Editors’ Note

July 9, 2019

Dear Reader,

We’re excited to share our inaugural issue of the Apothecary with you. We started the magazine in January 2019 to pick up where the Mosaic left off seven years ago. Seven years is not quite as long as a hiatus between Pixar movies—and a student-run creative arts magazine is probably not as eagerly anticipated—but we would like to think the Mount Sinai community has felt something missing during that time.

This is the part where we’re supposed to reveal The Something that’s been missing. Maybe cite new research in Academic Medicine that demonstrates how engaging with visual art can refine medical students’ reflective capacity and observational skills. Or perhaps this would be an appropriate place to argue how reading fiction or poetry can transform a person into a kinder, more empathetic, and present-oriented being.

But in the spirit of our theme, we’ll shed our masks and write only what we know is true. We’re transplants from Los Angeles and Milwaukee. We missed the art communities we had back home. We wanted more time and space to engage with our busy neighbors. A fellow second-year recently told us that he’s tired of giving elevator pitches to classmates on the thirty second ride to Annenberg 12-01. We’re tired too.

Think of our inaugural issue, then, as an intimate conversation with an acquaintance—someone whose identity is masked by your preconceived notions. Allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised. Pair a piece with your afternoon coffee break. And remember to sip slowly. 

All our best,

Lilly Taing & Michelle Tong
Editors-in-Chief