I was raised in a low income, rural community in Jamaica. My mother had five other children, only one of whom has completed a bachelor’s degree. My mother was not able to finish high school, as she had to take care of her younger siblings. The average age of pregnancy for the young women in my community was 16 years old. Despite these experiences, I always believed that I was destined for something greater. I went through life with rose colored glasses. I did not care how unrealistic it was, I was convinced that I was going to achieve my goals through education. I just had to figure out what those goals were. My goals would become clearer through every moment of hardship that I have ever experienced. At 9 years of age, I lost my father to complications from Sickle Cell Disease. This devastation would serve to awaken something within me. Firstly, I now had to learn how to navigate life without my father. This was my first real experience with grief. I now had to navigate an adult circumstance with my immature experiences. Secondly, I now have questions about my own health, considering Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic condition. After his death, I was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Trait, which affects my life rather mildly. A year and a half later, my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I watched her fight until the very end. I watched as she lost her personality, and her ability to be mobile. One year after her diagnosis, my mother unfortunately passed away. I had never felt less in control and more helpless than I did in those three years. I found myself helplessly crying to God, asking “Why me? Why my parents?” Though I could not answer those questions, I could at least figure out what happened to my parents. I spent countless hours on the internet researching their conditions. I decided that I never wanted someone to endure the level of helplessness that I felt in those moments. I finally discovered what I was destined to do. I boldly declared my ambition to be a physician. Becoming a physician provides me with the unique opportunity to combine patient care and research, leading to the best outcomes possible for the patient. During my undergraduate career, I harnessed my feelings of helplessness and turned them into action through healthcare advocacy. As a peer health advocate at Metro Inclusive Health and President of the USF Chapter of the NAACP, I was able to educate vulnerable populations and create meaningful change in healthcare. I was able to communicate complex medical information to those most in need, a task that would have given me so much closure if someone had taken the time to do it for me. My advocacy for my community extends beyond medicine. In my role as president of the USF Chapter of the NAACP, I was able to raise funds to give scholarships to two deserving students and organize a week of events called Black Out Week. These events were meant to bridge the gap between education, advocacy and entertainment for the students at the University of South Florida. My belief in myself, regardless of the circumstances, has allowed me to create enriching experiences professionally, academically and personally. I have achieved feats that were one implausible to a person of my background. This belief in myself, my belief that everything will be okay and my drive to create a better life for myself and those around me have fueled my drive to be a physician.

For every stage of my life, the life of my dreams has always looked different. The concept of a dream life had always seemed like a distant future, where my imagination became reality. If you had asked me 10 years ago what my dream life was, I would have said stability. I wanted a room of my own, the ability to pursue a college education, and a chance to make a difference in the world. At this time, I was freshly an orphan. My dream life consisted of what one could refer to as necessities, but it was the goal that I was working towards. Now, as I have gone on to achieve those things, my dream life has changed. In those ten years, I was adopted by a loving family who gave me the support that I needed to pursue a college degree. They had worked hard to create a life for themselves and shared that with me. 10 years ago, my dream life was shaped from a place of limitation. With my needs met, I am now able to dream bigger than I ever thought I could. My dream life looks very different than it looked 10 years ago, signifying how far I have come. My dream life looks like a fulfilling career as a cardiothoracic surgeon. My dream life looks like continuing to maintain my relationships with my family and friends. And most importantly, my dream life looks like positively impacting the world through research, healthcare and philanthropy. Many people have sacrificed so much for me to be in this position, and I will pour into others more than it has been done for me. I have always been interested in the medical field, especially after realizing the disparities faced by black women and other women of color. The field of medicine was not designed with us in mind and it is my personal mission to try and change that fact. Isn’t it interesting how goals can change when our circumstances do? I hope to use my story to inspire other young girls from low-income backgrounds. I have learned that through believing in myself, all other things will fall into place. Someone out there with the resources to help will see your drive and ambition to create a better life for yourself. It may seem impossible but through courage and belief in oneself, the support to achieve your dreams will come soon.

