anyone know where tatiana went for high school and uni? i know that she did some of her undergrad in london and i think she was studying something to do with fashion or business. did she go to school in leb?
i am a 20 yo female, and have went through genuine tribal and tribulations to reach to this conclusion.
it all started when i was 12, i woke up randomly one day with really bad chest and back pain. it hurt to breathe and i genuinely thought i was dying or something, but these flare ups would come maybe like twice a year and so i just left it at that.
then when i was 15, it got worse and i was eventually diagnosed with scoliosis after my mom realised that my shoulders were slightly uneven. i thought that this was the cause of my chest/back pain, even tho all the doctors i saw told me that the pain i would get shouldn't be caused by my scoliosis and that i just needed to "strengthen my core" and swim (both important for scoliosis, but still not an answer to the pain i would get). i also had two best friends with scoliosis who would never get the pain that i got even though our degree curves were similar so i was really confused.
these flare ups were accompanied by fever, and would typically last 3 days before going away and everything would return to normal. the flare ups would cause a dull stabbing pain when i would breath and lay on my back. when i was 18 i realized that these flare ups were cyclical and would ALWAYS happen after my period. outside of my flare ups, i would virtually be fine. if i took a really deeeep breath in i would feel a bit of tension on the right side of my back/chest, but it wasn't painful by any means.
then i entered an obsessive research rabbit hole after making the link that these flare ups happened after my period. i thought (for a really long time) that i had thoracic endometriosis, especially because it's commonly found in the upper right back/chest region which is where i get my pain, even tho no one in my family has had endo and my periods themselves were painless with no pain in the pelvic region at all. then i thought that i could have chostocondritis, then a a pulmonary issue, etc. i would do MRIs, chesr scans, x-rays, blood tests - everything signified that i was healthy, just that i had scoliosis and a slightly high CRP.
i came across FMF yesterday and it aligns with all my symptoms perfectly. the fever, the pain lasting a couple days then everything returning to normal, the pain when breathing in, the pain being in my chest/back and sometimes stomach area, it coming after my period, also the fact that i am from the mediterranean region. honestly this might sound crazy but FMF feels like the light at the end of the tunnel. after hearing back from so many doctors for so long that i was perfectly fine, even though i would get extremely painful monthly flare ups for the past 8 years felt so dismissive and like i was going crazy or something. i feel like my scoliosis probably does have an impact, but it was more so like a distraction or a side issue to the pain that i get and not a direct cause.
is anyone in the same boat or actually has been diagnosed with FMF have any advice?
i take french classes at university, which have given me a great foundation, but i am nowhere near fluent. this may sound unrealistic but i want to be fluent by september, or at most, before 2027. i am willing to take private lessons (but on a budget) - other than that, what are the best ways to become fluent in french? if anyone has any advice, tips, or platforms/resources i could use i would greatly appreciate it. merci!
babson is one of my dream schools for postgrad (im currently doing my undergrad at mcgill). what is the social life like as a masters student? are there events, clubs, sports, etc? how is it different to undergrad?
any summer 1 courses with no in person final exam?
i've heard that going to uni in london doesn't really offer any proper student social life or experience because the city is so big and most of the buildings are spread out. obviously london has some of the best and most prestigious universities in the world, but would it be worth it to go if there is no proper "campus" life or real uni experience? i know alot of people who have loved (and hated) london for uni, but more so because im international and alot of the international kids in london stick together and form groups (which still doesn't really offer a proper uni experience). any insights? specifically to do with KCL