Arden's Garden

I guess that now is a good time to post this update! After scrambling like a madwoman to get letters of recommendation and fill out my applications to both D.O. and M.D. schools (they use different portals: AACOMAS and AMCAS, resp.), I finally got them submitted well in advance. It helps that I was able to submit the applications  before the letters of recommendations were received. I was even able to edit some of the recommenders afterwards. The AACOMAS portal allows for a maximum of 6 letters of recommendation, so I asked 6 people for letters and all 6 agreed to write them, but then 1 person stopped answering all of my emails and calls and never submitted the letter. Oh well. It happens, life happens, and I certainly understand that. However, that person happened to be a science faculty member, and that letter was going to be pretty important! Thank God, I was able to edit that recommendation request on AACOMAS and another science faculty member agreed to write a letter for me! S...

A candle with a scent so familiar and nostalgic but ambiguous, elusive. Where did it come from? What subconscious memory is elicited by such a faint cue? Among the obligations of life, the memory slips away, lost and made preclusive  and I surrender to never recalling the prompt of this momentary déjà vu.  A draft of breeze wafts by, carrying with it a faint essence of a long-forgotten day. Here a second, gone the next, disappearing before my senses place the faint reminder  What occasion was tagged to that smell? I search my mind, but the memory has slipped away and I carry on, creating and logging new moments in my brain's memory binder Once in a blue moon, the memory to which such a fleeting stimulus is connected resurfaces from my subconscious and floods me with such rekindled joy for a time past that I wonder if I knew at the time that the date would leave me so deeply affected or if I realized the experience would, in my soul, be preserved and forever last This conc...

So, Fall/Autumn (yes I'm American, but I think "Autumn" is a prettier word) is right around the corner, so I thought I'd post a collage that I made a while ago. I use this as a background on my laptop, so the dimensions should be decent for that. I made it on PicCollage, using Pinterest pictures.  "As long as the earth endures, seedtime  and harvest, cold and heat, summer  and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22

Oh my word . I am helping my younger sister fill out an application for a summer internship (the high school version of what I did this past summer) and she is asking me the most frustratingly obvious questions.  "What city was I born in?" (We've lived in the same city for our entire lives).  "Am I a dual citizen?" (We've been out of the country only once. We don't have any family or friends outside of the country).  When filling out the addresses for volunteer experiences: "I need to check what country these are in..." (Me, with the last ounce of my patience: "They're all going to be in the United States.")  Yet, when I take a step back and breathe, I realize two important things.  Firstly, when I was her age (15), I asked a lot of dumb questions too. I had to fill out forms every now and again, and I'm sure that my mom was constantly frustrated with me as well.  Secondly, this kind of cluelessness and ignorance is how we al...

This week and past weekend has been a bit difficult, since my sister moved out (the first one of us siblings to do so). My college semester began on Thursday (the 22nd) so I raced to get all the initial "welcome to the course" assignments done that day, for all five classes (my sixth class, that Organic Chemistry Lab, begins mid-September). Then, the very next day (Friday, the 23rd), my entire family piled into our cars and drove north. We stopped for the night (Friday night) then, on Saturday, we helped my sister move into her place, which she is renting with two co-workers. It was a difficult day, especially for my mom. After we said our goodbyes and drove away, we stayed at a place on Saturday night and arrived home later on Sunday afternoon. By that time, I had to unpack and there was no time to do schoolwork. Which...brought me to Monday and oh. my. word. Monday was one crazy day for me. It was definitely made worse by sleeping in late, but then I had the benefit of the ...

My journey to medical school is still ongoing, so I'll explain where I'm at first and then I'll explain how I got here. Currently, I'm working on my applications, which I plan to submit right before October 1st (the first deadline for a few schools). I'm scrambling to get letters of recommendation, which I know I should have been working on for a long time, and I just signed up today for "Organic Chemistry 1 Lab" at a local community college in the hopes that it may improve my chances of acceptance even though it'll be labeled as an "in progress/future" course. I haven't written my Personal Statement yet, so I'm planning to complete that within the next week. On top of all that, I'm still a graduate student, so I have 11 credits of graduate courses to focus on this semester. Does it sound crazy? That's because it is. Look, I'm trying my best. Let me explain how I got here.  Medical school was something I always thought abo...

I've been away all summer, living in Washington D.C. as I completed an internship, but now I'm home and, to be honest, I had forgotten about this blog in all that time. In my defense, I had a lot going on and every day was jam-packed with work, grocery shopping, and then some "me time" in the evening. Actually, that "me time" was more like "me and my sister time". Since my sister works remotely, she decided to move to D.C. with me, split rent, and go into the city in her free time. So, in the evenings, we would binge "Once Upon A Time" or "The Office". It was a great summer.  Anyway, I'm home now! I'm starting another semester of graduate school, applying to medical schools, and enjoying life. I'll be posting updates on my medical school journey, including application stress and backup plans for applying next year if I don't get accepted this time around. To be honest, I'm typing this out at about 10pm, so I...

