I’m almost certain I came into this world with a sole love for animals and learned to accept humans over time. I’m the type of person to go to a party with all my friends and only focus on befriending the dog. My home was always filled with a wide range of animals growing up, both standard pets’ like cats and birds” and some more exotic types. Over the course of my life I’ve owned everything from a quaker parrot to a hedgehog to ferrets, and I’ve always had a burning desire to learn everything I could about them. As a child, I found myself intensely interested in the responsibilities that came with caring for these animals and their health. Whether it was feeding them, teaching them some tricks, giving them their medicine, trimming their nails, or cleaning their cages, I was always eager to help. Even now, as an almost-adult, I still jump at the chance to care for my pets and I live to tag along to their vet visits. Being a part of the first generation to grow up alongside technology, I quickly discovered that the internet was an endless source of information that I could navigate. I could find the information I was so hungry for all on my own. I dove into the wealth of resources available, particularly turning to YouTube channels like “The Kitten Lady” and “Vet Ranch.” These channels became my window into a world I could only dream of experiencing firsthand. They provided detailed views of surgeries, diagnoses, and treatments. Watching these videos, I was amazed by the precision and care involved in animal medicine. I became fascinated by the delicate art of surgery and healing, and I began to learn about the many different conditions animals can face and how they are treated. My favorite videos were the surgeries that were uncensored. They showed entire surgeries from start to finish and risked being demonetized to educate the curious. Best of all, they dedicated those videos to future vets. I asked myself the question: “Am I a future vet?” The videos felt like they were made for me specifically. I had never felt that kind of passion for any of my other hobbies. I knew it would be hard work, but that had never stopped me before. So I decided, at the age of 10, that I would be a future vet.