During my last class of the day, my teacher's explanation of the Quadratic formula faded into gibberish because I was mentally agitated trying to decide between studying for my Medical Terminology exam or driving for another time-consuming round of deliveries to make sure the bills were paid by the end of the month. I knew I had to make the deliveries. I found myself tapping my hand on the steering wheel, I was nervously waiting for a call from my brother, who similarly does multiple jobs to help with the family. I could already hear a deadbeat voice asking me about how many orders I have delivered so far. Over the last year, I have done thousands of orders and driven tens of thousands of miles to assist with numerous house bills-all in the name of family. The road that brought me to my car’s seat that night had been a long and exhausting one.
I was born and raised in a country where every system is corrupt. The education system is more than destroyed. It is a country where every family has difficulties putting food on the table. A country with child labor, a country where more than half of the population is unemployed. Afghanistan is not only the most dangerous country in the world but it is a country where a child has no future, which in my opinion, is more dangerous. My family’s life in Afghanistan was challenging in many ways; such as; poverty, lack of education, lack of safety, violence, and exploitation. Since my father was working with the American military, the Taliban always threatened my father. The Taliban used to send menacing letters, stating that they will hurt our family if he continued working with Americans. I always saw those letters on the table. Reading those letters always terrified me. My father was also afraid. After moving 19 times to different houses, my father finally decided to leave everything behind and move to Pakistan to live a happy life or at least to stay alive. Two years later we migrated to the United States as a refugee background.
Moving from one country to another, and starting your life from zero is very difficult. My family, like many other refugee families, experienced many challenges to overcome, such as lack of English and transportation. We had to ask others for help in buying groceries or going to an appointment. I truly appreciate the people in my community that helped us, and I always think about how I can give back to my community.
My father and my brother started working in a cheese factory, while I was attending school. My family was very happy about the life we were having in the United States until one day my father injured his spine when lifting a heavy barrel during work. Now he is disabled. Honestly, that day, I saw my father shed tears in the hospital bed, not because of the pain but because he could not continue supporting the family. With bills to pay and food to put on the table, my brother started a second job at a chip factory. My father always encouraged me to pursue my education, but I knew I had to step in. I started delivering food using my brother’s car while pursuing my education.
Because of my father’s advice and encouragement, I am now the president of the National Honor Society, the president of my school’s robotics team, the president of my school's MESA team, and I have received many honors and achievements. I have done many volunteering and community services to give back to my community.
I intend to pursue a major in biomedical engineering (BME) while being enrolled in pre-medical courses. I chose BME because I have a strong interest in both the medical field and robotics. I am the president of my school’s robotics team, which drives my interest to join engineering. At the same time, my hope and my main goal is to attend medical school to become an Internal medicine physician. I know that it will be difficult and expensive to be in medical school, but my desire to become a doctor will overcome all the challenges that will arise during this journey to my career. My motivation to become a doctor stems from my desire to be able to treat patients like my father and my mother. They both suffer from untreated maladies. My father has spinal damage from lifting a heavy barrel during work while my mother has Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) resulting in severe Germaphobia and excessive cleaning. These maladies cease their ability to work. I am certain that many other families have similar issues as my family. I want to become a doctor because I truly want to diagnose and treat these health issues in my community.
Biomedical engineering would be my second choice since being a biomedical engineer means that I can only assist the hospitals and not directly treat people in my community. However, if I become a doctor I could help more people in my community and place more smiles on people’s faces. It feels good when you put a smile on someone’s face. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself.
I understand that I have high expectations and expensive goals, but a dream is just a dream without hard work. I am more than certain that I can achieve my goals through hard work and dedication. I am the first individual in my family endeavoring to step into college. I will make myself, my friends, and my family proud. The tragedies and difficulties in my life have helped me understand the value of education to my future and the future of my family. My family had an unpleasant experience with letters, but this letter will shape my future. I thank the Taylor Price Financial Literacy for the Future Scholarship for helping me achieve my goals.