The Lingering Gaze

Simran Anand is a premed student and artist who grew up visibly different—walking with a limp, in and out of hospitals, always watched, often misunderstood. The surgeries weren’t what scarred her—it was the judgment from classmates, the strained silences at home, the way others looked at her like she didn’t belong. But in that gaze, Simran found fuel. Some people mocked her; others held her hand. From both, she drew strength. “My art and her ambition to become a surgeon comes from the same place: a desire to turn pain into purpose and to never let another child feel like their body makes them less worthy of care.”