Compassion, Purpose, and Drive: My Motivation to Become a Doctor

Personally, I believe that the choices a person makes are what shapes who they are. Growing up in Southern Maryland has provided me with many choices that have given me the opportunity to shape the person that I hope to become. It has also given me the privilege of experiencing things and meeting people that I may not have if I had grown up in a different place.

In Southern Maryland, the diversity of people really gives you the opportunity to choose who you want to be. There are those that are religious - i.e. my family - and then you go to school and you meet people who challenge the values, and beliefs that you’ve been taught your whole life. The experiences that I have had with those who challenge what I believe have been the most enlightening experiences. I have learned to stand up for what I believe is right, even if I have to go against my peers.

Southern Maryland has also provided me with the things and people that have influenced me up until this moment. My two major influences are music and my older brother, Robbert. Music has been a big part of my life ever since I started playing guitar at the age of eight. Music has taught me how and where to channel all of my feelings. It has also taught me how important it is to be who you are and to not change yourself. Everyone has a different taste in music, just like everyone has their own personality and their own life goals.

My brother has influenced my life in a different aspect. He has become someone that I look up to more than anyone else. I’ve seen him struggle with problems in his life, but no matter what happens he never gives up. A perfect example is when he was denied commission into the air force. He spent all his life and school focused on making it into the Air Force and his senior year of college he was told that he couldn’t fulfill his dreams. The amazing this was how he handled it. Instead of being angry or depressed, he decided to look at it as if it happened for a reason. Robbert has taught me how to deal with things that have not gone the way that you wanted them to. He taught me that things happen - or don’t happen - for a reason, and to find a way to make it into a good thing.

All of these things have helped shaped who I am today and have helped teach me things that will help me when I finally get to where I want to be in life. And where I want to be is in a hospital, helping people as much as I can. My plan is to eventually become an Emergency Room doctor after the schooling that I need. For a while, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life but I did know that I wanted to help people. I went back and forth between medicine and crime, but I finally came to a decision of ER doctor. This way I experience the excitement that was drawing me solving crimes mixed with saving peoples lives first hand. I know there may be disappointments in my journey - which is where my brother’s lessons come in. And I will have to make hard decisions and stick to my gut no matter what people say - which is where my experiences come in to play. Although nothing is certain, I know that the experiences and the people that have influence who I am will lead me in the right direction - even if it doesn’t turn out exactly how I want to.