Reading the poems and the interview that were part of our readings this week reminded me of things that I’ve heard from someone extremely close to myself that have resonated with me. My little sister, Laiba, has […]

The Wounded Storyteller.

Not only wounded physically, mentally,

but wounded in the eyes of society.

The Wounded Storyteller.

He who is unable to tell his own story.

He whose illness has no defined […]

The question of who the human body belongs to is one that has been debated in many different circumstances. This question comes up when evaluating the doctor-patient relationship, as well as in issues of rape, […]

  This week’s reading of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian reminded me a lot of the TED Talk we watched at the beginning of the year, “Don’t Ask Where I’m From. Ask Where I am a local” by Taiye Se […]

Normal

/ˈnôrməl/

adjective: conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

Standards that are put on society are solidified not only in words but also in images and the way that certain things ar […]

We were asked on a Monday morning to write a letter to someone important to us, someone that would appreciate receiving a letter, or someone that was on our minds. Mubeen and I had just returned on Sunday night […]

I am from Q trains,

from colorful Pakistani clothing on weekends,

and black skinny jeans on weekdays.

I am from spicy chicken and rice,

from filet-o-fish and halal carts.

I am from all-night study […]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world. It is also the most publicized and capitalized on in the United States. Pakistan has the highest percentage of both breast cancer patients and deaths caused […]

“There is the ‘fight’ or ‘crusade’ against cancer; cancer is the killer disease; people who have cancer are ‘cancer victims.’” – Susan Sontag in Illness as Metaphor

“While many doctors speak of themselves as […]

Although “normalcy” has been an idea that has existed for centuries, dating back to when eurocentric ideas of beauty took over the initial Greek ideas of idealism, social media and the access to photography and […]

An American Muslim

Dear Attacker,

People say it’s 2019 and that we’ve gotten to a point in society where anyone should be comfortable expressing who they are. So why is it that being Muslim, something tha […]

The idea of “Narrative Medicine” was one that confused me when it was first introduced to us. It seemed as though the program was simply trying to make everything about medicine, whether it actually con […]