Pediatric Neurosurgery

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." From rides to the doctor's office to work to school, the car that I drive has provided a way for me to reach the places that I need to get to. Last week, the car that I primarily drive hit 100,000 miles. 100,000 miles. That's going around the world over 4 times. When we first bought the car, it had almost no miles on it but within just a few years, it had taken us so far. In many ways, my ISM journey has been very much like that. When I began, I knew almost nothing about pediatric neurosurgery other than the fact that it appeared to deal with kids and with the brain. But through research and my last year of mentorship, I have learned so much. Ask me about hydrocephalus or AVMs or brain tumors, and I'll be able to tell you so much. But, my journey is not over yet. I still have much to learn. With Research Showcase about 3 weeks ago, I am going to spend a lot of time focusing on areas of this speciality that I am not as familiar with such as epilepsy and craniosynostosis. In addition, I will be making a few alterations to my display board. I am going to keep the same basic design but intend on changing the middle portion of my board to better represent what I have learned these past few months. These next 3 weeks will definitely be a test of my endurance as it is a very stressful time in regards to school and extracurricular responsibilities. In journeys, there are often bends and curves in the road, but so long as you keep driving, you'll eventually reach your destination. I know that as long as keep pushing through and giving my all, I will eventually be where I want to be.