H arrowing, hollow echo through darkest depths A cross heart and soul bridges abysmal breadth U nder leagues and fathoms pierces mournful cry N ether giants drift, resonate, amplify T heir plaintive, poignant, melancholic refrains I nto vast, stygian, tenebrous domains N avigate solemn sojourns, routes of twilight G racefully glide in melodic marine flight ~ I know it's been a long time since I've posted. Life got hectic. Yet, today I found a moment of time to write, while listening to whale sounds (they help me focus on studying), and I wrote a poem about them. This is an acrostic poem, which means that the first letter of each line makes a word, when put together. 

" Saved " Forgot to hit 'save' on my document. When I clicked out, off it went into the abyss of cyber space. It disappeared without a trace. Left dumbfounded, I can't believe I erased all that I'd achieved. To overlook that one mistake, an awful blunder I could make. I worked so hard! It seems unfair that it all vanished into thin air.  I wish I could go  back in time I could have saved it anytime. The option, offer always there, a simple button prevents despair. No gimmicks, gadgets just a choice. Click it while you have a voice. It's free, no strings. Accept the gift. Save it, bridge the chasmic rift. One decision's  difference ensures your  deliverance. A gift of mercy, grace and love extended by  His hand above. This poem began as a venting poem, out of my anger from not having saved a document I had been working on. However, as I wrote, the idea came to me that this is an allegory for choosing the free gift of salvation from Christ! I love how Go...

"Linen"  Linen draped from ceiling to floor  form flowing rooms and swaying doors. Laughing, screaming, young children play with imagination all day.  First a castle, now submarine the drying sheets fit any scene.  Forest, ocean, abandoned halls, linen corridors, passages, walls.  Children race through, play hide-and-seek they tiptoe, whisper, search, and sneak. Then, with giddy shrieks, race around. Eerie linen obscures, confounds. They tear through sheets, duck under the cloth-draped palace of wonder. The dim-lit drying room allows imaginations to arouse. Drying sheets, so simple and plain yet perfectly can entertain. I was actually lacking inspiration today, so I found a 'random word generator' to try to spark it. The third word it gave me was 'linen', which reminded me of a scene in one of my books where young children play in a laundry room, where sheets are hung up to dry.  I don't know what Bible verse can relate to those poem (LOL) so I'll just...

"Run"   Laces tight, my sneakers pound the concrete track, and the sound spurs me on, thud-thump thud-thump In each stride a little jump Music blaring upbeat songs so three laps doesn't seem long Breathing steady, in and out Running a familiar route Bright sunlight and burning heat I battle and try to beat my record, yet satisfied with working out, having tried Sweat beads, drips, soaks shirt and hair Triumphantly, I don't care Two miles down, one to go Face the wind, my pace grows Aching muscles, ragged breath I got this, a quarter left Ignore the burn, sprint it in Count it as another win Today's poem is pretty self-explanatory. I'm a runner, though not on any teams and certainly not fast enough to compete! Still, I enjoy it, so I had plenty of inspiration to write about it.  Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with ...

Through the Eyes of an Ant highways through crevices in the bark of trees like helicopters are the buzzing of bees single blades of grass and massive trees to climb  crossing just one front yard would take a lifetime a whole city is built beneath one small rock yet the distance around is an hour's walk  to be fed for a month of one slice of bread  when a needle's eye is the size of your head shelter from thunderstorms in an acorn's shell then a raindrop provides as a water well lost and wandering on the page of a book that disrupted the preprogrammed route you took scavenging for food is your only life goal  provide for the colony is your sole role  communicate with antennae and stay in a line one dropped candy piece is a treasured gold mine a crumb of bread, a seed, the wing of a fly cut of a leaf, a beetle, a lizard eye a dried-up earthworm would be rather ideal  though an army is needed to haul the meal  or spend your life exploring one little plant...

About a week ago, I opened my poetry journal (I keep a journal separate for just poetry) and I realized that I had not written a poem since 2021. It's been TWO YEARS. Granted, I've written the two poems I posted on this blog recently, but those I stressed over and perfected (at least, in my mind) - they weren't the real heart and soul of what I consider to be poetry (I'll explain below). I grew up writing poetry. It was my first experience with writing, long before I began longer stories and novels. I even wrote a poem that I recited at a talent show. I had poems published in online anthologies. Poetry was a foundational element of my writing career.  I was shocked that I hadn't written a heart-bleeding poem in two years. True, I'd written other things in that time, but there's something special about 'real' poetry. While novels, books, and stories elegantly weave morals and themes and analogies of real-life struggles, poetry is raw. Poetry is your h...

