I wake up in darkness,

when the sun is still struggling to open her weary eyes.

I wake up to begin proving myself and

along the way,

I was seduced by

and subsequently fell in love with biology.

I aspire to be cognizant

of all there is to know

about the quality of living

from the fundamental inspection of cells

to the investigation of entire organ systems.

I live for the questions that are endlessly strewn together

in my organized mess of a brain.

I am fueled by and composed of a curiosity

that only seems to be satisfied

by struggling to understanding

the fascinating complexity

of organisms

surviving,

evolving,

and developing.

I wake up to peer into my textbook

and discover the thousands of reactions

that simultaneously occur in a single cell.

I live for life

which is far more complicated and creative

than I’d ever imagined.

I want to stand on the cliff that is life

and peer off into the unknown--

to get as close to the edge as possible

without actually falling.