us over-extend ourselves to begin with?

When a particularly tragic or difficult event happens in a person's life, one of the positive results (after going through the stages of denial and pain and depression and so forth - the "grief cycle", as Kubler-Ross calls it in her book, On Death and Dying) is gaining the drive to do more and to do better. Although it's ironic that the rationalization of something horrible ultimately leads to the motivation for something beneficial, at least initially negative situations do eventually propel us in a positive direction. And that's probably what matters most in the end.

Making an effort, trying to improve - both are inherent markers of a logical, conscientious person. But, even the most practical individuals can become tunnel-visioned and so overly focused on a single task that everything else exists only in relation to that one cruciality.

The key, experts say, is to reach an optimal level of understanding and comfort, and then, to stop. Achieving this kind of balance is usually much easier said than done; and, coincidentally, it's precisely the fear of failure that causes us to completely over-exert ourselves, resulting in the very defeat we so desperately wanted to circumvent.

Pressure, reputation, expectations. Everyone has reasons for wanting more in life. While it's okay to not want to settle for anything less than the best, each person should be his or her own measure of perfection. Otherwise, we start trying too hard to do too much, for all the wrong reasons.

We have the ability to recover from unforeseeable adversity and bounce back with unimaginable resilience, but we falter the moment we assume our success is inextricably dependent on the often misguided judgments of others. Perhaps it's time to recognize that true limits only exist if and when we create them for ourselves.

Hope for the future.

I just got the best phone call ever - it made my day, week, month, year. Today, I was accepted to my first choice for public health school.

In his inaugural address yesterday, President Obama said, "[G]reatness is never a given. It must be earned." Although I am in no way equating myself to be on the same platform as the forefathers of our democracy and the countless men and women who secured freedom for our nation, his words resonated in my mind; and I'm sure that power and sheer conviction with which he spoke inspired so many others, as well. As trite as it might sound, now, more than ever, I'm actually motivated to not take shortcuts, to not settle for less, to do more and to do better - all the concepts that our 44th so eloquently voiced in his speech, after taking his presidential oath. And, as if the former sentence weren't already cliché enough, to me, greatness isn't about status or power or fame, but moreso about being able to reach one's true potential - and academic pursuit, first and foremost, provides that opportunity.

The next time someone asks me, "So, what are your plans after graduation?" - I'll actually have an answer. I can tell them I'm finally on my own path to earning greatness.

New Year, New Places, People, and Music.

These are what have made my January memorable and enjoyable (so far, at least).

No. 1. Yoforia.

A tasty twirl of heavenly frozen yogurt, with fabulous fresh fruit. Oh-so-good, and oh-so-good for you. Definitely worth the sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (a.k.a. brain freeze) on a 15 degree winter evening in Atlanta.









And the refreshing picture is compliments of...

No. 2. kajatl's photos on Flickr, Broderick on WordPress.
http://flickr.com/people/kajjers/
& http://broderickphoto.wordpress.com/

When it's dark almost 18 hours of the day and you feel as though you haven't seen the sun in awhile, his photography will remind you of the optimistic light at the end of the tunnel (and prove to you that it's not always a train). I'd post my favorite photo of his, but a) I have too many favorites, and, b) I'd rather not get sued for copyright when he becomes famous. Hopefully, I won't get sued for the photo above, either, because, at the moment, I only have $2 in my bank account.

Though, it's good to know that talent like his still comes from my once-upon-a-time hometown of Cleveland Heights, and that, sometimes, the best coincidences are the ones you discover for yourself. Like...

No. 3. Kiersten Holine.
Singer, songwriter, and surprisingly sensational. I stumbled upon her covers of the Beatles and Ingrid Michaelson on YouTube, and then decided to pay a visit to her MySpace. Check her out the next time you're in need of some soul-searching and silence just isn't setting the right tone.









The aforementioned won't help me break my target score on the MCAT, boost my chances of getting into grad school, or guarantee my fall-back science journalism internship in D.C. next year; but, at the very least, it's kept me sane through the drudgery of studying and winter weather. And maybe, just maybe, all these things will make your January more worthwhile, too.