Get to Know Me: 21 (Facts &) Questions

There are many questions that I am asked constantly, so I figured why not make a blog post answering them! There will also be some questions and answers included that I feel will help you get to know me a little better, especially if you are new around here. Here goes!

1. Where are you from/where do you live? I am a North Carolina native, from Raleigh! I currently live in Durham (because #PTschool), but will actually be moving back home to Raleigh this weekend.
2. What is your favorite food, color, and activity? Chicken, blush pink, sleeping!
3. How old are you? 25! Yikes I feel old haha.
4. How do you pronounce your name? My name is pronounce “day-juh”. So basically like “Asia” with a D! If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question I would probably be able to pay my Duke tuition in full.
5. Where did you go for undergrad and what did you major in? I went to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and I majored in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Medicine!
6. What were your stats when you applied to PT school? My stats, including my extracurricular activities, my GPA, my LORs, my GRE score, where I shadowed, etc. are listed here.
7. What classes did you take to prepare for PT school and when? What was your most helpful undergraduate class? My path through undergrad to PT school is discussed here. I break down what classes I took, when I took them, and also when I fit in my observation hours. My most helpful undergraduate class was definitely anatomy, as it laid the foundations for my career in physical therapy.
8. Why/how did you choose physical therapy? This post discusses my journey to PT, and how I chose it as the profession I wanted to pursue.
9. What was your biggest fear when applying to PT school? My biggest fear was that my GPA wasn’t high enough. I had the toxic mindset that I NEEDED a 4.0 to be competitive, which is not the case. Your application is so much more than your grades. Programs want a well-rounded applicant!
10. How did you know taking a gap year was right for you? What did you do during this year? This post should answer these questions!
11. Why/how did you choose to apply to and eventually attend Duke? This post answers that! Key factors to look for in a PT program are discussed in this post.
12. When did you start your blog and why? Any suggestions/advice on how to get started? I started this blog during my gap year between undergrad and PT school (November 2017, after finding out that I was accepted into Duke’s DPT program). My initial goal for this platform was to guide, mentor, and motivate pre-PT/A students, current PT/A students, and students from other health professions! I had seen so many blogs catering to current and future MD/DOs, RNs, and PAs, but not many that catered to current and future PTs. As a pre-PT student, I would have loved to see inspiration from practicing PTs. I would have loved to see a plethora of PT blogs and other online resources. I would have loved to follow someone’s journey through PT school, so that I could know what to expect. Because of this lack of representation, I decided to help make that happen for someone that may be feeling what I was feeling. This blog has evolved over the years to include my life outside of PT school (i.e. lifestyle, travel, relationships, etc.). My biggest piece of advice is to just START! Check out this post for things I wish I knew before starting a blog.
13. What are you planning on specializing in after PT school? What type of setting would you like to work in? Right now my biggest interests are in pelvic floor/women’s health, pediatrics, and underserved communities. I really enjoy the inpatient setting over outpatient, and my goal is to start my career in inpatient pediatrics.
14. What is your dream PT setting to work in and why? Ultimate dream: run my own clinic that treats pediatric and pelvic floor/women’s health patients with an emphasis on serving underserved populations. It would be so cool to blend THREE of my passions, and have the opportunity to treat mother AND baby.
15. Did you have a job during PT school? How did you balance this with your schoolwork? Yes! I worked as Habilitation Technician for a teenager with mid cerebral palsy (I didn’t start this position until after my first semester though). I assisted him with things like schoolwork, exercising, therapy, and self-care. I plan on writing a more in-depth post about my experience, so be on the lookout for that! My planner and my iCalendar are my saving grace for balance. Making sure that you actually plan out when you’re going to do things is so so important.
16. How did you and Jon meet? How did you manage your relationship while in PT school? Jon and I actually met on Twitter haha. We were friends for about six months, and started dating shortly after that. We bonded over RuneScape and cheese fries. This post is all about how we balance our long-distance relationship.
17. Have you encountered barriers in your program as a student of color? Thankfully I haven’t encountered any major barriers in my program as a POC, but I have experienced microaggressions.
18. Is being a PT student as rewarding as you expected? It definitely is as rewarding as I expected! PT school is not a walk in the park, but I am so fulfilled and I know in my heart that I am truly doing what I am meant to be doing.
19. How do you stay motivated? My future patients, my classmates/friends, Jon, and my family keep me motivated. I am so thankful that I have an amazing support system. Knowing that I will be one of the reasons a patient reaches their goals and is able do things that they never thought were possible keeps me going. And it also helps that I actually enjoy/am interested in what I am learning. Helping people excites me, so that is my main source of motivation. This post also talks about how I stay motivated.
20. What are your favorite leisure activities? Napping, eating, playing video-games, watching TV/movies, honestly just chilling/relaxing!
21. How do you give back to yourself (self-care, hobbies, etc.)? Gratitude journaling, reading, sleeping, and skincare! Also the things that I mentioned in the previous question.

Thank you so much for your constant support (and a special thanks to those of you who submitted questions!). I am glad to have you on this journey with me!