The Return of the Natural

So, I have been technically “natural” (free from chemical strengtheners) for 4 plus years. I got my last relaxer 4 years ago and it was only on a small front portion of my hair. This was because I loved wearing sew-in extensions and would leave a part of my own natural hair out to blend, but I didn’t want the curls because it would take longer to straighten and blend. 

For the past 4 years I was technically “natural” but I straightened my hair almost every other day! I never liked to wear my hair curly because I thought it looked messy, frizzy and nappy. I am half Filipino and half African-American and my hair is very curly and silky and as I see it now, very beautiful but I COULD NOT see that prior to recently. My entire life, literally, many people would try to encourage me to wear my hair curly and tell me how beautiful my curls were and I refused! One teacher told me “Ashley, do you realize how much money some people pay to have those curls” and my response would be, “well they can have them”. I liked my hair straight because it looked neat, presentable and normal; all the things our society deems appropriate. I straightened my hair so much that my curls were just as damaged as someone who chemically relaxed their hair.  

The reason I started wearing my hair natural was not even because I felt inclined to embrace my hair or any of the self-empowering explanations, it was because I was accepted to a medical school in the Caribbean and I knew that straightening my hair would be pointless in that hot and humid weather. So, in August 2015, I decided I was no longer going to straighten my hair regularly. 

My initials feelings when I started wearing my hair natural were embarrassment, frustration, and very impatient. I hated my natural hair even still! My curls were so badly heat damaged that they looked like stringy ramen noodles (primarily the front part of my hair) and that’s the first part everyone sees! I felt so discouraged and wanted to give up sooooo many times. It took about 4-5 months in order for my curls to be at a point where I liked, not loved them. I tried product after product which promised curl reformation and all other things. I watched YouTube videos, I read hair blogs, I followed curly hair girls on Instagram and honestly none of it really truly worked as much as me just being patient and getting to know MY hair more and let me tell you why! 

• While YouTube and Instagram are great resources for those who need information, inspiration and are just getting started, it can truly give you a false depiction of your hair while also giving you false hope. So much of the YouTube videos I watched or Instagram accounts I followed were done so in envy of the girl on the other side of the screen. I wanted my curls just like hers and I wanted them now, until I realized, I cannot look to others for how my hair will look.

• I think YouTube is a great starting point to get anyone started in what to expect, how to take care of natural hair, how to do protective styles and styles that will help train you curls (twist outs, braid outs, flat twists, Bantu knots, etc.) but I believe at some point, it can become discouraging. My advice would be to use YouTube as a way to learn but not a way to envy! I encourage any transitioning girls, naturals or even girls thinking to go natural to use YouTube wisely and more importantly, learn your curl pattern and strive for YOUR good hair days and try to replicate those, not necessarily the curls you see on the big scree

• Another thing which I fell victim to was buying products that were popular, commonly used by natural hair bloggers and vloggers (video blogging) and/or products others suggested because they worked liked magic for them. I am not saying it is bad to take suggestions and recommendations because honestly trials and error is good, how else will you know what works or not, but I would recommend that you don’t go through this trial and error process blindly. Do not expect what works for someone else to automatically work for you. You can get caught up in buying all the popular expensive products some people recommend without realizing it may not be helpful for your curl pattern. I STRONGLY encourage you to learn what each ingredient, or at least the most potent ingredients do for your hair. Do not just buy products blindly. Research what you are putting in your hair because you can honestly be wasting your time. Read more about how neglecting to research a product caused me to essentially waste 2 months of progress and lots of money on my post “The Secret Behind Silicones” in my All Things Hair tab.

So if you’re thinking about transitioning, currently transitioning or already natural, hopefully my story and these few tips are helpful to you in some way! While my initial reason for going natural was because of a climate change, I fell in love with my hair, embraced the meaning behind accepting yourself for who you are and in the process have shown my daughter the importance of loving your natural beauty; it doesn’t get any better than that! 

As always, comment, subscribe, and share!

~xoxo Ash

How to Survive the Interview?

I was interviewed for Ross University in May 2015 for the May 2016 cycle. First off, let me explain the timeline of how things occurred.

• I submitted my application and all supplemental material by second week of April 2015
• I received an email invitation for an interview by the first week of May 2015
• Interviewed for Ross University School of Medicine first week of June 2015
• Received my acceptance email end of June 2015

So why aren't I in school now you ask? Well I asked to defer my acceptance to August 2016 in order to finish my AmerCorps service and earn another $6,000 grant for school...So now that I got that timeline out the way and it will help give some of you an idea of how long things typically take, let’s talk about the interview. The interview was about 1 hour long and the questions which were asked were specific to me and my application and resume.

