Every job exists to help people in its own way. So if I want to become a physician someday, then I should have a better reason than "wanting to help other people," right? When asked to think of someone who makes an impact on the world, how likely are we to immediately picture public servants such as a teacher, nurse, or a firefighter in our minds? While, yes, these are a few of many that leaves a mark behind, what about the simple action of having someone hold a door open for you? Have you ever exchanged "good mornings" with a total stranger? Smile at someone you've made eye contact with? It is all these little actions woven into our everyday lives that truly makes a positive impact on humanity, on the world. The summer before my senior year of high school, I experienced my first volunteering program at the town hospital alongside nine other students around my age. This activity made me realize the importance of offering empathy, respect, gratitude, and smiles to everyone who are in the hospital for at least one of the following reasons: to save lives, to get their lives saved, or to work to sustain lives. I have pushed wheelchairs, greeted visiting families and friends, delivered flowers, prepared food in bulk for the patients, unloaded boxes of hospital items, mopped hospital floors, but the common denominator was to practice kindness. It sounds very achievable but sometimes, the easiest things become the most difficult to do. Back to the essay prompt, I could talk about how being an aspiring physician would make such a positive impact by serving the people through the healthcare field, or instead, I can share how "staying human" will do that better. With more than 8 billion people coexisting with each other, our lives have never been more complex as it is today. "Staying human" is the reason we get to experience love and joy despite our differences. No, I will never be as close to Superman in this lifetime, and who knows, I might end up pursuing a career that is very far from medicine in the future, but as long as I stay human by practicing compassion, humility, and kindness among many other great things, I know that I've already fulfilled my purpose as a part of humanity. Add to that sharing stories of God's grace with others? To tell people how He has worked in my life and shaped me to be who I am today? I might as well strive to be a role model for everyone else after me, and show how the goal is not to be all "great and mighty" but to be more in touch with what makes life "life." I plan to leave a mark by becoming a physician as someone coming from an immigrant Filipino household eager to serve the marginalized communities someday. But more importantly, I want to keep on sharing my smiles with strangers in hopes of them not being weirded out by me, opening doors for people, saying "thank you" and "I love you" as much as I can, and overall becoming an individual through whom God can manifest himself.