Body Aches [:: College Admission Essay Sample

My palms were sweating. My heart was beating out of my chest. “When you go in, you might want to put on a mask so you don’t smell them, and make sure you are wearing your universal precautions!” I was about to see and explore inside of dead bodies. In a room full of seniors aspiring to get into the medical field, I was the lone junior, and I thought I wanted to become an architect!

The body bags were unzipped; only intensifying the smell of embalming fluid. Why was I here? I do not want to become a doctor! “Arielle, you’re going to be with us, and we’re starting on body number one. Are you ready?”

No I am not ready! I am about to open up a dead person! The flaps of the body bag were folded up, and there it was. Body number one. I was staring at an actual dead body.

Suddenly, the nerves had vanished. The butterflies had gone away. I was staring at a dead body. It was cool! I was able to apply everything I had learned in Health Occupations that year to the body I was looking at. I was able to identify almost every bone, muscle, and organ I saw. My group relied on me to identify everything, and that’s when I realized I have a gift for this! I want to help people, I want to make a difference in the world; so, why should I become an architect? The human body is like a building, and I feel that going into orthopedic surgery would combine my love for medicine and architecture. Every bone is like a piece of wood, constructing the frame to a building to keep it from falling. That day in the cadaver lab helped me realize my true calling in life.

Being a three-sport athlete for the past four years has gotten me acquainted with sports medicine and the basic fundamentals; however, when I entered into Honors Health Occupations 1-2 my junior year, the more in-depth look into medicine was my true epiphany in high school. I am currently enrolled in Honors Health Occupations 3-4, and in-depth studies of anatomy and physiology have taught me some of the most incredibly fascinating things I have ever learned.