When I was 14 years old, I developed an illness that I still have today. Mysterious symptoms that seemed like they came on all of a sudden ranging from fatigue to trouble breathing, none of which could be figured out professionally. Although these medical complications interfered with my everyday life, they helped to grow my interest in the medical field.
Starting my early years of high school was a rough start as I began to encounter more and more medical issues; although, it helped me grow as a person. For most of my life, I was a very negative and unappreciative person, but this all changed after getting sick. In the midst of this going on, I quickly realized how short life is; therefore, I learned to appreciate every day. Honestly, this event changed me more than anything else has ever done: I became a more caring and understanding person, as well as stopping my racist beliefs in their tracks. As the years passed, this changed mindset set my future to help and protect others, projecting either policing, marines, or the healthcare field.
By my sophomore year of high school, I realized how unpredictable and weak my body had become, making Policing or the Marines unrealistic; however, I quickly developed an interest in becoming a doctor. The work environment of a doctor would be more suitable for me as it’s a much safer environment as well as not being highly demanding.
During my junior year of high school, worsened health set my heart on becoming a doctor to help others with similar health issues. From personal experience of having an undiagnosed chronic illness, I understand unexplained symptoms not only cause anger and complications for the individual but also for their family as well. Having to grow up in this manner caused me to have a lot of hate towards the medical system. As the years passed, the more I suffered, and the more desperate I was to figure out my illness. Every time I tried to figure out my illness, I was always hit with the same answer: “All the lab results came back normal, so you are healthy!” when I was not. As I got older, I decided I wanted to use this hate to help others in the world by becoming an exceptional doctor of pulmonology.
When I was researching costs during my senior year, I was caught off guard by the cost of becoming a doctor. Even though the cost was more than what I had expected, I was not scared off; as the cost made me even more motivated to pursue medical school. I already know accomplishing my dream will be a difficult route financially, but I believe scholarships like this one would be a crucial part of accomplishing my dream: to help anyone struggling with sickness get treated quickly for a speedy recovery since everyone deserves to be healthy!
Several aspects make up a good student: not only does this include good grades but also being involved in extracurricular activities, such as a job or being in academic teams.
Working has always been a part of my life in high school, as I always held at least one job during high school. Work is amazing as it gives me a break from schoolwork, as well as a sense of responsibility beyond school. Although I loved work, I was forced to work, because of an awful relationship with my father leading to supporting myself for 6 months. My father and I have not had a good relationship since 2020 when I first got sick. Two years later, he was so fed up with my illness, he would verbally threaten to kick me out of the house. From there on, the fear of this playing out was very real, in which I realized I would need to work multiple jobs.
During my sophomore year, I got my first job at Bafang Dumpling. I enjoy working here since it has a welcoming environment, as well as offering many pay raises and promotions. Despite being an AP student, and having very poor health, I was forced to sacrifice some studying to work 30 hours a week to support myself since my father was not going to. A year later, I was forced to obtain another job, because of many threats of getting kicked out of the house before graduating and having to face homelessness.
As for my senior year, I was working anywhere from 38-45 hours per week in addition to AP courses. Although my health slightly improved, there were still “sick days” that made it impossible to go to school; but those days I fought hard, studied in bed, and worked the night shift.
Despite these challenges, I lived life to the fullest; however, even though life was different from what it used to be, I quickly adapted to the change. Although boundaries were faced, I learned how to be an exceptional student even in the midst of uncertainties.
As with trying to achieve any other goal in life, one can not accomplish anything without guidance from others as well as not having the money to accomplish such goals. Reflecting on my life experiences as a whole I feel I am a strong candidate for this scholarship as it would help with accomplishing my life goals, since I am a highly driven person eager to accomplish my goals no matter what life hits me with.