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After leaving DC, we spent one night in Philadelphia and then headed into Connecticut. Our place in Philly was very unique and spacious, and the owner of the Air BnB was kind and hospitable.

We arrived at around 1pm on Wednesday and set out on our journey to downtown. We took the train, and after one sprinting confusion about Eastbound vs Westbound, we figured everything out. Before we left for the trip, Bella reached out to the curator at the Fabric Workshop and Museum downtown, and he had a coworker give us a full tour of the museum, including not only the exhibition but also the studio and working spaces. I was really impressed by the current exhibition on display, which related to how bodies are represented by and interact with fabric. We also bought cute pins and finger puppets but left them at the bar we ate dinner at. 😦

We went to a local bar for happy hour, a recommendation from the museum staff. We got some really good burgers and fries for just $10 each. We then stopped by two of my favorite stores, Nordstrom Rack and Buffalo Exchange, on the way back to the Air BnB, where I got a cool vest that I’ve been wanting from my favorite brand, Free People, for half off and a pair of pajama pants from Urban Outfitters, also for half off. We finally headed back to our place and took a very refreshing shower. We actually stayed awake until 11:30pm that night, which I think is actually our latest night of the trip. Philly was a fun day trip, but I’m not sure I’d ever want to live there or spend more than a few days there.

The next morning, we walked a few blocks to a local coffee shop and split a bagel. I got an iced latte with raspberry syrup, and it was one of the best coffees I’ve had in a while. We then headed back to the Air BnB to quickly pack and try to get through NYC traffic before rush hour. However, once we began our drive, we realized that the federal holiday meant that many people were off work and instead taking day trips. Our 3.5 hour drive was about 5 hours, but we eventually made it, and the Connecticut part of the drive was absolutely beautiful, with bright green trees and blue skies the whole way. We didn’t stop until we got to CT, but it was cool to see the NYC skyline, too. In the Northeast, they have these cool service areas that resemble rest areas, right off the interstate, but they have gas pumps and different fast food restaurants all in one convenient cluster. On this drive, I also watched my brand new sunglasses fly off of the hood of my car onto the interstate, as I realized I sat them up there to get the bikes onto the bike racks before we left. I have taken a few sad losses this trip indeed.

Our place in CT is beautiful. The neighborhood is similar to neighborhoods in old North Knox, with nice sidewalks, flowers, etc. The Air BnB host lives here with her daughters, all who are extremely kind, happy, and welcoming. We decided to ride our bikes to downtown New Haven for dinner, and we went to a place called Barracuda, recommended to us by the host. I don’t know what I expected New Haven to be like, but it was certainly more of a city vibe than I thought it would be. Regardless, the food–a chicken quesadilla and short rib tacos–was really good, and we biked the 4.8 miles back to our room after cleaning our plates. Once we got back, I went on my 2.5 mile run, and Bella rode around on her bike beside me through the different neighborhoods. We ran through a sprinkler near the end, and it was the best feeling in the world. I am so excited to make it to the ocean in the next few days.

Although I hate getting sweaty and tired, I’ve really started to appreciate the relief of the nice shower I get to take after. However, it seems that while these areas are humid and hot, Cape Cod’s weather is much cooler and drier in comparison. Next week, the hottest day in Cape Cod is 79º, while in DC, it is 98º. Maybe not beach weather, but certainly amazing biking and farmers market shopping weather.

Tomorrow, we are planning on finding a local coffee shop (we ran out of homemade espresso until we make it to Provincetown, so we are using it as an excuse to see the coffee scenes) and then going to the various Yale museums, including an art museum and a museum of natural history. I also want to have time to go to some of the museums in Mystic, CT, so we’ll probably get on out of here after our museum visits. I can’t believe we’re actually in the Northeast; everything seems so similar yet so different to the South. I’m really grateful for this entire trip and the opportunity to spend each day just moving with my body and meeting my needs.

Although we were in bed by 10pm each day, DC was a lovely city to spend the first 4 days of our trip in. We arrived in the evening on Sunday and were greeted by the Air BnB host’s cat, Pluto. We never actually met our host, but Pluto meowed at our door each morning to share our turkey bacon. The room was spacious and comfortable, and the area we stayed in was beautiful. I took a 3 mile run right after we arrived but ended up running the 1.5 miles back to the place in the pouring rain. It was still a nice run, and I took some pictures of the lovely neighborhood.

