CURRENT MISSION

My current mission is to balance my future prospects and goals with my desire to live in the moment

ABOUT ME

My name is Hasan Sumdani. I am a 4th-year medical student at Texas A&M College of Medicine (this means I will be a medical doctor in less than 1 year). I've lived in Austin, TX for the past 2 years but lived in Arlington for almost my whole upbringing. My parents are from Pakistan. I'm the youngest in my family; I have an older sister and an older brother. I have traveled to Pakistan and extensively through the United States and Europe. By helping others and exploring the world around me, I hope to gather valuable and memorable life experiences.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that creating, telling, and listening to stories is the biggest, most desirable thing in life. Everyone enjoys stories, and the most memorable moments in life are the moments that make the best stories (and I am actually in the process of publishing a novel entitled Metanoia, ask me about it!) I believe that life's purpose is to feel and think--to have emotions and to express them, and I believe that the best stories are the ones filled with the most emotion.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Unfortunately my current living circumstances aren't friendly for surfers since I live at home with my big, noisy family, but I hope to positively impact the people I meet and foster friendships during my travel adventures!

I travel with my ideas and share as much as I can!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have couchsurfed many times before and they were unforgettable experiences! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and my past hosts have become my friends. I believe that there are still so many different things to become exposed to and learn about, so I am eager to continue couchsurfing as a part of my memorable life experiences because it's only then that I really feel as if I'm learning and being a part of the local and global culture!

Interests

I study medicine, and am quite interested in a lot of scientific topics. I am especially interested in neuroscience and psychology, in fact, I am training to be a neurosurgeon! I enjoy knowing more about the natural world and am well-versed in many fields of science. I try to maintain a balance in my life though, so I devote much of my free time to appreciating art, music, and literature. I have started to read much, much more lately, and I have even finished writing a novel titled Metanoia.

I like having stimulating conversations about life, philosophy, art, literature, ideology, religion, and science!! I am a huge enthusiast of puns and wordplay--disclaimer, this means I sometimes make really bad jokes... but I do have a good sense of humor and sarcasm most of the time.. it's all about balance!

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• literature
• trivia
• traveling
• music
• astronomy
• biology
• chemistry
• geology
• history
• mathematics
• physics
• psychology
• religion
• science
• sociology
• statistics

Music, Movies, and Books

I enjoy a wide variety of movies, music, and books.

To be more specific in my taste in movies, I typically enjoy comedies the most, but I'd be hard-pressed to pass up any movie with lots of emotion and a good story. Some of my favorite movies include Interstellar, Shutter Island, Inside Out, The Lego Movie 1-2 (and batman!), Wish I Was Here, Scary Movies 1-3, Anchorman 1 and 2, Zoolander, Dodgeball, Inception, Good Will Hunting, Armageddon, Mr. Nobody, Inglorious Basterds, Dead Poets Society, Ruby Sparks, The Art of Getting By, and many more.

Some TV shows I really enjoy include The Office, Bojack Horseman, Flaked, Parks and Recreation, Malcolm in the Middle, Whose Line is it Anyway, Friends, Breaking Bad, House, Modern Family, Scrubs, Futurama, and Arrested Development (!!)

I enjoy a large range of music, from classical music to pop and indie music. Despite my less-than-average singing voice, I still frequently sing along to most songs I know the words to. Some popular musical artists that I enjoy include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Young the Giant, The Strokes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Jimmy Eat World, blink-182, The Killers, Coldplay, Daft Punk, Drake, Kanye West, Green Day, Nujabes, Mumford and Sons, Passion Pit, and Weezer to name a [very (!!)] few. I also love enjoying live music, and I've seen most of the artists I just listed in concert!! Live music is probably my biggest expense

I wish that I had a larger library, but some of the books I've enjoyed reading the most are Flowers for Algernon, The Oath, A Thousand Splendid Suns, When Breath Becomes Air, And the Mountains Echoed, Battle Royale, When the Air Hits Your Brain, Haunted, Brave New World, The Book of Disquiet, Unaccustomed Earth, East of Eden, To a God Unknown, Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, The Bell Jar, Choke, Rant, and Survivor. John Steinbeck is probably my favorite author. I've also read some young adult book series--Harry Potter (!!), Pendragon, Artemis Fowl, Unfortunate Events

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I used a motorized bonesaw to cut open the skull of a living person and expose his brain to the air. I've done this multiple times.

I went on a 24+ hour fast (no food or water) and then went hiking in the Arizona desert during the blazing summer.

I drove by myself from Dallas to Las Vegas (a 17 hour non-stop drive) in just over 20 hours.

I attended a music festival called Wakarusa. Also ACL, EDC, Float Fest. I want to go to Burning Man at least once in my life.

I have presented theoretical research at regional and national conferences, most notably at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

COUCHSURFED!

Teach, Learn, Share

I am knowledgeable, or at least have trivia-worthy knowledge in subjects such as biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, statistics, psychology, sociology, mathematics, history, art, and literature. I like to think that my understanding of many topics gives me a knack for teaching.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Medical advice, friendship, stories, perspectives, and Spotify playlists.

Countries I’ve Visited

England, France, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States