The 2017-2018 academic year has been a very eventful one for me, in my opinion. I moved to a new country, started my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience, began preparing for Medical Schools, met a range of different (and great) people, picked up another degree in Finance, and most importantly, I learned a lot. Specifically, I feel like I learned more about life and people. It seems to me that at the end of every academic year, I look back at my younger self and find myself slightly concerned with the brightness of the pink shade of my rose-tinted glasses. Now, that can sound a little depressing, since it implies that as I grow older, wiser, and more realistic, I become more aware of the problems of this world, of which there seems to be many. However, that implication should also come with quite a bit of hope... 
        So, while I do generally find myself looking back with some level of concern, I also like to look forward with hope: hope that I can change in such a way that I can bring change, somehow, to this world. So, for the next academic year, I would like to focus on the complex issue of homelessness. Why? Because it really frustrates me.

        I was always aware of the existence of homelessness, but where I came from (the UAE), I didn't really see any homeless people (which I admit, doesn't mean they didn't exist). After moving here to the United States though, homelessness, in my mind, now has a human face. And it frustrates me. It frustrates me to realize that while I'll be going home each night to a comfortable bed and a warm meal, someone else will not. It really bothers me to know that while I'm sitting in my climate controlled car at the traffic light, on the way to University to receive an education, there is a homeless man or woman on the side of road begging for something, anything. I can never help but think: what if that was me? What would I do? How would I feel? 
        But with such a complex issue, I also find myself wondering where I would even begin to tackle it. As is usually the case with these problems, the answer is to start with some research. I need to learn more about homelessness before I am able to help people experiencing it. The first questions that I would need answers for are ones like: what do the demographics for people experiencing homelessness look like? Where can I go to offer my help? What kind of help can I offer? And what kind of help is actually needed? Now, web searches can teach you quite a bit about complex issues, but you often learn so much more when you immerse yourself in the communities and societies dedicated to fight these problems. I believe that's where I would like to begin this coming academic year. Moreover, I sincerely hope that my hospital volunteer work and my experience with the Children's Cognitive Research Lab this past year have set me up nicely to meaningfully contribute to these communities, because I would love nothing more than to help.