I grew up among people who were about to go into their tertiary institutions because my Mom was in charge of processing their applications. I would meet so many different people with different test scores and from different backgrounds; most of them with really low scores or have graduated from high school 2 years ago or more. I was still in high school then, young and naïve, fervently wishing to not have the same story, always motivating myself to focus so as to go into university with a high test score and into my dream major-Medicine and Surgery. My uncle is also a doctor and is someone I have always looked up to growing up, because I always admired how he had intentionally pursued public health, and how he is always changing the lives of people he is able to reach in Nigeria, tackling one of Africa's deadliest disease- Malaria. I keep mentioning test scores, but this is an exam not like the SAT or ACT that can be taken multiple times in a year. In Nigeria, this exam (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, otherwise known as JAMB) is taken once a year and it ultimately determines whether a candidate will have the opportunity to attend a university of their choice that year, depending on their grade. The year I was to write the exam, a new policy was made regarding admissions to universities: Students were only allowed to submit their JAMB scores to ONLY ONE university for the year. This meant that this was my one and only chance to resume my first day of classes in university that year, and I had to achieve a good score that would get me into my target university with my desired major. Finally, the day for decisions came and I successfully crossed that hurdle. I had been granted admission into one of the best universities in the country to study medicine and surgery; my joy knew no bounds as I had finally done it and I made my parents very happy and proud. And then it happened... After a few months following my high school graduation, it was announced that my university and its workers were going on a full strike due to the workers not being paid their respective salaries for months. I had to face what I had been dreading-staying at home for months, but this time it was not even because of my exam score or admission. 4 months into the strike, I was introduced to the idea of coming to the United States to study, and to make it less expensive as my family would not be able to afford it, I could be given a scholarship. I wrote the SAT with very little time to prepare due to priority scholarship deadlines, but I was fortunate to secure a full tuition scholarship (which does not cover living expenses and other miscellaneous) from my school, but here I am today-grateful. My story was not a straight one as I had cried so many times due to setbacks I had experienced during this period; but I always stood up to face them, and I have learnt that these challenges were put forth before me to make me stronger. Which is why I am grateful to have experienced the strike, because if I didn't, I would not have found myself in one of the places in the world I have only dreamt of going- The United States. Upon graduation, I wish to continue that path by taking the MCAT and applying to medical school to become a cardiologist, one day.