“The day the roles reverse is foreign. It’s a clumsy dance of love and responsibility, not wanting to cross any lines of respect. It’s honoring this person who gave their life to you—not to mention literally gave you life—and taking their fragile body in your hands like a newborn, tending to their every need.” ― Lisa Goich-Andreadis Every person wants to take care of their parents. Most people want to retire their parents early, so they may relax. After all, parents deserve that. They try their best to love and raise us, and we would like to return the favor. However, I never imagined having to literally take care of my biological mother. That experience has shaped me into the person I am today. In 2015, my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. In the beginning, she could take care of herself. In fact, she held on to her independence for as long as possible. However, as her disease progressed, she needed more assistance. My family was not wealthy, and our financial stability depended on how much my mother could work. With her illness, the burden fell on my older siblings to provide for and pay for her medical expenses. This meant that I was now responsible for caring for my mother. At 11 years old, I was responsible for giving my mother her medication, assisting her with baths, and even physical therapy. My siblings would make her meals before they went to work, so I was never cooking by myself. I took my job as her caregiver very seriously. As I saw my mother slowly deteriorate before my eyes, it became apparent that this was the way I could pay her back. I did my best to love and appreciate her through her final days. On September 14, 2016, my mother, my light passed away. It was a year after her diagnosis. Taking care of my mother affected me in a variety of ways. It gave me my last chance of taking care of my parents since my father died unexpectedly. It solidified my career goals; I want to be a doctor. More importantly, it made me more human. Since then, I have grown more compassionate towards people, and I am dedicated to being a great doctor. This compassion will be quite beneficial as a doctor because I know what it feels like to be the loved one of the patient. I could not change what happened to my mother, but I am grateful that I was able to make her final days a little bit brighter. I would have never chosen to be a caregiver under those circumstances, yet I would not have it any other way. I can rest easy knowing that she was well taken care of because she was surrounded by family and love.

My talent is singing. I love to sing and have been doing so since I was a little girl. It is a way for me to enjoy myself, all while entertaining my family and friends. Singing brings me a lot of joy. My biological mother used to love hearing me sing, and my adoptive parents love it too. They motivate me to do talent shows and anything that helps me work on this craft. I have never received formal training, so what I am able to do comes from practice. I have also participated in school and church choirs and talent shows. They help me overcome the anxiety of performing. I like watching Youtube videos on how I can be a better vocalist. Because of this, I have gotten better at changing between head and chest voice and I am now learning how to mix. Mixing is combining the two voices previously mentioned. Another way that I practice is by trying to imitate incredible singers. By imitating them, I change my voice and learn their vocal techniques. Singing is a hobby of mine and I really enjoy doing it. I am also trying to write music as well.

My favorite book is Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys. The book deals with a young female lead who lives in the 1950s Louisiana French Quarter. Her neglectful mother is a prostitute that falls in love in the blink of an eye. Our main character is forced to grow up. She wants more than Louisiana, more than her mother's prostitution, more than life has offered her. With this goal in mind, Josie starts saving to leave. She works in a book shop, for pennies. She saves every dime that she earns, in hopes of leaving this life behind. She ends up being gifted some money to pay for college, but she doesn't get accepted. On top of all of this, her mother breaks into her room and steals her savings, pushing the reality of college further away. She ends up inheriting money from her recently deceased caregiver and moves out of Louisiana. What I love about this book is that it shows our main character, Josie, as a fighter. She so desperately wants an education and wants to be very different from her father. Josie spends the entirety of this book dreaming of a fictional father, whom she never met. She hopes that he has some good in him. because that would mean she has some good in her. If you learn nothing else from this book, learn this. In life, you must keep going. You have to keep fighting for the things that you want, for the love you want, and for the life you want.

Throughout our lives, we will have moments of clarity. We will connect the dots and finally understand. This clarity can change our entire view of the world. This is the story of my moment of clarity. One day, my older brother was helping me with an assignment. I was in primary school at the time. The assignment asked to state one’s, economic class. I responded by writing “middle class” on the page. My brother laughed in my face, but not in a condescending way. He was simply surprised by my innocence. Once he stopped laughing, he stated that we were poor. It was this moment of clarity that helped me put the pieces together. As I grew older, being poor explained a lot of things: why my parents worked themselves into the ground, why fixing our home was a goal that my parents never achieved and why they continually reminded us about the importance of education. This was only the beginning. The most significant clarifying moment was when my mother became ill. In 2015, she was diagnosed with Stage II Cervical Cancer. The entire process was painful for my mother and family She would need treatment, but chemotherapy and radiation were all that were available in Jamaica. I watched as my siblings scrambled to pay for her treatment and her medication. Thankfully, we had relatives to assist with the cost of treatment, but the entire process showed me that poverty made people vulnerable. A year after her diagnosis, my mother passed away. I remember thinking about how different the outcome would have been had my family not been poor. How we could have traveled to America for different treatments; how we could do diet changes if only we had the money. This moment of clarity is what taught me that I did not want to be poor anymore and that I wanted to help others who were in a similar position. I wanted a college education, something that most people around me did not have. My childhood, and all it entailed, sparked something within me. I realized that I needed to be successful and when I was, I would do everything in my power to help others. The tragedy of my mother pushed me to medicine. In experiencing the agony of losing a loved one, I vowed to be a part of the healthcare system. In gaining success, I would use my position to help people who were in similar situations, creating a counseling program, that would guide students on their path to success and provide funding for their education. This program would also allow people the space they need to be vulnerable, to deal with the emotions around the hardships of their lives. I remember feeling that I had to be strong, that I would be a burden for being sad. I plan on creating a space where people do not have to feel that way. My moment of clarity helped me to realize my dreams. It created a passion for success and helping others that I will forever be grateful for.