A few questions which were asked included:

• Can you tell me more about your research you did in undergrad?
• What did you learn working/shadowing in the hospital?
• How do you believe working/shadowing in a hospital helped you validate your decision to pursue a career as a physician?
• It seems like you worked a lot while attending undergrad, do you understand that may not be possible for medical school? How do you then plan to finance your education and cost of living?
• What type of family support do you have while you will be attending medical school?
• In your personal statement, you mentioned…can you explain more about that? (so remember what you wrote, don’t make anything up and be sure your response is genuine)
• I noticed on your transcript you did not do as well on … what do you believe went wrong? How do you think you could have changed your study habits in order to get a better grade? What would you do different next time?
• How did you prepare/study for the MCAT?
• Despite being a Caribbean school, why Ross?

Some questions I asked were:

• What type of administrative support does Ross offer during clinical rotations?
• What is the process of choosing/attaining clinical rotation spots?

Much of the interview was spent, her getting to know me on a more personal level and going through my transcript, personal statement and resume with a fine toothed comb. The interviewer seemed very interested and satisfied with my in-depth thought out answers and mentioned that she could tell I have contemplated on my past years and undergrad and truly have thought about how approach medical school. If you want to rock the interview, just be yourself, know what you wrote on your resume and personal statement and be able to explain any hiccups in your academics; explaining how you have grown, without making any excuses. And don’t forget to send your interviewer a thank you note/card!!

As always, comment, subscribe, and share!

~xoxo Ash 

        It goes beyond the high paying salary...

Twelve years of college, on-call hours and potentially very little work-life balance are all factors which can deter many people from pursuing a career in medicine but I knew since I was 10 years old that I wanted to be a doctor. At the time, many people probably just took this as a young kid reciting the most popular response when asked “what do you want to be when you get older?”, except my answer never changed and from the time I was 13 years old, everything I did in school was aimed at helping prepare me for this profession.

While I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, I have a love for many other things such as writing, teaching others, solving real life ethical problems and sometimes acting as a therapist or social worker to others lol. I have never found any job which gives me the opportunity to work with people on a holistic level and allows me to incorporate not only my academic skills but my interest as well. Where I look to write, I have the opportunity to engage in cutting edge medical research and publish scientific articles, where I look to engage in philosophy and ethics, I get to work through medical ethical dilemmas in this career, when I have that urge to teach, I am fortunate enough to teach my patients about the importance of having a primary care provider, the prevention of chronic disease and how to better care for themselves and their children, while simultaneously being a trusting person my patients will be able to confide in; and when I need that biological fix because as a science junkie, I am always amazed by the complexity of the human body, I will forever be surrounded by my love of biology and science.

While I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, I did not always know what type. After graduating high school, I was sure I wanted to be a pediatrician, until I began working in a daycare and realized I do not enjoy working with children of all ages. Then it changed to a Neonatologist, because I am fascinated with abnormalities and diseases, but then I realized I cannot deal with death so frequently as I would have had to. I am not able to be completely detached from my job emotionally and working in the neonatal intensive care unit would break me down emotionally.

It was through my Community HealthCorps AmeriCorps public service at the Syracuse Community Health Center where I found my niche. My service assignment was a Community Health Educator specializing as a Women’s Heath Ambassador. Here is where I developed a passion for advocating for the care of women, especially those in underserved populations. I realized that women are not only treated unequally in corporate America but in medicine as well. I have developed a fire in me which burns to ensure that ALL women, regardless of race or socioeconomic class receive the best quality care. Women are often times the backbones of families and while taking care of everyone else, forget to care for themselves. I cannot wait to take my experience as a Community Health Educator and apply it to my clinical care as I study to become an OB/GYN. I have recognized the importance of primary care; teaching individuals the importance of seeing a doctor on a regular basis, as opposed to using the ER as their doctor’s office. And the great thing is, not only do I get to work in primary care but I still get to indulge in my fair share of infections and diseases dealing with STIs, which are sexually transmitted infections, formally referred to as STDs (I know, you probably think I’m gross but hey, someone’s gotta do it). I know that the passion I have is God given and I cannot wait to change lives, one woman at a time.  

As always, comment, subscribe, and share!

~xoxo Ash