A cockroach is a cockroach, especially when you are sitting with heavy-lidded eyes that feel as if they weighed a ton during the last five minutes of class on a Friday afternoon. A cockroach is a cockroach when it has chosen that moment to, for some reason, crawl up your armrest and continue to do so under your desk as you pray that it does not show itself to you because, unfortunately, you cannot just fly from your seat in a college class filled with sixty other people. Most especially not if you are sitting up front, which is the very case here. I am a sophomore in college, majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry, with the goal of applying to and being accepted into medical school in the near future. I open with that story, which only happened a week ago, because it describes how I stand with biology. As a former pre-nursing student, I initially switched to biology because I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but a year of being a STEM major resulted in new piqued interests and appreciation for the life around me. I started hearing birds loudly chirp in the morning, I also learned to walk slower to soak up the sun and feel the breeze rush against the hairs on my arm, and I started to wonder more about the "why" and "how" of things. Yes, I appreciate nature even more now, but again, a cockroach is still a cockroach. Aside from the science courses that I am taking this semester, I am enrolled in a two-credit course called Community-Based Medicine, where I meet with nine other students every Tuesday evening to discuss healthcare concerns, such as insurance coverage, patient care, and the health disparities most present within rural Texas, among many others. Globally, the United States spends the most on its healthcare system, yet it ranks the lowest in terms of quality when compared to those of the most developed nations. We are currently reading a book in class called Well by Sandro Galea, and he talks about the different factors that should be taken into account when talking about health, such as money, politics, people, history, freedom, power, love, hate, compassion, and knowledge, among a few others. He argues that our healthcare system focuses too much on the medical aspect of care rather than also the more personal impacts of living on determining health. I find myself agreeing with many of his sentiments, but that is not the point here. The point is, science alone cannot treat a patient. We need love, connection, empathy, and compassion, among many others, to understand that patient care goes beyond the hospital setting and into the socio-economical, cultural, and historical aspects of what makes an individual their own unique self; for that, we need the arts. We need literature, music, but most of all, emotions, to form our identities. And I believe that by addressing these facets of life, we create healthier versions of ourselves. I would not have come to this conclusion without being a biology student enrolled in my Tuesday class; therefore, I seek to utilize my education not only to participate in extending human scientific knowledge but also to hone myself into an individual that is best fitting to be a healthcare provider for her community, one who understands that health manifests in many more ways other than comorbidities. Health is tangled in personal relationships, financial stability, economic standing, and the ability to prevent roach presence within the vicinity. Thank you for your consideration.

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.