Where Am I From?
I guess I'll start pretty early. I am the youngest of three children, so I have
an older brother and an older sister. My father came to this country for his
residency in New England. My older siblings were born while he was training
so my brother was born in Hartford, and my sister was born in Boston. It is
fun hearing stories about when my parents lived in South Boston and hung
out in Harvard Square, especially since I live in Boston now. Of course
my parents were drawn to the West Coast, so after my father completed
his training, they began the two week trek to Los Angeles by car.
I was born on October 13, 1973 in Los Angeles at Kaiser Permanente Hospital on
Sunset (of course it is now closing down because of earthquake precautions.)
This began my long but pretty boring childhood. I lived in a house on Martel at the
time. I didn't start speaking until I was around three years old and a few months.
If I had been in any other family, I think the parents would have worried that I was
mentally retarded, but my brother was mute for more than three years also, so
my parents didn't worry about me either.
We then moved to Hancock Park on Rossmore Ave. where I lived most of my
childhood. I also started school where I did pretty well at a private school
called Pilgrim School. I was in the higher classes I think, but I'm not sure.
Either way, it was pretty intense, because I was learning French in kindergarten.
When my parents eventually placed my sister and me in a slower public school,
I reviewed the things that I had learned for years.
I went to Hawthorne Elementary School from first to eighth grade, and
my sister and I were always about to get kicked out because the school kept on realizing that we didn't live in Beverly Hills. My father eventually gave up
trying to fool the school anymore and we moved to Beverly Hills when I was in
tenth grade. I had my secondary education at Beverly Hills High School, which
was a decent public school, but compared to really good schools, it was just ok.
I think I learned enough to go to college, but I didn't really learn how to study
until I went to Brown University.
I'm not a very original person, so I went to the same school for college that my
sister did. It was fun going to school with my sister, which I had done since
kindergarten. Because of that, I was always pretty close to her, and we would
do strange things together, like go out to Penguin's frozen yogurt, or get a pint
of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and finish it that night. Either way, Brown
was pretty tough, so I couldn't get by without studying. Because I majored in
Computer Science, I ended up putting a lot of time into school. Compared to
now, I probably seemed pretty intense back then. I loved studying at Brown
though, and I think that I learned a lot.
I then took a year off and stayed in Maryland working at the National Institutes of
Health. I had a great time with my church, but I honestly didn't like research
that much. I realized then that I could never try to get a PhD. I applied to
medical school that year.
Somehow, by God's grace, I got into Tufts Medical School where I have been ever
since. I haven't exactly been the best student, but I hope that I can learn the stuff
that I need to become a good doctor.
Last updated January 7, 1998