Why stop there?

  Enters the room, and it's no longer the same A chill in the air, but also a flame. Don’t dare go close, you'll burn or you’ll freeze! So very serious, full of mystery, yet also a tease. Every step, every word, every glance -  Is a personal challenge, so plan well in advance. The best of the best don’t have even a clue, What force of nature is in store for you. You think you’re brave enough to look it straight in eyes?  There’s the fire again, and there’s the ice. Mustered the courage to meet that look halfway? Better think twice, there’ll be a price to pay. While you’re near you’re kindly asked to deliver, To meet expectations Down your spine goes a shiver It would be wise if you chose to comply Don’t speak too much truth, but don’t tell a lie.  If you play by the rules, you might be spared But never dare be unprepared If it doesn’t destroy you, it will make you strong If you refuse to be weak, it will help push you along. What is this storm, this light, Of nature ...

“It’s just how things work out When you try and you push Overcoming self-doubt."   What is magic? “It’s just a lucky coincidence That came from hard work, And therein lies its significance."   What is magic? Some would say: “It’s just an event with low probability” Too frightened to accept the possibility That maybe, just maybe, it is so much more explained neither by logic nor reason, Nor by the minds of great thinkers that came before.   What is Magic? I don’t presume to have a perfect explanation, But it much more than just my wild imagination When I say that magic’s all around And it is always there to be found.   It’s a feeling you treasure so deep inside That no one could take from you No matter how hard they tried, It’s a secret you carry around in your heart That takes you through anything when the world falls apart, It’s a decision to hear what the rest would ignore A choice to believe that comes fr...

 A step, only one, is all it takes to start. A single step And just like that, Before you know it You’re walking a path that was not there before In front of you now, hard to ignore. It’s not very clear, not well defined You might have to walk some parts of it blind. Perhaps very winding, Certainly long But you need to keep stepping and travel along. At times you’ll feel scared “What if I fall? Will I end up crawling or will I walk tall? Will it lead me to where I always wanted to go?  Could I run fast, or should I tread slow? Is this path the right one, do I belong? Here just for a day or is it lifelong?” No one can tell you - it’s for you to find out What walking it means, what it will bring about. Despite all the doubts, Deep down you know  That walk it you must, How else will you grow? Who else if not you? When else if not now? Breath in, take one step and find out how. V. Azarov

I still remember the car ride home after dropping my dad off at the airport at the end of his visit one fateful day in early January 2020. The day of the "life-changing decision", as I like to dramatically refer to it. Suddenly I broke down in tears, knowing that this was happening – I had made up my mind then and there after a lifetime of waiting and believing it to be out of reach. How do you go about it? Where do you even start? How do you get accepted to medical school with four kids, with zero science background and insufficient finances to support the costs of such an endeavor? How would we make it work as a family? All I knew back then was that I had to try no matter what. It was then or never. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life regretting not giving it a shot. It was an enormously difficult decision, but one that my husband and mother-in-law wholeheartedly supported. They knew what it meant to me. And it meant the world. At the time, I had been livin...