Waiting (for Guidance) Cross off the days and count the minutes A week, how many seconds are in it? Watch the grass grow and the leaves fall Is this time well-spent or worth nothing at all? Questions loom and I wonder when  I'll find direction, a purpose, and then whether I'll find success or fall to my doom or land in the stars when I shoot for the moon Do I have what it takes? Nerve, courage, and guts? Wisdom, experience, wit, and whatnot? or will I be content to settle for less,  accept any outcome of doing my best? Can I run fast enough to chase lofty dreams? Or will I push too hard that I run out of steam? If I carve my place in the world and forge my own path, will it bring me fulfillment and joy that will last? How do I make decisions so complex and grand? What do I aim for and where do I stand? A blank slate is awesome if you have a clue of who you are and what you want to do. But as for me, I'll keeping waiting and praying each day and trust God will guide me to th...

The most common writing-related complaint I hear, from both people who love writing and those who hate is, is the struggle of writer's block. Oftentimes, the people who hate writing dislike it because of this hassle. "How do I write when I can't think of anything to write about?!" Somedays, the words just won't word themselves. *sigh* I wrote my first manuscript in 2018, 50k words in the 31 days of July, to prepare for NaNoWriMo. I succeeded in doing this. However, before this, I hated writing with a passion. I was an active child and hated to sit still for long. I would barely start writing some assignment my mom (my teacher, since I was homeschooled) required, when my mind would wander and I'd lose all sense of what I was writing about. Yet, when my creativity bloomed and I began needing an outlet for the stories I thought up, I began to consider writing books. A friend suggested this idea and I tried in vain for a while to put words on paper (literally with...

When I was young, I was an outdoorsy, athletic kid who spent every free moment outside, digging in the dirt, climbing trees, and making messes that are so characteristic of and necessary for a child. I discovered how to dump dirt down the playset slide and separate the fine, dart particles, which stuck to the grooves of the slide, from the larger sediment. I would then collect this fine dust, mix it with water, and create 'ink'. Another classic creation of mine was the famous 'mud pie', of which my mother was not so fond. I was always climbing trees, spying on bird nests, and simply enjoying the freedom that could only be found in the high boughs.  However, as I entered my teenage years and discovered the online world, my athletic nature faded significantly. Though still an adventurer at heart, I spent most of my time indoors and, as a result, my physical health declined. Naturally, I put on some weight and my strength was not ideal.  That famous year, 2020, arrived and...

A good writer must have a solid appreciation of others' writings, and I personally love poetry. I took a poetry appreciation course as an elective in college and this poem was my favorite of all the poems we studied.  Firstly, I want to be sure to acknowledge that this poem is the work of Billy Collins, and here is a citation of the website from which I borrowed this poem:  Collins, B. (2002, February). Aimless love by Billy Collins . Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=41392 I like this poem because, when read with an air of melancholy contentment, gives me an appreciation for all the little things in my daily life with which God has blessed me. Though this poem does not mention God specifically, remember as you read it that He alone provides us with every blessing, both great and small. Open your eyes today to see His blessings <3 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

I truly believe that telling your testimony is one of the most important and crucial things you can do as a Christian. Therefore, I want to share my testimony. I tried my best to summarize it, as I can easily write for hours upon hours about my journey to and through faith. However, I may post later with more details or to speak more in depth about certain aspects. I have found that my faith journey, my story, my testimony, can be described as a struggle with doubt, among other things. For the sake of clarity, I am going to follow a sort of outline that helps me stay on topic and effectively share my testimony - an outline with the theme of doubt.  I originally wrote this version of my testimony during my mission trip over this past summer, and I shared it one night each week at chapel. I had a first draft that I used for about half the summer, but then my grandpa passed away and, suddenly, I didn't feel like my first draft was what God wanted me to share the next week. So, I rewro...

Character development is my favorite part of writing, often more rewarding than finishing a book! Having written fourteen books, I have created a lot of characters. Their levels of relatability range from surface-level aesthetic appeal to depths-of-the-soul connection, and this is generally due to how often they appear in the books and the role they play.  When I first started writing, I began character development in a very superficial way. Having had a Pinterest account at the time, I would search for "aesthetic character designs" or "character writing inspiration". This would bombard me with hundreds of pictures of people I didn't know. To be honest, for my first book, I picked an image of a girl I thought was the epitome of beauty and made her the main character, simply based on looks. That aesthetic picture of pink ribbons woven in her curly brown hair is still the first image that pops into my mind when I try to picture her.  However, I give myself grace, ...