April 7, 2026

7am. Tina, Post 107

My sisters just got their MCAT scores back. They both did really, really well and we are so proud of them. Their grades are excellent. They said they are also going to put me on their apps as a community service project: transferring to a new college in their junior year to take care of their poor helpless kid trans sister with MS.

“Tina, why don't you decide to become a doctor as well? Let’s open up a clinic together! You can do it!”

Hmmm. It’s certainly a thought!

Rumi is feeling much better. Her doctors have given her permission to go out for an hour or two each day, as long as she wears a face mask.

Alice spent the night, and my sisters took the three of us to The Mall at Bay Plaza. What? Teenagers hanging out at a mall? Who would ever think of such a thing?

It was just a couple of hours including the back-and-forth ride. But we laughed a lot and came back refreshed and ready…for a nap.

Afterwards, we did Cardi’s requested prayer for Robert: singing “America the Beautiful.” We started giggling because some of the lyrics are so outdated. Alice is very sensitive about laughing at artwork. “What may seem bougie to us, was once someone’s lifework!” So, we started singing it again, stopping to look up a few words. It really is a beautiful song.

We did evening Gongyo, thinking about all of our friends. Cardi, Robert, and soon-to-be-born Baby Rifka Maria. The wonderful romance of Junior and Sopie. Next weekend’s Heidi and Lolita marathon and marriage. The safety and fun of the Longhouse Camping Trip. And “Salut!” to my friends at school and the High School Division, Mel, Ivan and Ivanka, Apie and Carlito, Catha. I also chanted for the happiness and health of my sisters who have modeled for me what sisterhood truly is about.

MS or not, this has been such a wonderful year for me. When I look back at three years at LaGuardia, it was so sterile of friendship. Alice says it was maybe just the competitiveness of my Studio because she doesn’t feel that way at all. Friendship, I see, is such a beautiful and precious thing because the lack of it really hurts.

In *Victorious Teen,* Dr. Ikeda talks about his mentor, Josei Toda. But isn’t the mentor-disciple relationship a deep form of friendship?

“How Having a Mentor Helps You Lead a Meaningful Life: Strive for Self-Improvement”:

<The path of mentor and disciple is not something out of the ordinary. Just as birds follow the path of fish, human beings also have their path. The path of mentor and disciple enables us to lead the most dignified and meaningful lives and to keep striving for self-improvement.

>In fields such as academia, the arts, and sports, there are also mentors who teach the correct path to follow.

>Mr. Toda is my mentor because he taught me the path of Buddhism and the correct way to live as a human being.

I *want* this type of friend well. That is why I am choosing Daisaku Ikeda as my mentor.