Welcome to my blog!
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(Image information: Personal photo of myself from Camp Crimson - July 2016)
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Hi! My name is Sonali Demla, a junior Chemical Biosciences Pre-Dental major at the University of Oklahoma. I grew up in Lawton, Oklahoma with my little sister, little brother, and my dog Danny!
My sister and I currently live together as she also attends the University of Oklahoma, and my little brother is in middle school. We're all really close, but my sister and I are closer than you might think. What do I mean by this? Well, when people ask me an interesting fact about myself, I tell them that my sister and I have the same birthday, except we're one year apart. Yes, an exact 365 days!
Our birthday is actually coming up very soon - January 16th to be exact. It's a nice date because usually it falls on the MLK holiday, so it seems fitting that we get the day off for our birthday. Some people say, "Well, that must suck." I actually enjoy it. I have never been the person to always want the attention just on me, so I actually really like sharing my birthday with my sister. This year I'll be turning 20! It's really young for a junior, but I've come to embrace how young I am especially with the big dreams I have for my future.
As you've read, I'm a Pre-Dental student. I love teeth. I believe that the appearance of your teeth impact your self esteem, and also play a big role in first impressions. I have grown up shadowing my dentist since the 11th grade of high school, and my middle school teacher said that I told her in 7th grade that that was what I wanted to be. So, I guess it's been my desire since I was very young to become a dentist. I'm living the dream right now as I begin to prepare for the upcoming dental application cycle, and I am excited to see what happens.
Besides attending numerous science classes, I am very involved on campus. I currently serve as the Chair for Campus Activities Council (CAC) Howdy Week. Howdy Week is the first week of the Fall semester where we welcome new and returning students to OU's campus with fun events, and free food. It's a great way to connect with others, and leave an impact. I've also been involved with OU's Camp Crimson (as you can tell with the personal photo I've added), President's Community Scholars, LoveWorks Leadership, and more! As you can tell, I love being involved, leading others, and influencing lives. It is a passion of mine.
This summer, I will be combining both my passions (dentistry and impacting lives) as I go on a Global Brigade to Panama. I will be providing dental care to poor kids and families. It will definitely be an amazing experience, and the icing on the cake before I submit my application to dental schools in the United States.
Besides being involved, and taking challenging courses for my major, I spend my free time working out, cooking, and hanging out with my friends. I love food and working out. What a weird mix, right? Believe it or not, I actually used to weigh 40 pounds more than I do now. It took me the latter half of my high school career to really work on myself, and realize the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. It has been one of my greatest accomplishments to this day. However, I love food too. Since college, I have been invested in cooking healthy and tasty foods. My sister doesn't cook, because she enjoys my cooking too much. Some days, she waits till I get home so that I can cook for her. It's nice to know that she appreciates my cooking. Last, but not least, I love to spend time with the people I care about. I know how important school is for my future, but I also know that sometimes you just need a break and need to spend time with the people that make you happy. It's always great to take on new adventures with my best friends, because those memories last a lifetime.
I like to call myself a global traveller. My family and I have visited more than 20 countries (see my post here about my favorite places) and every country has taught me more about myself, my appreciation for other cultures, and how big the world is. I hope to visit more countries this year with my parents, and mark some things off my bucket list as well. My 2017 bucket list includes: going skydiving, running a half marathon, visiting another country (or two) with my family, and getting into dental school. I really hope to make 2017 my year!
I hope from this small summary about myself that you have gotten to know me a little better. If you ever have any questions about dentistry, getting involved at OU, or want any advice, I am always available!
What a great Camp Crimson picture, Sonali: fabulous! And that is wild about having the same birthday as your sister. That's kind of like twins, but shifted by a year, ha ha. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are one of those people passionate about dentistry, and after years of not-so-great dentists, I finally have a dentist now who is like that too: she clearly loves her job and working with patients (even nervous patients like me), and her new hygienist is also really great — he is originally from Iran, which is exciting for me since Persian literature is an interest of mine! Although he is also very passionate about teeth, more than about Persian literature, so we end up talking more about teeth than about poetry. Anyway, they are both great, and I feel really lucky to have them watching out for me.
So, I hope you will have fun with this class, and I am excited that now there will be a personal connection to Howdy Week: I really enjoy sharing CAC events in the class announcements, and that will be even more fun this semester knowing you are part of the class!
I love how you have such a close bond with your sister. I have four sisters and we're all pretty close, but my little sister and I are definitely the closest. She wants to go to OU. Part of me wishes that we could have attended the University at the same time. It's great how involved you are. I was in PLC,the sister organization to PCS, so we do share a sort of bond/similarity without knowing or physically interacting with each other. Is this your first time going with Global Brigades?
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali! I also am trying to cook healthy meals, but sometimes it gets difficult when you’re a college student with a busy schedule. Please let me know if you have some quick, healthy meals you enjoy to eat. Your semester seems busy, but a lot of fun! You will truly enjoy Panama! I attended Global Brigades in Panama last year, and it was so much fun! I can’t wait to hear about your experience.
ReplyDeleteHello Sonali!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love your name. It is so pretty. You shared some amazing information. First of all, being one year apart from your sister is really cool! My best friend and her brother are a year a part. But they do not enjoy it. Lol. I also am so jealous that you are going to go to Panama! That sounds like a dream come true. I have tried being healthy. Yet, it is so hard for me. I love food but I hate to run! I cannot believe you have went to 20 different countries. On top of that you went with your family! WOW!! I am beyond impressed.
