I have carried a notebook every day since age 7, and one of the “rules” I invented along the way is writing a quote on the first page before I am allowed to write anything else. Once the journal is filled, I write a different, complementary quote on the last page. I am not particularly mystical, but for these notebooks, I wait around for days or weeks until a particular quote “feels right” and appropriately reflects what I hope to figure out by the time the journal is filled.
I began my current notebook in January 2012 as I embarked on my last semester of college. “Quo Vadis?” (Where goest thou?) I wrote, thinking that by the time graduation rolled around the notebook would be filled and my question answered.
Naturally, I had been overly optimistic.
It is now a year and a half later and I just reached the last page of my notebook. The final quote I selected comes from Steve Jobs as he was nearing the end of his life:
“I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning just like the digital one was when I was [my son’s] age.”
– Steve Jobs
Throughout an angst-filled year and a half of grad school, I discovered that I want to devote my life to the burgeoning intersection of engineering, health, and consumer products. I know I’ve found my niche because my heart beats faster and I can’t stop smiling in excitement when I think about this “new era” of medicine.
Join me as we use this blog to imagine the future of healthcare together.