For many years of my life, I took everything I had for granted. When I looked at my life through the eyes of the millions of people living in poor conditions like my father’s old village, I saw a completely different picture.To have guaranteed necessities such as shelter, clean water, food, and the hundreds of luxuries like having a car and phone makes my life seem like fantasy to those unfortunate people. Knowing all this inspired me to do well in high school, which allowed me to get into UCLA. Now that I’m at this world-class university and have my future held in my fingertips, I realize it’s too late to quit. If I did, it would show that I’m ungrateful towards my father’s struggles. If he could succeed from where he grew up, there’s no excuse for me not to.
Visits to the third world a couple years ago had a great impact on my life. From my father’s old village to the streets of Calcutta in India, what I saw transformed my perspective forever. I witnessed the overcrowded homes, trash-filled streets, and lack of running water, and saw the unhappy looks on the inhabitants' faces. The gloom overlooking the areas was unprecedented to anything I’ve seen elsewhere, a very depressing sight to see. I saw the shortage of health care options and learned that sick people who couldn’t afford treatment were practically left to die. Seeing this is what led me to pursue a career in medicine, where hopefully I’ll be able to serve people regardless of their income. Hopefully I’ll also be able to provide my children with the same opportunities I had growing up, and I’ll be sure to remind them of the harsh realities of the world, which I believe will motivate them to excel as it did with me.
Comments