Nice to meet you Sonali! I bet you have to do a lot of work as a pre-dental student! You sound like you are very involved on campus and are working hard though! That is so cool that you and your sister share a birthday and I don't blame her for waiting for you to cook- it takes so much time! I love food too, and I am planning on becoming a Dietician because of it! You can do so many cool things with food- especially healthy food!
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali,
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome you are a pre-natal student. That must be really hard and take a lot of time out of your day. I think its awesome that you have been given the opportunity to travel to so many countries and I am slightly jealous. I would love the opportunity after I graduate I take a month or so to travel some countries. I think it would be an awesome gift to myself. College is hard and wow I think its wonderful you can cook healthy. Most people cannot cook healthy and even stick to the lifestyle!
Its great to hear someone who enjoys things being healthy as much as you do. That's great. It makes for a whole different kind of wellness when we take to enjoying working our body's, fueling it properly, and engaging our minds and spirits. A healthy body, mind, and soul are the three aspects of a healthy being.
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali,
ReplyDeleteWow!! You are one busy bee! I admire your passion! It is so clear that you really love what you do, whether as small as cooking for your sister or as significant as caring for peoples teeth or leading campus activities! Also, you might have to send me some recipes because I NEVER cook... My mom is the best cook, but I guess I just didn't get that gene... Lol. I always say I need to cook healthy stuff, but it never ends up happening. So good for you! It's nice to meet you!
Hi Sonali, it seems like you have had an incredible experience with college and well life in general. I love how involved you are at the university, seeing as I was very uninvolved, only my fraternity, it made college a little less fun I feel. If I had gotten involved, it might have had some other great experiences. I love how much you've traveled, you seem to have gone a ton of places, and I hope that you get to continue traveling forever. I love to travel myself and just got back from my large trip last month.
ReplyDeleteHey Sonali!!! What a small world - from being in the same small group when we were campers at Camp Crimson to being in the same class my last semester before I graduate! I loved being able to read more about you and your progress at OU. It's so fun to see how much you've done since camp! I look forward to reading your blog!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali! I really enjoyed getting to read your introduction post! I loved your paragraph about your passion for teeth, I always notice when someone has a nice smile so I definitely have a lot of respect for dentist! One of my very best friends at OU went on the global brigade trip last summer and absolutely loved it! She is an aspiring doctor and said she really took a lot away from that trip! I was also a Camp Crimson SGL the summer after my freshman year of college and absolutely loved it! Can't wait to read more from you throughout this semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali! Your introduction is really fun to read through as well as it is interesting. It is amazing how you are able to manage to get so involve while keeping up with school! Your paragraph on teeth makes me smile. My mother also told me (many many times) that teeth is the first impression you have on people, so take care of them well! I hope you have fun in Panama and gain many great experiences. Good luck luck in the future as well as getting into dental school! You go girl!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about it, I always have the feeling that family members who have the same of similar birthdays/months usual have a founder, closer relationship. I am sure that is true for many simple reasons, but its rather interesting to look at, specifically after you have mentioned your sister and how close you two see.
ReplyDeleteSonali, that is so crazy that you and your sister were born on the exact same day and that you both live together. That is also really cool how passionate you are about dentistry and how you knew that is what you wanted to do for so long! I’m about to graduate and am still unsure of what I want to do. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteYour connection with your sister is so cool! I mean, just the fact that you guys attend school at the same place and live together is pretty rad, but the fact that you guys share a birthday is insane. Also, the impact people’s smiles have on their self-esteem is definitely something that shouldn’t be underestimated, so it’s awesome that you’re combining a career in that with your love of helping others. Good luck with your Global Brigade this summer, and with applying to dental schools!
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali! Wow it's really cool that you and your sister have the exact same birthday. It probably saves your parents the trouble of planning two different birthday parties when you guys were young haha. I think it's awesome that you're Pre-Dental. I've always been self-conscious of my own teeth and hope to have braces one day but you're right in that it impacts your self-esteem, especially while growing up. Good luck on your Global Brigade mission to Panama. I'm sure you'll learn so much and get to experience something that not very many people are able to!
ReplyDeleteSonali, the fact that your sister and you are born exactly 365 days apart is amazing. What are the odds of that happening? Very impressive for you to be a junior and only twenty years old. Keep up the hard work and focus and I have no doubt that you will achieve your dream of becoming a Dentist. Wow, you are involved on campus. That is an impressive resume. Best of luck to you.
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali! It is very nice to meet you! First off I love how you have your blog designed and laid out! That's really cool you and your sister get to experience college together! That is so amazing you found something that you are passionate about at such a young age! I love that you are so involved on campus. I bet that is really fun for you! Good luck with dental school!
ReplyDeleteHey Sonali! First off, it was so great to learn a little bit about you through your intro! I think it's so cool that you and your sister have the same birthday. Your dedication to all things in life is awesome and I wish you the best of luck with your great adventures and hope you enjoy these last couple weeks of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Sonali, it’s really nice to meet you. I think it’s really cool that you have so much experience traveling and doing all these cool campus activities. It seems like you’re really living life to the fullest! It’s too bad that I’m just getting to meet you at the end of class, but I’m glad I got the chance to read your introduction and some of your writing! I hope you had a great year!
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