This summer, I conducted my independent project supported by the Bristol Scholarship. As part of my project, I returned to Madrid, Spain, where I studied abroad last fall, to conduct a theory and field study of social memory and the inheritance of cultural trauma in the (re)construction of Spanish national identity.
Here at Hamilton, while I have concentrated in biochemistry/molecular biology and Hispanic studies, it seems that my passions have expanded into fields I could have never anticipated. My passion for anthropology has developed alongside a passion for biophysics and while I have planned to go to medical school for years now, these two new interests, which signal a significant shift in my worldview, lead me to question many things about my life and what I truly want to dedicate myself to.
In other words, now more than ever, I’m going through what I can only describe as an intellectual awakening, where new horizons are opening in directions that I never thought possible and that I could have never planned for. So what my independent project represents is a chance to explore these passions freely, without being held back by the demands of a pre-med and basic science path. It has shown me the joy of thinking freely…I can assure you that there is nothing more beautiful than this, although I believe my fragile words to fall short.