We ate chicken salad and homemade ranch with cut celery and carrots on the road, and that night, we had sautéed vegetables and turkey sausage. The next morning, we ate mango pineapple chia seed pudding, with a coconut milk and greek yogurt base. We also had turkey bacon, marinated cucumbers, and an iced honey latte. I also made us ground beef and pesto pasta to take for lunch each day. On the first day of the conference, I found a group of friends to sit with, and we had nice conversation. One of them teaches at Colorado University; another goes to Stanford. Others had just gotten their bachelors, masters, and even one phd. Everyone had different research and career interests, and it was nice to go through the conference with their varying perspectives.

My favorite part of the first day was hearing from Shelley Hearne, DrPH, MPH, professor at Johns Hopkins and author of a public health policy engagement book. We talked about how to find areas of common interest even amongst policymakers with different political stances.

Bella met me at the conference center for lunch in between her museum visits, and we biked to dinner after the conference. We found a happy hour pizza special and got 2 yummy slices of pizza before biking 2 miles back to our place. It was extremely humid, so needless to say, we immediately showered when we got back, and we were in bed soon after.

The next day of the conference was also really enjoyable. We decided to take the bus instead of biking, as we decided that there is far too much honking in DC. The second day was even better than the first. We heard from Justin Jones, who spoke about the importance of advocacy and representation in healthcare and politics. He was the only speaker to receive a standing ovation the entire event. We also got to hear from various experts, including Dr. Alexander from Johns Hopkins, who spoke about the importance of storytelling in public health, alongside lawyers, directors of different public health organizations, and an expert on AI technology and HIV. I was very excited to ask her a question related to my research. I made a lot of connections at the conference and look forward to presenting my research at the annual conference in November.

Once the day was over, we walked about a mile to a local indian restaurant to meet Bella’s mom’s friend, who worked in Health and Human Services for 30+ years. We had a lot of rich conversations about the field and various other things, and I also look forward to staying with her in November. She was extremely warm, welcoming, and excited to talk about public health.

We finally rode the bus back to our place and fell asleep super early. I don’t remember the last time I slept so early in the night, but I had 2 very full days. We were planning on looking at some museums the next morning but decided to try and evade some of the traffic and get on into Philly. We still hit tons of traffic leaving, but I’m glad we went on. My time in DC was incredible, and I can’t wait to be back.

PS: No one told us about the street sweep on Monday for which we did not see the sign, so we got a nice $45 parking ticket. A nice souvenir indeed.

Good morning! I’ve had such a busy few days, but I finally have some time to sit out in the sun and reflect. It’s been so nice to finally have some sunshine.

Last week, I really just went to class, worked out, did homework, cleaned, and went to bed. I’ve been enjoying my classes, and I think they’re all balancing each other really well. If I get tired of one thing, I can just move to the next pretty easily. They’re all quite different. Here’s a short summary of all of them.

Reading Education: This class is my online one, and it’s pretty easy. Each week, we just have one assignment that comes from our different reading materials and then one discussion post where we talk to our peers about the material. Last week, I started both of our textbooks. One of them is about the importance of recognizing adolescents’ individual assets, cultures, strengths, etc. and giving them individualized spaces to excel. The book is written by 5 different elementary educators from all over the US. The other book is about non-traditional reading education that strays from “textbooks” or reading workbooks and instead uses chapter books or other books. It emphasizes the importance of allowing students to actually enjoy reading instead of asking them to gear learning towards multiple choice answers. I remember my first grade teacher using my library account to check out chapter books from the library for me and then giving them to me in class. I read these while other students read the textbooks, and I learned to really love reading. I think that this model is helpful for young readers, especially because education is moving away from reading paper books at all.

Calc: We just worked on inverse trig, which I remember not at all enjoying in high school, and now, we’re doing right triangle trig. I’m keeping up, though, and I feel supported in the class. I’ve done well on the homework, and it doesn’t take me too long. The class also goes by fast, and I like my group that I sit with.

