2020 Recap
I know. It’s kind of awkward that I’m doing a 2020 recap in March 2021, but a few days ago I realized that I was so busy (literally from January through December) that I did not take a moment to acknowledge all the really cool things I was able to do and experience in spite of the #panny. So now, albeit 3 months late, I’m taking a brief pause to share some of my highs of 2020:
In late January, I received a scholarship from the J.W. Darden Foundation for my commitment to medicine and health equity. Dr. Darden was the first Black physician in my hometown, and he was the only healthcare provider for thousands of African Americans in a 30-mile radius in the early 1900s, including my own family. So to be able to receive this recognition in his honor, in front of many of the people who fostered my early dreams of being a physician, was humbling to say the the least. It was also a bittersweet moment because that was the last time I got dressed and went outside before the #panini hit. Anyway, here’s the link to the news writeup. The reporter screamed “Medicare for All” right before he snapped the pic I was too busy saying “Yassss” instead of giving my professional smile, so forgive the article photo.
And then came the lockdown (Who am I kidding? I’m referring to that half-closure thing we did before throwing caution to the wind so people could go to the beach one last time). My research group quickly transitioned to remote work since we all do data analysis anyway, and I enjoyed working at my own pace and schedule. Yet, it wasn’t all easy. While I wasn’t worried about losing critical research time, I found it difficult to cope with sitting at a computer all day while it felt like, at least for a few weeks, the world had stopped (thankfully my appointments with my counselor had not). My first committee meeting (ever) was in the second week of lockdown; I didn’t even know how to schedule a Zoom meeting or share my screen yet. Eventually I caught a rhythm and finished my first #panorama semester, only to transition immediately into writing my first grant. Around the middle of the summer, I began experiencing severe homesickness, cabin fever, and writer’s block, so I went to my parents’ for some necessary TLC.
I made sure to go outside during my writing breaks, which led to me frequently standing in the driveway and scrolling social media. This was during the summer uprisings, and as I was reading more, I began sharing my thoughts on my Instagram stories. These stories kept getting longer and longer until a few people suggested I record them as IGTV videos, which led to the Race, Genetics, & Health series. I was not expecting that these videos would earn more than 1,000 views and would be shared by dozens of people. I definitely wasn’t expecting that this would lead to my collaboration with a classmate from Howard (H-U!) to create a virtual conference that not only had THE Dorothy Roberts as the keynote speaker, but that would also have hundreds of attendees from literally all over the world. I still have to remind myself from time to time that it actually happened.
Later in the summer I passed my written comprehensive exam (one more to go this summer) and submitted my grant application all in the same 10-day period. Oh, and I was also still unpacking from my move to a new apartment 2 weeks prior. Suffice it to say, I was TIRED. I had about a week off before the fall semester began, and I was back to the usual: research, classes, and extracurriculars. I began the second year of my PhD still at home, with a totally different project than I’d had at the beginning of the year, and not having seen my mentor in person in 6 months. And the paper from my project in 2018 was on its 4th submission.
My goal for the last quarter of the year was simply to reach the end of it. Not to thrive or excel. Just to finish. But I was incredibly fortunate to do more than that. My grant got a fundable score. FRAME was a success. Academic Medicine published the op-ed I wrote with my cousin/classmate. I was able to spend time with a loved one that I hadn’t seen in more than 2 years. And that paper was finally accepted. I took the last few weeks of December to just sleep and plan for 2021.
To quote Beyoncé in her Vogue interview: “I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later.” And as I reflect, I’m incredibly grateful for 1) my health and that of my family & friends and 2) that I was able to accomplish most of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year (and then some). At the same time, I never want to live through 2020 again. So that’s my recap of the year (3 months late). Here’s to a better 2021.
