An Inside Look to Having Fun
Sara Le Nguyen
2nd Year MPH Health Behavior Health Education Student
There were a lot of firsts for me this year. Moving out of my home state (Colorado), moving in with someone that isn’t my family, and visiting Texas with some of my classmates. These are just a few examples of things I never would have thought I would experience. Although there were many times where I felt confused, lost, and uncomfortable, I don’t regret making any of these decisions. It was because of these decisions that I got to step out of my comfort zone to grow and to discover the big future ahead of me.
Zooming into my trip in Texas, I’ve connected with many colleagues and learned so
much about them and this brought me back to remember why I engage with public health.
I engage in public health because it’s fun. My group and I spent a lot of time on
the roads exploring the West side of San Antonio and jotting down every asset they
had. There was some difficulty staying within our zip code while driving and it was
challenging to find a good way to collect data in a short period of time. I ended
up recording the entire car conversation and that experience reminded me of my mom
being excited as an immigrant recording and documenting everything. And learning how
to use a mapping service was such a celebratory event because it was a new skill developed.
After collecting over 300 assets and overcoming a learning curve, it still felt like
I was on vacation. This trip was not a vacation by any means, but it sure did feel
like onebecause I was having fun all week. Despite the workload, the trip wasn't all
work. My inner dessert enthusiast was rewarded and I achieved my dream of getting
boba in another state! Doing something I enjoy will always guide me to a fun adventure
and I can’t wait where it leads me next as I jump into my summer internship.