Sometimes, life gets hard and people lose sight of themselves. However, I feel like there are moments in life that makes us more conscious of the fact that we are humans and we’re trying out best. These moments are very special and unique and some of the ones I was able to come up with included:

1. Living in the moment with my friends without being on our phones (especially with loud laughters)
2. Traveling with my family to places we’ve never been to before and bonding during the trip
3. Partaking in an activity that makes me or someone else feel like we matter like volunteering, leading/helping a group of ppl, etc
4. Feeling an intense emotion like frustration, nostalgia, hunger, etc
5. Doing something spontaneous with friends regardless of how big or small
6. Staying up very late whether it’s for work or other personal reasons and realizing what time it is
7. Attending a big event like graduation, weddings, etc where you see so many people with their own lives all connected somehow
8. Having a deep, emotional talk with other people when these difficult subjects naturally come up
9. Showing affection with hugs, kisses, rubbing someone’s back for comfort, etc
10. Taking care of others when they need it or checking up on someone out of concern and genuine curiosity

Since the project I am on is the Sickle Cell Diagnostics team, the people we are engaging with are the locals in Sierra Leone. The goal of our project is to create an inexpensive test strip that can accurately and effectively test for Sickle Cell Anemia in youths so they can recieve the proper health treatment they need. Sierra Leone has a high mortality rate for children with SCA so we want to lower that number by creating this device that can identify the problem. I believe the proper way we should engage is in a professional and respectful manner. We should understand their culture and their current way of dealing with SCA before proceeding with implementation of our project. It is important that we don’t do something that is against or disrespects their culture because if they are the target audience of our device, it is key that we treat them well. If they are opposed to something we do that is critical to our mission, the next best steps to take is to try to educate and negotiate with them on why we did what we did. Any project without mutual respect is hard to successfully accomplish if it is even possible.

We should engage because the high child mortality rate is a big issue that can be solved. It is a problem that is solved in other countries and I believe that should be the standard we strive towards. Lives are being lost when there is a way we can prevent this and I believe that is more than enough of a reason as to why this project is important and why it exists. I want to engage in this project because I want to contribute to something that matters to thousands and maybe even millions of people one day. It would be incredible to see the time and effort I dedicate to this project pay off in the future. I feel like my reasons can also be seen in my list of things that make me feel human such as numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10. Throughout this project, there will probably be numerous times where I feel confused, stressed and frustrated. These are the challenges I should be concerned about. I am only a first year on the project so I am still familaring myself with the specific biological concepts that is involved with the project. They are complex and especially now, I am working on trying to fully comprehend the way our test strip works. As a result, I’m sure there are going to be times in the future where we will stumble across a problem and have no clue on how to solve it. Other challenges can include on how to get this test strip to work as effectively as possible, how to incorporate it into Sierra Leone and how to overcome the language barrier. Along with challenges, there are also opportunities to keep an eye out for. Opportunities like chances to work alongside local health professionals and ways to communicate with locals on the topic is important too!

Moving onto the final question, I would want my epitaph to just say something that would prove I meant something to someone. I would like to think that it would say that I was a good person who cared about others but only time can tell.