FAQ

If you have a question that isn't answered here, send me it using my contact form!

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

I'm from Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, the site of Shays' Rebellion, and the home of Dr. Seuss! And a lot of more dreary things (like making the FBI's Top 25 most dangerous cities list) that just make me more proud of where I come from.

WHAT COLLEGE DID YOU ATTEND?
I went to Smith College (go Smithies)!! For those who haven't heard of it, it's an all women's liberal arts college, one of the original Seven Sisters, and just all around awesome. I went because 1) they gave me a full ride, and 2) they had amazing science faculty and opportunities there that were readily available even to first years (you can read a little more about my mentorship here). Would 100% recommend to anyone ever considering it and I'm always happy to talk about Smith!

HOW DID YOU GET TO HARVARD MED SCHOOL? ANY ADVICE FOR PRE-MEDS?

That's a long, long story, but suffice it to say I had many unexpected experiences with death and suffering from an early age, and soon realized that a lot of it had to do with our socioeconomic status and background. And I wasn't ok with that. Eventually I realized I was good at science (thanks to one teacher, read more here), I loved it actually, and then I knew I had to be a doctor and listen to and help those patients it seemed no one else could hear. How did I end up at Harvard? Luck, a really good story, a good personality (although I'm a little biased), and a hell of a lot of hard work. My advice for those of you interested in med school? Learn how to manage your time - it's the most important thing we have and we never seem to have enough of it. Shadow as many doctors as you can to find out if you like it, and don't get stressed! I like to look up at the stars now and then and remember how meaningless my life really is in the grand scheme of things (the stars put everything in perspective). That might sound horrible, but it really helps me stay grounded and stress-free so that my life can be meaningful and I can help people! Medicine and the path to it isn't for the faint of heart, so learning how to deal with stress early on is critical to success (or at least to happiness). Check out the medicine section of the blog for more on all things med school!

HOW DO YOU MAKE TIME FOR ALL OF THE STUFF YOU DO? 

I always write down everything that needs to get done (keeping it all in your head will drive you crazy), and plan my days accordingly. I also don't sweat the small stuff, and don't feel the need to be perfect. A lot of students study for hours and hours and don't sleep or take care of themselves, thinking they need to sacrifice a few years of their life to get where they want to be. I work hard, but I'd be pretty pissed if I died tomorrow and spent all my time working and putting my life on hold. And my own experiences in life have taught me that tomorrow really isn't promised. So I live with that in mind ;)

HOW DID YOU AND N MEET?
We actually met while interviewing for med school at Columbia, and then again at Harvard's revisit weekend. We were just friends for the start of medical school until a friend knocked some sense into us (thanks Kev)! Read more of our story and our wedding details here. 

WHAT IS YOUR ETHNICITY?

I'm Puerto Rican and African American.

HOW OLD ARE YOU?
I'm 29 :)

WHEN DID YOU HAVE YOUR KIDS? 
I had Liv in between third and fourth year of medical school during my research year (read more here). I had Elli during intern year (read more here) and Ro towards the end of my first year of advanced dermatology training (so 2013, 2015, 2017).

WHEN WOULD YOU RECOMMEND HAVING KIDS?
Honestly, I think people place WAY too much emphasis on when to have kids. Granted, it's a huge decision and not one that should be taken lightly, BUT, guess what people seem to forget? The next 18+ years of actually raising a child!!! So while there may be times it may or may not be easier to be *pregnant* and take some time off for maternity leave, nothing gets much easier after kids. So the most important thing is having a supportive partner, and being ready for anything. Having kids changes your life and was the best decision I ever made. But honestly there's no good time to have them (at least in medical training). The best time for me personally was during medical school since that is when we were most flexible and had fewer responsibilities - but many people don't have a partner at that time. It also means that the rest of your training you'll have a kid (read some study tips for moms here). Residency is doable but the schedule gets tighter and you feel more pressure to be back to work given the strain on your colleagues because of your absence. Fellowship all depends on what you do for fellowship, but for most this isn't a great time since it's such a focused period of training, so missing even a couple of months makes a big difference (most are only 1 or 2 years). As an attending (i.e., finally "on your own") you come to learn that you still aren't in much control of your time and still have to figure out when is best to go out on maternity leave. And by this time most people on the traditional medical route (I didn't take much time off) are already into their 30s and over.

WHO TAKES CARE OF YOUR KIDS WHEN YOU'RE AT WORK?
We've done every form of childcare imaginable - from a small home daycare, to a large daycare, to a full-time nanny, to N's mom living with us for almost 1 year (intern year), and now we have all 3 at the same daycare/preschool (they have classrooms for 3 months up to 5 years). The school is INCREDIBLE - sends daily emails, provides snacks and meals for the kids, do activities, have flexible hours including after hours and have video monitoring that I can access on my phone and peek in on the girls any time of the day. It's not cheap, but for me it's more than worth it. We also have a babysitter who helps out some mornings if I have to be in particularly early or for date nights, etc. She's a lifesaver. It takes a village, for sure, and it's always harder when that village is made up of "paid" help versus family, but you make it work! If you have family nearby that's probably the easiest solution, but especially in medical training, that's not always possible!

HOW DID YOU PAY FOR CHILDCARE IN MEDICAL SCHOOL? AND A WEDDING?
If you want to be financially responsible you should probably scroll past this topic to the next one and listen to your financial aid advisor. Still reading? Alriiggghtt... I went to undergrad on a full ride (full scholarship) so have absolutely no debt from college. But for medical school, the truth is that you cannot work while in school (some people do during first year), so loans are where all of my money came from. I was lucky in that I was awarded large scholarships from my undergrad and from Harvard, but everything else was still allll loans. I have hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay back. Childcare? Loan money. Out low-budget wedding? Loan money and my parents. Just keeping it real.

Now that I'm actually working as a resident, it's honestly not enough to pay for our rent and childcare for three kids. But thankfully my blog has blossomed into something more than I could have every imagined and the extra income I make on here allows me to pay the rest of our monthly bills. But we've still got tons of loans to pay back. Would rather pay them off sooner rather than later, but I also want to take vacations with the girls etc, so we use more of our money for now. We'll both be making exponentially more money once we finish residency and that's when I'll start worrying about paying back loans. 

WHO TAKES YOUR PICTURES?

For outfit pictures it's either my husband or my tripod :) Our schedules are pretty hectic though, so I'm always amazed when we have time to even think about a mini photoshoot! All other pics I take, many (sadly) on my iPhone (iPhone 7plus) 

WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DO YOU USE?

I use a Canon Rebel T2i or my iPhone. For iPhone editing (ie, to put on Instagram) check out this post I wrote!

HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR COLLAGES?

I don't own Photoshop or any of the expensive programs,  I actually just use Pages for Mac and put collages together - it's very user friendly!  Let me know if your interested in more and maybe I can do a tutorial post!