Our world is heavily divided in ideologies and what we deem to be important. Everywhere you look there are people claiming to belong to one side, claiming that one media source is false compared to another, claiming this over that. With all of the bigger issues going on in our world, like the pandemic or climate change, we can't afford to be divided based on what we think is important or what we want. We certainly can't be divided simply because we think somebody else doesn't deserve an opinion since they belong to one ideology. The best way for people to work on this issue is to work on becoming more inclusive or open-minded. This is much, much easier said than done. Having an open view on things, especially when all your life you've been so focused on what you believe is a tall task to ask anybody to do. However, if we don't find a way to be more receptive to what everyone is saying, there's no way we can work together to tackle large problems like the rising climate. Compromise, as hard as it is to do, is a key thing that everyone should become versed in. If you are able to compromise, you are able to work with others much more efficiently. Not only that, oftentimes compromising leads to combining ideas, which can give birth to a better idea that was you may have thought before. It goes both ways, though. One person cannot be expected to compromise while the other gets to keep their stance. That, generally, leads to even more conflict. The best way we all can work together is to... well, learn to work together and not be so focused on our individual wants or needs. Then, we can focus on the big issues.

When I was around 10 years old my younger brother, unfortunately, passed away. He fell into the pool at my aunt's house, four days before his birthday. It was a hard blow to me as a young kid, my brother was one of my closest friends. The last thing I told him was: "go to mom, stop bothering me." It's one of my biggest regrets. After his death, my mental health suffered for a while. I couldn't eat, I didn't sleep very well, and I didn't know how to express my grief. Even now I can still feel the pain that I felt that day. It took me a long time to recover, I was afraid of ever letting my younger siblings go near water. For a while, I refused to swim as well. I felt deep inherent guilt as if my brother died because of me. It was my brother's death that inspired me, though. When we went to the hospital that night, the doctor who delivered the news to us did it without much compassion or empathy. I had already wanted to become a doctor, but I never knew what type of doctor I wanted to be nor did I have a good reason to go into that field. The night we left the hospital, I came out with the answer to both of those questions. I wanted, and still want, to become a pediatric ER doctor because I want to help families just like mine who are at risk of losing their loved ones. Before, the idea of making money was what drove me to the medical field. Now, I want to be something that I believe all doctors should be, personable and compassionate. I always strive to be compassionate, like when my family and I volunteered at Graham Lake to pass out free life vests to families that were swimming that day. Each one I gave to a mother, father, son, or daughter, I gave it to them with a smile and said "Have a safe swim." Even when people turned me down when I walked around offering the vests to the swimmers, I still smiled and told everyone to have a safe and fun day. Through my struggle with grief, I learned compassion and found, what I believe, is my calling in life. Something that would've never happened if I hadn't gone through my brother's death. I guess you could say that's why it happened. Although I'll never know for sure, that gives me comfort and the energy I need to keep on working towards what I want.

My aspiration in life is to become a Pediatric Emergency Room doctor. This all began when my younger brother passed away eight years ago. He fell into the pool on his birthday and drowned. The night was a tragic, sad blur that is hard to remember, but I will never forget how much apathy and indifference the doctor showed when she told us that my brother passed away. After that day, I knew that I wanted to become a doctor and exactly what field I wanted to go into. Ever since that day, I have worked towards becoming a medical professional. I started taking every medical science course I had available to me at my high school, as well as participating in in-hospital clinical rotations and working towards obtaining my EMT certification the summer after I graduated high school. I've even volunteered at a lake in Texas, Graham Lake, to pass out life vests for free with my family and some family friends. The path I chose was hard, but it was inspired by an event that's even harder. I would rather undergo countless hours of specialized training than to ever experience my brother's death again. Not just that, I would go through all that training to make sure that nobody ever has to go through what my family did. And even if I do fail, I will be compassionate and caring, the way I wish the doctor had acted when there was nothing more they could do for my family. The entire reason I have found my path in life is through the loss of my brother. It gave me my sense of direction and showed me what I wanted to do more than anything. I want to save and help people when they feel like everything is lost. I want to be the person that my family needed 8 years ago when my little brother passed.