I've always been into Dungeons and Dragons and fantasy gaming
stuff.
And I saw that UVA had a blacksmithing club.
I was just like, oh, my gosh.
I need to do this right here, right now.
And first time going to the forge,
it was just so, in a way, magical,
because there were all these tools at my disposal.
If I could think it, I could make it.
The heat, though-- it's actually kind of nice in the winter,
but if you have the forge weld, you have to get it white hot.
And you can't step away because if you leave it for a second
and it overcooks, it's going to melt it.
So you're just standing there in this endurance contest
with the fires of Odin.
But once you get it to the temperature
that you want and it comes out the way you want,
it's all worth it.
I have my hammer.
Her name is Juanita, and she's a four-pound German hammer.
I take her with me everywhere I go.
She's kind of a good luck charm.
I took her with me when I went to go take the MCAT, so,
you know--
I am interested in surgery, and a lot of that
involves working with your hands,
in particular orthopedics.
I find it really fascinating.
They call them the carpenters of the body.
You just kind of get in a zone, and you just
get to see it transformed before your eyes using your own hands.
And then when you have your finished product,
you can just look at it and say, there
is nothing else on this earth that looks like this.
I made that.
[MUSIC PLAYING]