I chose to follow a career in the radiologic sciences. I hope to one day be an MRI technician, and/or a nuclear radiologist. I have always found the human body fascinating. I am an artist, and since I was young, I’ve liked to draw the layers of anatomy down to the bone. Reading anatomy books from a young age, being exposed to it, and drawing, has allowed me to develop a sincere appreciation for how humans are built. I do have some personal reasons as to why I want to pursue this field as well. When I was eight, my mother was in a horrible car accident. She and a coworker were stopped at a red light when a beer delivery van, going 70 miles an hour, slammed into the rear end of the car pushing them through the median. My mother was not paralyzed, but suffered from life-long injuries including a bruised spinal cord, broken neck, migraines, whiplash, PTSD, nerve damage (including severe muscle spasms), and many other severe damages. Growing up, I have been in numerous hospitals and doctor’s offices hoping there would be some cure for her never-ending pain. I wanted to know why she was experiencing such a hard time, and what doctors were referring to when they used specific terminology. She quit her pain medications that were only making her lethargic, and gain heavy weight. Since, she has been diagnosed with diabetes, inability to work or continue school, and has had shoulder surgery from a bone spur that grew from the accident. She also had another neck surgery that she had to undergo five years post-accident, since they put her hardware in wrong. She has endured more pain from that messed up surgery than she should’ve. I hope to be able to spot these problems in people in the future and get them the help they need. Many doctors told my mom her pain was “exaggerated” and that she just needed to take her medication. She was released from the hospital only two days after the accident. Being a single mother, it was hard for her to continue her education, have a job, and take care of me pre-accident. Life became much harder for us, we got evicted from our home on my ninth birthday, only six months since she’d been released from the hospital. She had fallen into a deep depression, and ten years later, lost the court case that would recoup her millions of dollars in medical bills. With the degree I intend to pursue, I am going to give her everything she fought for in the case. I want to relieve the stress that she has faced, and pay off her medical bills. I want to help the millions of Americans that suffer, and let them know someone understands their pain. By being educated, and in the field, I can use my voice to advocate for those who want answers about their own injuries. Watching my mother get shut down about her problems and told they weren't serious, only for her to be right, made me realize how many people have experienced this interaction themselves. I want to make a difference in those experiences, and be supportive for all patients.