Love Wins

Earlier this month, Tom and I celebrated Loving Day, which commemorates the Supreme Court decision to negate all laws against inter-racial marriage. I couldn't help but feel guilty about celebrating my marriage, knowing that not everyone is this country held this inalienable right. Now, it seems that June will forever and always be a month of marriage equality for all. Regardless of anyone's opinions or beliefs on the matter, everyone deserves the right to love. With all the pain and suffering to contend with in this life, why should anyone ever be denied love? 

Loving Day

On June 12, 1967 the United States Supreme Court overturned the remaining laws in more than a dozen states that prevented interracial marriage. After Mildred and Richard Loving, a black woman and white man were arrested for entering an an interracial marriage, they fought a tireless battle to make interracial marriage legal for us all. For many, today was just another Friday, but for Tom and I, today marked an important date. I'm always grateful for my husband and I couldn't imagine my life without him, but days like today definitely put everything into prospective and give us another opportunity to celebrate our marriage. 

Happy Loving Day 

When Life Gives You Lemons....

I cannot express how blessed Tom and I are to have both been accepted into doctoral programs, especially so early in our lives. Real life dreams coming true right here people! But we were tossed a big ole sour lemon when we realized that we would be attending schools in different parts of the country. Living apart isn't exactly ideal for a newly married couple, but these are the cards that we were dealt and we're making the situation work the best way that we know how. 

Notes from a Minority in Medicine

The Bad and The Good 

In honor of Black History Month, I thought that now would be a good time to share a few notes on my experience as a minority in medicine. African Americans are considered highly under-represented in dentistry and the color of my skin has definitely had significant impacts on my journey to become a dentist. It's beyond difficult for me to open up about the scars of my past, but I feel passionate about sharing my story because I want to shed light on a situation that still needs improvement. But most importantly, I don't want to "become silent" about the things that matter.  

The Grace of God

I have never been so happy to see a Friday as this week was terrifying for me. I was awakened at 4am Tuesday morning by a text message from my mother saying that my father was in the hospital with chest pain and tingling in his arm. At that moment, I really wished that I could be oblivious, that I didn't have the medical knowledge that I do because the worse case scenario was running through my head. As I flung things into my suitcase, I was making a mental list of possible diagnoses...angina, stroke, heart attack? And all the while, I'm hours away from home. 

If at First You don't Succeed....

If you didn't get accepted this time around, don't fret. It just means that you have a little more work to do. But do know that you are not alone in this, especially with regards to dentistry. With so few dental schools in this country only offering a few spots, it's common to have to apply multiple times. As someone who has had the opportunity to be on both sides of the application process, I'd like share my advice on what to do if you didn't accepted... 

Notes from an Interracial Marriage

Happy MLK Day Everyone! 

I've been thinking about writing this post for a while now and today seems like the perfect day to share it. On a day where we celebrate a man who devoted his life to equal treatment for African Americans; it's another opportunity for husband and I to celebrate our marriage.