Microbiology: I also enjoy this class. The professor moves through the slides pretty quickly, so I have to do a lot outside of class to keep up. We’re learning basic principles right now such as processes of microbial growth, classes of microbes, binary fission, pioneers of micro, etc. Our first exam is on 2/14, and we have two built-in study days before then. I also plan on making a study group with other people in the class and reaching out to our graduate teaching assistant for help studying. I think Maddie will also help me study a lot.

Politics of Latin America: This class is one of my favorites. The professor is very knowledgable, and I knew next to nothing before the class started. We’ve spent the last few classes working through the history of the continent starting in the 1800s but mostly focusing on the different decades of the 1900s. We’ve looked at their imperialist relationships, corporatism, and the shifts in their economies and militaries. We have a map quiz on Friday, but I studied pretty well and can label all of the countries and capitals. I just have to look at the geographical features like the mountain ranges and trade ports. I really like that the professor just talks and writes notes on the whiteboard. It’s harder for me to learn with digital slides.

Global Health: This class is the one with my mentor, which I have enjoyed a lot. We did an article study on the different trends and measures of success in global health throughout history. It’s definitely true that the US has a poor healthcare system despite their spending, which is for many different reasons. First, we pay doctors a lot and have a heavily expensive pharmaceutical industry, which I worry will continue to get worse in the next few years. On top of that, we don’t have a lot of coverage for working classes, so healthcare is a larger commodity/privilege than it is in other countries. Many families stay in debt their entire lives over medical bills. Medicare and Medicaid are helpful, but we need more widespread coverage for those types of programs. The common conception is that increasing funding for preventive healthcare (such as regular checkups, screenings, vaccine clinics, etc.) will spike costs even more, but Public Health experts have found the opposite to be true. Countries who funnel more money into programs that better the health of the entire population, which includes making care more financially accessible, find that they spend less money on healthcare because it is cheaper to prevent disease than it is to cure or manage it. That was the focus of the comparative Healthcare class that I took with my mentor last semester. We looked at countries like Canada, Sweden, the UK, Germany, India, and many others with forms of National Health Insurance plans or socialized medicine. They typically all had better health outcomes than we do.

Poetry: My poetry class has been really fun and also not challenging. We go through workshops and poems each day and find underlying themes and then write poetry responses to generative prompts. We can also send him one poem a week for feedback, but I’ve been so busy that I haven’t gotten to write much in my free time.

I’ve also been working out a lot and doing kickboxing. I really like the instructor a lot, and I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the different moves. It’s also gotten easier, and I don’t have to stop to get water so much.

My trip to Nashville was super fun, even though the hotel was pretty expensive. We ate some good food, found a cool sweater at a thrift store, and enjoyed walking around the city. It was a nice getaway.

We went to this nice restaurant and split a bunch of different dishes. We got an appetizer that had ricotta cheese, some type of vegetable mixture, and flatbread. We then split a pesto gnocchi pasta dish, a chicken bowl, and a salmon bowl. We finished with a brownie that had miso in it, which gave it a really cool, slightly crunchy outside. It was all super good.

This week, I’m just working on keeping up with classes and going to the gym. We kickboxed last night. Today, I’m spending time hanging out outside, going to my public health class, and then joining my poetry class from my hammock on the lawn. I also got my kindle in, so I’m going to set that up later.

Sorry for not making many posts! I will be bringing up some Buddy’s later on and will sit and chat with you. I love you!

Happy Sunday! I’ve had a lovely, restful weekend.

On Friday, I went to my 3 classes and took lots of notes. I also stopped by the bookstore to buy a few pens and notebooks. I got some pens with glitter in them, so my notes are very fun to take now. I also got a notebook with graph paper inside so that I can make concept maps for my microbiology class. Before I went to class, I went by Karm and thrifted some really neat vintage sweaters. One of them has perfume bottles embroidered on it, and the other one has animal print. Dressing up for my classes has made me feel more motivated, and it always sparks conversation with my classmates.

On Friday night, I went back through my biology lecture to make a concept map. I have figured out that if I read the textbook before class, type quick notes and focus on listening to my professor during lecture, and take more detailed notes using the lecture slides after class, I actually retain a lot of information.