Throughout our lives, we will have moments of clarity. We will connect the dots and finally understand. This clarity can change our entire view of the world. This is the story of my moment of clarity. I am the youngest of seven children. I lived with five of my older siblings, my mom, and my dad. My older siblings had different dads, many of whom were dead, or might as well have been. However, it did not matter because we were one big happy family, living in Cockpit, Clarendon, Jamaica. One day, my older brother was helping me with an assignment. I was in primary school at the time. The assignment asked to state one’s economic class. I confidently responded by writing “middle class” on the page. My brother laughed in my face, but not in a condescending way. He was simply surprised by my innocence. Once he stopped laughing, he corrected me, stating that we were poor. It was this moment of clarity that helped me put the pieces together. It did not happen immediately, but as I grew older, being poor explained a lot of things:  why my parents worked themselves into the ground, why fixing our home was a goal that my parents never achieved and why they continually reminded us about the importance of education. This was only the beginning. The most significant clarifying moment was when my mother became ill. In 2015, she was diagnosed with Stage II Cervical Cancer. The entire process was painful for my mother and for the rest of my family. She would need treatment, but chemotherapy and radiation were all that were available in Jamaica. I watched as my siblings scrambled to pay for her treatment and her medication. Thankfully, we had relatives to assist with the cost of treatment, but the entire process showed me that poverty made people vulnerable. A year after her diagnosis, my mother passed away. I remember thinking about how different the outcome would have been had my family not been poor. How we could have traveled to America for different treatments; how we could do diet changes if only we had the money. This moment of clarity is what taught me that I did not want to be poor anymore and that I wanted to help others who were in a similar position. My childhood, and all it entailed, sparked something within me. I realized that I needed to be successful and when I was, I would do everything in my power to help others. The tragedy of my mother pushed me to medicine. In experiencing the agony of losing a loved one, I vowed to be a part of the healthcare system. In gaining success, I would use my position to help people who were in similar situations. My goal is to create a counseling program, that would guide students on their path to success and provide funding for their education. This program would also allow people the space they need to be vulnerable, to deal with the emotions around the hardships of their lives. I remember feeling that I had to be strong, that I would be a burden for being sad. I plan on creating a space where people do not have to feel that way. Throughout our lives, we will have moments of clarity. We will connect the dots and finally understand. This clarity can change our entire view of the world. My moment of clarity helped me to realize my dreams. It created a passion for success and helping others that I will forever be grateful for.

I have a number of positive qualities if I do say so myself. However, I admire my resilience the most. I am proud of my ability to bounce back, regardless of what has been thrown my way. This quality has helped me so much throughout my entire life. It is useful in my academic, family, and personal life. The harsh reality is that I had to learn this trait in not-so-pleasant ways. Allow me to provide examples. When I was nine years old, I lost my father to heart complications caused by sickle cell disease. It was unexpected. It affected me badly, but it most negatively impacted my mother. My mother had lost her husband, her life partner, and the love of her life. Her mental health was not the best. It was this moment that taught me that I needed to be okay. I needed to stay strong for my mother because if I were okay, she would feel slightly better. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I took it, nonetheless. I did my best. I kept up with my grades in school and tried to provide my mother with a small sense of normalcy. We healed from the traumatic event together. During the spring semester of my junior year, I began to slack off in school. I felt tired all the time, I was unmotivated and was only focusing on playing flag football. It was the only thing in my life that was keeping me sane. It gave me a reason to wake up in the morning since that had become a chore. I was usually an A student but that semester, I was getting Bs, Cs, and Ds. However, my parents taking away football was the wake-up call I needed. I pulled myself together. I worked hard to turn in all my late assignments and upcoming assignments on time. I ended the semester with four As and three Bs. It was not what I was used to getting, but I was proud of myself for taking responsibility and putting in the work. These are just a few examples of how my resilience has helped me in my life. I am proud of what I have been able to achieve. I am proud of the things that I have been able to do. My resilience will be useful for a lifetime, as I have that many experiences awaiting me. I will approach them with this quality.