MY PARENTS WALKED AWAY FROM ME AT THE HOSPITAL WHEN I WAS 13 — MY MOTHER WENT PALE WHEN THE DEAN CALLED MY NAME

The next four years at Johns Hopkins were the hardest academic years of my life.

Pre-med was relentless.

Organic chemistry.

Physics.

Biology.

Endless laboratories, papers, exams, and sleepless nights.

I called Rachel almost every evening.

Sometimes I called just to hear her voice.

Other times I called because I was overwhelmed by a bad grade or a difficult continue reading …