In biology, we learned about some of the founders of microbiology and important technological innovations that still contribute a lot to the field. We also learned about Florence Nightingale and her contributions. I had heard about her but did not realize that she was the first figure to use statistics in biology. She made a pie chart to show that her military patients during the Crimean War were dying from infections in their wounds more than they were dying from their actual wounds. This showed that there was a need for sanitation, and efforts to create sterile environments after that lowered death rates drastically.

In my Latin American politics class, we looked at different maps of Latin and Central America throughout history, beginning with the Mayan, Incan, and Aztec Empires. We also looked at maps of their natural resources, major exports, border redistributions, and tons of other factors that add perspective to their history and wars.

On Saturday, I went to the gym with Alicia and Bella and worked on legs. I then went to Potchke, the Jewish restaurant near the Mill and Mine, and got a soup made of beets, dill, and other seasonings and a salad with lemon and oil.

I worked on a global health essay, which was a reaction paper to an article we were assigned to read. It was around 20 pages, but it was easy to read and digest. The article discussed the different definitions of success in global health throughout time periods and the importance of context in defining successes and failures. In the middle of the 19th century, sanitary conferences were formed between countries, which was considered successful for the time because of the movements towards international cooperation in preventing disease spread. After that, the institutionalization of global health, especially with the creation of the Rockefeller Foundation, was the main success. In the 1950s, the bureaucratization and formalization of global health, with the formation and funding of the World Health Organization, was a large success for the mid-late 20th century. The author of the article also argued that the eradication of Smallpox was used to push certain political agendas which overlooked the need for poverty reduction and healthcare access, but current global health scholars are emphasizing the importance of preventive healthcare, which includes greater access to healthcare, healthier living conditions, access to fresh produce and clean air, and social resources.

Saturday evening, Bella and I went over the Brooke’s apartment. Brooke was my roommate last year and is from Michigan. She lives in The Henley, an apartment complex on the road that goes behind the Dunkin Donuts on Chapman Highway. I made us buffalo chicken wraps with slaw, and we sat on her couch and talked for a while. She is in 17 hours of pre-PA classes, so she’s staying really busy. She also adopted her boyfriend’s dog, Curly. Curly is a pitbull mix and is so sweet.

This morning, I met Madeline at the climbing gym with Bella, and we climbed a few routes. The routes are graded based on their difficulty, and I’m currently working on 5.10a, which is the first grade of route in the moderate category. I’ve only ever climbed 3 routes that high of a grade, and today I climbed my first one that was on a straight up (rather than slightly leaned in) wall. I fell a few times, but I enjoyed the challenge. I also climbed a few others routes and a 5.10a that I have climbed before. My hands gave out before the rest of my body, so I stopped once I couldn’t grab onto the holds anymore.

After leaving the gym, Bella and I had lunch lunch with her mom and mimi at her house. We had a porch chop, greens, peas, and mac and cheese. Now, we’re both working on homework. I finished my essay, so I am going to finish up my calculus homework for the week and work on my biology readings. Love you!

Bella is in a class with the Knoxville Leadership Foundation, and she went to a dinner Thursday night to meet her mentor, David Butler. David Butler was the Executive Director of the Knoxville Museum of Art until he retired in 2023. She’ll be able to attend meetings with him and learn about the administrative part of art museums. She’s also going to be partnering with the Knoxville Museum of Art for a community project this year. I’m very excited for her and proud of her.

Good morning! Today is the last day of the first week of classes, and I’ve had a great week. Wednesday, I went to my other three classes and enjoyed meeting all of my professors. First, I had “The Development and Decay of Democracy in Latin America.” The professor seems extremely knowledgable, and he said that he would help us write professional papers and distinguish ourselves from papers that the internet can generate. He also speaks 4 languages and has advised White House members. I think that the class will be challenging but rewarding and helpful for grad school.

Next, I went to microbiology, and my professor was as cool as I expected her to be. This class was in a large lecture hall, but I always sit in the front. She was very personable and kind, and she also seemed to know a lot about microbiology. She told us about her research in Antartica and her personal interests. I’m already working through reading the first chapter of the textbook, and it’s not terribly hard to read so far. She showed us a picture of her and the lead author of the textbook. I really like her.

