I have seen a lot of strength in people who have Alzheimers. These people are very strong. I did not have anyone with dementia at home. I spent time with older people who had it. This changed the way I thought about things. I met with people who were taking care of people and I heard their stories. Each story showed me how people are connected to each other. What I noticed is that dementia changes people in a way. I met people when I was learning and I saw how easy it is to forget things. People start to lose their independence. They forget faces they knew before. They forget what they talked about a little while ago. Simple things become hard for them to do. Someone who is usually happy might just sit there not knowing where they are. This is very hard for their families. It is very sad when someone does not know the people they love. It is like they are fading away piece by piece and this makes people very sad. Even with all this being kind to people with dementia makes a big difference. If you look at them for a while and choose your words carefully this can make them feel safe. If you listen to them without rushing they can still feel seen even if they forget things. These moments are important. They show that even if people forget things they are still the person. Watching these moments made me realize that patience is very important when taking care of people. The people who take care of them need to slow down and listen carefully especially when they are working with people who have dementia. What is important is the work that families do taking care of their loved ones every day. This is not easy. We should not forget about it. Now I understand how every moment is important when I am taking care of people. Because of what I have seen I think it is very important to be kind and warm when people need help. One day someone will trust me with their fears and confusion. This trust means I need to speak up especially when others do not understand how hard it is to live with Alzheimers. Every small thing I do can make a difference. What I remember is the moments when just being there was more important than fixing anything. Just because someone is confused does not mean they are not the person. I have learned that taking care of someone is not the same as fixing them. The moments that matter most are when people cannot talk anymore. We should always respect people even if they forget things. Love is not about curing people. About being, with them. It is important to see people even when they cannot do anything. Dementia taught me that we should value the person, not their condition. The person is still there even when they forget everything.

From the time I was five years old, I had the responsibility of managing type one diabetes. Everyday since then, I have had an immense amount of responsibility with having to monitor my Blood Sugars and Insulin dosage. Dealing with diabetes has been a struggle. I remember the Nurse’s Office in everyone of my schools growing up was always the farthest away. Walking there with a sugar of fifty and dropping fast wasn’t ideal; I would feel my entire body shutting down from the lack of sugar and energy. The physical signs being that my hands would start shaking and my vision blurring. With these symptoms, I struggled alone to the basement to find the nurse to ask for any type of sugar or carb to make me feel the slightest bit stronger. It was during those times when I wished I had someone to guide and help me manage. That is the reason why I want to become a nurse. Helping others like me who needed guidance during the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment is my life’s passion.I always knew modern medicine was the future. That is why when I heard of a High School program that would allow me to obtain a Practical Nursing License by the time I graduate, I leaped at that opportunity. As a high school nursing student, living in an underserved community attending clinicals, I met many people affected by the same condition as me, but hadn’t had the same approach as I had to treatment. In my life, health is extremely important; However, in the patients I’ve met, health was not a priority because it wasn’t affordable. Seeing patients struggle in my community with the same health issues as myself because of finances was unsettling. Diabetes related Hypertension, Kidney Failure and even amputations could have been prevented if only insulin was made available. I saw that insulin access was the problem many faced in my community, and wished that I could help solve it. This sparked my desire to positively impact underserved communities like my own throughout my future education and career. When I continued my clinicals I had a new approach to help as many patients learn about all the opportunities available to them. I spoke about different support programs like the Lilly Diabetes Solution Center and Novo Nordisk NovoCare that would help pay for both insulin and diabetes related medicine. Helping my community is extremely rewarding by knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of people going through the same difficulties as myself. From these experiences I believe that an education in Nursing can help me to continue to impact underserved communities throughout the country. As a NYU Meyers RN student, I continued my service to the community through my roles as the events coordinator in the Geriatric student interest group and nurse extern at Langone Health. These roles are important to me because it allowed me to meet and care for a diverse group of individuals through my connections at NYU. The months I spent as a nurse extern, gave me valuable hands-on experience in a variety of hospital departments allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of patient care which allowed me to provide a greater amount of empathy and compassion. Helping with events held in the Geriatric student interest group allowed me to work with my peers to actively make change in our communities. Whether it was by volunteering with elderly patients or promoting assisted living apartments to the residents of NYC, my passion for my patients always seemed so special to my heart.