EPISODE 16: WILLIAM ROSENKRANZ

Interview by Emanuel Mordechaev

April 8, 2020

I didn't always know that I was interested in medicine. I wanted to be a lawyer before realizing that my only exposure to practicing law was from TV shows. I had to change my perspective. It was no longer a question of what do I want to do, but rather what kind of person do I want to be? I began filling in that blank slate by thinking about people in my life that I admired: friends, old mentors, and in lieu of a close family, I had characters from stories, TV, and movies. Just thinking about the types of characteristics a person might have that I would want to emulate, and what kind of job would be well-suited for that person. Medicine was really a no-brainer after that.

I quickly realized that I wanted to be someone you can easily talk to, much like a doctor should. I just want to encourage people to talk about whatever is on their minds. We spend so much of our time studying and being by ourselves that it's easy to get consumed by thoughts and not give emotions the attention that they deserve. So I try very hard to make myself available and to be the kind of person that you can just walk up to and talk about anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s just simple small talk or complex pontification about the universe. I may not always be good at it, but it is something I care about. Most of all, I consider it a gift when someone is comfortable enough to confide in me. Sitting quietly when somebody needs to get something off of their chest is one of the most profoundly simple skills in listening, in communicating, ever.

When I was an RA in undergrad, I spoke to tons of students - people who were depressed, survivors of abuse, and more. And I was often the person that had to talk them down. From these deep conversations, I learned a lot about mental health in an informal way. I realized there’s very little I can control in the world, and it's been very important for me moving forward to focus on my mood. You can't be happy all the time, but you can be content. If I could wake up in the morning and tell myself “I feel fine,” then that’s really a good thing. It’s like those first couple of days when you get over a cold and feel normal again. It’s just your normal self, but it feels amazing all of a sudden. In the same way, my contentment has been a matter of me achieving a certain perspective. One of life’s tragedies is that you can’t always be happy, but you can always be sad. So I strive for contentment.  

I find medical school an interesting time in our lives. It’s not just a crucial part of our education, but also a crucial time in our lives. It’s when major life experiences are either going to happen or not, and it’s largely dependent on whether we make the time for them. While I recognize that the time we have to learn and try new things is only getting smaller, I am optimistic about the future and always up for a new challenge. That is part of the reason why I started learning how to cook and bake. I’ve talked the ears off of my friends about learning to make pasta by hand. But the whole thing has really turned into a rejuvenating experience for me. I just throw on some headphones and immerse myself in this new craft. I really enjoy working with my hands, especially something as relaxing and cathartic as shaping tortellini just right. Lately my project has been to perfect the chocolate chip cookie. Stay tuned.

Besides turning to cooking as a creative outlet, I'm also working on improving my Spanish, for myself and to become a more accessible doctor for my future patients. I backpacked across Spain for five weeks a few years back. It was scary, but I'm attracted to challenges like that. I did 7 weeks in western Europe this past summer, also a solo trip. I’m utterly enamored with some of the little things that are normal in some of those countries. If you walk down the streets of a typical European city, you can see people outside sipping on coffee, eating a pastry, taking in the day, looking out at the world and watching people walk by. It’s romanticized a lot in pop culture, but it’s actually like that. It’s not a utopia, but it does make me want to spend some time practicing medicine there if I ever get the chance. 

I found out recently that this is something people find interesting: I don't have an internal monologue. When I say something and you are hearing it, we're actually hearing the words together for the first time. Thoughts don’t manifest in my mind as words before I say them. Thoughts manifest themselves as a kind of feeling, I guess. I’ve learned how to articulate those feelings, so I usually say what I mean to say – it’s not random word vomit, usually. During my first semester in undergrad, I took a philosophy class. The class turned into my major. It was the first time I started to think about how I think. Previously, the phrase “think about it” didn’t really mean anything to me because I just have a vacuous bubble in my head (future doctor by the way). Part of me likes not having an internal monologue because I don't really get stressed about anything. I don't have a voice in my head that gets out of control. On the other hand, it's harder for me to retain memories, as I don't retain them in language. But when I say I’m not thinking about anything, I mean it literally, whether I want to or not. I've grown to accept this little quirk of mine, along with all of the other weird stuff I’ve got going on.  

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify? 
Avenged Sevenfold, Childish Gambino, Tape Five, Kendrick Lamar, and Lofi Hip Hop Music - beats to relax/study to

If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Shadow Clone Jutsu

Pick something or someone from NYMC to give a shout-out to!
Shouts out to the people at NYMC who aren't afraid to be themselves and get a little deep and introspective about life.

If someone wants to talk to you, they should lead with: 
If someone wants to talk to me they should say whatever they want. If I'm out and about, I'm usually down to chat. I know I have headphones on a lot. I just really like music, so don't let it discourage you if you want to say hello!