Who Am I?

Howdy howdy howdy. 

My name is Alex Kolenda and I am a rising sophomore at the University of Michigan. 

Oh no. I bet you think that I'm a super creative, magnificently talented artist because I made the "University of Michigan" look flippin' shweet with its maize and blue text. (And check out the boldness of that M. Dang.) Unfortunately, I am not and I fear that by introducing myself in this way I may have been misleading you. Whew, off to a rough start. I'm sorry if I deceived anyone out there.

K. So now that we've covered a little bit of what I'm not we can probably talk a little bit about what I am. Or rather, who I am. "What I am" makes it sound like I'm about to dive into detail about my home planet or express the woes of growing up as a misunderstood alien-child on a planet full of humans and, honestly, I just don't think that's a step I'm willing to take yet. 

Just so you know, I'm kidding, and I actually grew up as a very happy human-child in the city of Grand Haven, Michigan, a beautiful small town located on Lake Michigan and famous for its gorgeous area beaches, wild sunsets, close-knit community, and above all, its relentlessly bragging residents. 

Let's be real with each other. We both know that if I post a big wall of text you're not going to read it. Honestly, I'm surprised you stuck with it this far. A big ol' cyber pat on the back for you, friend! Instead of accidentally writing my first novel, I figured I'd make a Q&A section about me. Short and painless. Quick and easy. Brief and beautiful. You get it.

YO DAWG, WHAT'S YOUR MAJOR?
I plan on double majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) and Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN).

RESEARCH?
Yes! I work in a lab that studies the mutations and molecular pathology of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurodegenerative disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. I get really geeked up about it so please feel free to ask me anything about what I do or what my lab does!

HEY ALEX, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
I'm a perspiring an aspiring clinical geneticist. Someday I would like to be able to diagnose and treat patients with hereditary diseases. Specifically, I'm very interested in psychiatric as well as neurological disorders. In order to get to that point in my life I will (hopefully) attend medical school. In addition, I am strongly considering pursuing an M.D./Ph.D. program. Here's to 800000 more years of schooling! 

HOW ABOUT THEM HOBBIES?
I enjoy listening to music, playing music, reading, crafting (but anything harder than popsicle stick sculptures is beyond me), exploring, watching movies, cleaning, playing tennis, laughing, doing absolutely anything with friends, doing only some things with strangers, going to concerts, sleeping, stargazing, going to the beach, eating ice cream, eating food, riding my bike, mindlessly browsing the internet, mindlessly netflix binge-watching, mindlessly staring off into space, and thousands of other activities. Above all, though, I enjoy updating this blog. :-)

GIRL, WHACHU LIKE?
This is a list of the ten things I like most in no particular order:

1. The color blue (specifically, battery-charged blue)
2. Dogs
3. Pickles
4. Autumn leaves
5. The letter s
6. The Beatles
7. People
8. Rain
9. Armadillos
10. Swimming pools

Fin.

Looking forward to posting more and meeting/learning all about you guys this summer!

Alex