Last, I went to my calculus class. It’s a large room with tables, around 6 people at each table. The instructor seems really nice and like he enjoys teaching. Apparently, most of the students in there had him last semester for the first half of the class. I’ve already completed some of the homework.

I haven’t taken many pictures, but I did see a really pretty sunset a few days ago.

I also booked a boutique hotel for next weekend in Nashville (February 1) because Maddie is going to her friend’s baby shower and wanted me and Bella to come along. I decided to make it a fun weekend trip, so we’re going to stay in this cute hotel, visit the Frist art museum where Bella gets in for free, go to some local thrift stores, and find a nice place for dinner.

Last night, Cole, Bri, and I went to the gym after dinner at Aubrey’s. We did some back focused weights. Once I got home, I cuddled with Whiskey and went to sleep.

This morning, I went to Karm and got some really neat stuff. Here’s a picture of one of the sweaters I found.

I also got some cotton long sleeved shirts with stripes and patterns to layer under sweaters.

Tomorrow, I am going to study at Potchke downtown with Bella and Alicia after we workout.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I went to my first two classes. Before class, we went to the gym early and worked out our core and glutes before cycling for 20 minutes. Both of my classes went really well. I started with Global Health with my mentor, Dr. Shelton, and then came back to Bella’s apartment to join my second class online. My professor, the poet, had to go back home to California, but he meets with us over the computer. I recognized some of my classmates from my two previous poetry classes. Maddie joined us in Bella’s apartment and did her physiology homework while we were in class. Afterwards, we tried to go to the Vol shop to buy school supplies, but they were closed. I used some of my leftover scholarship money to buy a Kindle Paperwhite.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jose-diaz

This is a link to the Poetry Foundation page of my professor.

Maddie went to her last class, which was a human development class, and I worked on some assignments. My online reading education class posted the first week of work, so I answered both discussion boards and did the readings. One of the discussion boards asked us to generate a “six word memoir.” Mine said “It’s worth trying. Might die anyway.” Everyone has always told me that we’re not promised tomorrow, and while I once took that as a reason to live without regard for tomorrow, I now believe that we should simply spend each day becoming the most optimized, joyful version of ourselves. I believe that if the world ended tomorrow, I would feel content with my ambition, motivation, and happiness that I led my days with.

I also worked on my calculus assignment, which was a review from the content we learned last year. I remembered some of it but definitely needed some reminders. I’m excited to meet my calc professor today and find my group of classmates, as the professor wrote his syllabus to indicate a lot of group work and collaborative learning. I also plan on meeting with Dr. Shelton soon to discuss her research project and my grant applications. I’m grateful that I have a class with her so that we can stay in constant touch during our research.

Maddie came back to the apartment after her class, and I cooked dinner for her and Bella. We ate protein pasta with a sauce made of blended steamed broccoli, olive oil, sundried tomato pesto, and garlic. It was very good. We cleaned up Bella’s apartment and then went to bed.

Today, we are meal prepping the rest of our lunches for the week, eating breakfast, ordering some school supplies, and then going to our classes. After our last class, we are going to meet Cole and Bri at the gym for a kickbox class and then meet Mikayla at a taco place on N Broadway for dinner after.

I’m really excited for the semester and feel very motivated to succeed.

Winter break is finally coming to a close, and I’m really excited about the semester. I feel well-equipped to do well in my classes and to take care of myself at the same time.

I’ve had some really fun food this week. Last Sunday, Lisa cooked some salmon, rice, and veggies for lunch. I also made ambrosia salad with some winter fruits.

I went to my first contact kickboxing class with Cole, Bri, and Bella. We all even bought our own gloves. I bought Cole new gloves since the ones that I bought for him at the thrift store had two left thumbs. His new pair is certainly much nicer. It was definitely enjoyable, therapeutic, and tiring, and I look forward to going back next week. We also all four worked out together the next day. We focused on legs and glutes and did some different weights including front squats with the barbell, deadlifts, hip thrusts, and a few others. We’ve also all enjoyed the massage chairs.

I’ve found some neat stuff in the thrift stores this past week, even though I didn’t buy most of it. I think that people have been cleaning out their houses for the new year, so I like finding good deals. My favorite finds have been this cool Baggu brand computer sleeve. It protects my computer while it’s in my backpack. The print that I found is a rare print that isn’t sold anymore. I also found a few neat sweaters, including a red button up vest that layers really well, a festive pepper casserole dish, Adidas Gazelle shoes, and earrings that look like door knockers.

