Why I'm Starting This Blog

My name is Chyna. I am an Indigenous woman studying medicine and I'm here to share this journey out loud.

This blog, Cedar + Scrubs, is about more than surviving medical school. It’s about reclaiming space. It’s about walking between worlds: one rooted in the teachings of my ancestors, the other filled with stethoscopes, white coats, and endless textbooks.

Cedar is sacred. In my culture, it's medicine: cleansing, grounding, protecting. And scrubs? They represent this new world I'm learning to navigate. Cedar + Scrubs is about bringing those two worlds together.

Growing up, I rarely saw anyone who looked like me in a doctor’s coat. Not in real life, not in textbooks, and not on hospital walls. I wasn’t sure I belonged in this world. And even now, as a med student, that feeling sometimes lingers.

I started Cedar + Scrubs because I know I’m not the only one. I know there are Indigenous youth out there wondering if they’re allowed to dream big. I know there are students trying to hold on to culture while learning how to survive in a system that wasn’t designed for us. And I know that storytelling, which our way of passing on knowledge, still matters.

If you’re Indigenous and dreaming of med school, or just trying to find your path then this blog is for you.

If you're already in these systems and feeling invisible, this blog is for you.

If you're just here to listen, learn, and unlearn, you’re welcome here too.

Thank you for being here. This is just the beginning.

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Chyna