Career Test for Future Lawyers Scholarship

My grandpa and I used to play this game when I was little. It was like hide and seek, except with our own special twist on it. He would call out my name, and every time I heard it, I had to hide in a new spot. When he found me, I would start running away, laughing as my little feet carried me away to the heavens. At that moment, it would just be me and my grandpa. We were going to last forever. That is until his Alzheimer's diagnosis came. He had become forgetful and often became confused. The news hurt me, but when he saw my stricken face, he promised me that nothing was going to change between us. It would still be me and him against the world. As time went on, his condition worsened. He soon forgot the names of his old college friends and distant relatives. He forgot how to play our game. "It's okay, Ong Ngoai," I said, "We can invent a new game!" I still went on, pretending that everything was okay, but it was not until he forgot who I was that I finally broke. We had to move him into a special kind of nursing center 30 miles away from his home in Saigon. His forgetfulness became more than just forgetting names and faces. He would struggle to perform his daily activities, needing help putting his shoes on or forgetting how to feed himself. The care that he needed was not available anywhere near us, and we had to send him to a facility where they could take care of him. We visit him every other weekend, and it takes everyone's combined efforts to keep their smiles on. We cannot cry. Not now. Not while Ong Ngoai is in his fragile state. Every time I saw him, my heart broke into another piece. My hurt was mixed with confusion as I did not understand why my grandpa would not get any better. I soon found out that there was no clear-cut cure for Alzheimer's. However, each tear I shed slowly began to transform into something new: ambition. My grandpa became my drive for wanting to pursue a career in the medical field. I aspire to become a neurologist in order to progress toward a cure for neural diseases such as the one that ails my grandfather. With this goal in mind, I have taken a variety of STEM classes in high school, working my hardest to understand each concept and its fundamental nuances. I have become the president of the HOSA chapter of my school, an organization encouraging students to pursue a healthcare career, and I have even competed at the international level for behavioral health. Additionally, I intend to major in biochemistry and neuroscience in my undergraduate years and pursue an education in medical school to achieve my career goal. My dream is to help as many people as possible through the development of neurological cures. Each stride I take is made with my grandpa in mind. While my Ong Ngoai may not be able to recognize me any longer, our society's future holds endless possibilities for the advancement of Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases. Through my hard work and ambition, I can create change for the betterment of our society by pursuing a career in the medical field. I thirst for a future where all grandparents can hold on to every memory and live each day knowing they are surrounded by love.