Bella and I visited her dad and his wife in Kingston yesterday. We ate spaghetti and played Spades, which Bella and I lost tragically. I think we ended with -40 points against 380. Her dad’s neighbors also had a litter of puppies. The mom is a white/yellow lab, and the dad is a golden retriever and poodle mix. The puppies are five weeks old. Before we went to her dad’s, I color-coded my closet and packed away some of my summer stuff to make room for my surplus of sweaters. I’m working on the little areas of clutter in my room that bother me before the semester starts so that things stay clean when I get busy.

Now, Maddie, Bella and I are all at the lake house. We packed some food to make dinner tomorrow, and we might go on a hike depending on the weather. If it rains, we will probably go thrifting and then sit on the back porch and watch the rain.

🙂

Before the snow: I stayed pretty busy the last few days. Mom and I groomed Dolly, and I gave her a good bath. However, I found out that she ran through paint and tracked it through the house one day later. I think she still felt a lot better being clean and detangled, though. On the same day, my friend Alicia adopted a cat from Young Williams. Alicia lives on campus in her own dorm and works as an RA. Bella, Alicia and I went to Young Williams to look at the cats, and she saw a long hair Maine Coon mix named “Marilyn” who came in as a stray at the beginning of the month. The shelter said that she was 3-6 years old and still needed to be spayed. After meeting with Marilyn, Alicia decided to adopt her, as she came right up to Alicia and rubbed against everyone. We left to go buy some supplies while the shelter microchipped and vaccinated her. When we got back, they had discovered that Marilyn was a boy and 7 years old. He was also already neutered, so Alicia got to permanently adopt him right then.

They went back to Bella’s mom’s house to give him a bath, and he was super calm and well-behaved. He did not try to run and hide under the bed; he lied on the bed sleeping and pawing at the blankets. His name is Lani, which was given to him before we knew he was a boy. He’s very sweet and happy now.

I also went to the grocery store and stocked up on a lot of essentials, and I went through and organized the entire pantry when I got home.

Since the snow, we have not done much. We saw Maddie the morning it started snowing. We brought her coffee, and she fixed us protein pancakes. She and I went by the KARM in Halls but didn’t find much of anything good. I got a bookmark that looks like a cat for $2. Once the snow started, Bella and I rushed home. We’ve spent most of the last two days reading, playing games, cleaning up the house, cooking, and resting. I’m excited for my classes to start, but I have certainly enjoyed the time off.

I’m about to work on my research training, organize my Google calendar, find some good recipes, and clean out my car. For the next week, I plan on just organizing a lot of little things to prepare for the semester. On Friday, Bella, Maddie and I are going up to the lake house to spend a weekend together and maybe explore a little. We wanted to get away together one time before school. School starts on Tuesday, January 21, the day after MLK day.

I’ve spent a lot of the winter break resting, playing games, and thrifting. Today, my friend, Kennedy, is flying to Spain, so I picked up her dog to spend a few days with her. She’s having a lot of fun playing with Whiskey and Milo. Daisy does not really like her. Tomorrow, mom and I are going to groom her before I drop her off with her temporary family. Austin and Abby (Abby is the coworker who used to live in Sweetwater) are moving into Kennedy’s house and keeping the dog there.

I also went to Mkay’s to buy some books. I bought a book called “Native American Myths and Legends,” one called “The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo,” “The Jetsetters,” and a campfire recipe book that has all one-burner recipes. I also found a book full of prompts for a grandfather to write for his grandchild, and I’m very excited to show it to you.

I will put some pictures of the sweaters that I bought from Karm. I’ve found some really nice clothes lately. I also got a few bracelets and cross-stitch wall art.

Tomorrow, I am going to groom Dolly with mom and then go climbing with Madeline. I am also going to work on my research training. Dr. Shelton sent me information about the American Public Health Association conference in Washington D.C. that is accepting new research abstracts, so I will probably submit our project research for that conference asap.

For the next few days, I hope to go to Bass Pro, find good meal prep recipes, and create a homework assignment organization system.