Metaphors & Medicine

" I hate my little sister so much. Everyone thinks she's so cute, but she's actually not," my sister said to me over the phone. "I can't believe you said that about me," she laughed. She was speaking to me from the other side of the world, where she was enjoying the summer weather in Palestine with our mom and brother while I remained in the States. " Do you still think that?" she asked. She had found my childhood diary in one of the drawers in our Palestinian home. The funny thing is I could remember the specific instances that led me to think that of her. My sister had an innocent face, one that hid kind of mischevious action that she may have committed. For example, she was the messier one of the two of us when we shared a room, and yet her expressions always made her appear as though she could have never done such a thing. As badly as I wanted a sister, the 5 year age gap between us often sat among us in our room, divided us at the dinner t...

I have waited for some time for the “right moment” to begin a new section on the blog documenting my gap year. Since I graduated in May, I have continued to look for that moment that would feel like a new page turning that would compel me to find my way back to this blog and write and write and write. I have a lot to share and many moments that have felt like a new page turned in my life. Yet, this moment now, this election feels more significant. It is a new chapter for us all, and this moment is the one that has brought me back here. This moment is the one that has made me think of each action and reaction I’ve had over the past few months and even years, and how each action is now more significant than before. That seems like a loaded description, doesn’t it? Well, for me, the story of this gap year starts here. I hope you will share this experience with me and hold on tight for what the next few months hold and re-experience what I’ve learned from the past few years that a...