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I Spoon-fed Her Each Day
Watching my grandmother get progressively weaker; not wanting to believe the doctors' diagnosis of terminal cancer and the prediction that she would live only for another year; separated by thousands of miles from my parents, who had moved to the United States while I stayed in China with my grandmother-I lived a life so different from that of the average seventeen-year-old. In addition to caring for my grandmother, I was going to school and preparing for my final exams, the equivalent of the SATs. Grandmother died on the day that I took the exam. Of the one million students who took the exam that day, I was ranked thirty-fourth and won the national merit scholarship. And yet I was in a state of complete shock: my grandmother was gone and I felt paralyzed. But eventually my memories of her inspired me to make a genuine difference in the lives of others. I decided to pursue a career in medicine.
I joined the rest of my family in the U.S. and within six months was enrolled in the honors program at Mississippi State. Since there is no pre-med major, I was able to major in any subject and still complete the pre-med requirements; I was advised to major in Philosophy or Drama to boost my GPA. Instead, I decided to major in Math, a subject I've always enjoyed. Though many people told me I must be crazy and that my background would not have sufficiently prepared me for the difficulty ofthe pre-med classes, I have earned A-plusses in all of the ten math courses I have taken so far, five of which were advanced classes.
I have concentrated on opportunities that will prepare me for studies in clinical medicine, oncology and geriatrics. I learned of a prestigious research fellowship at Harvard and, although it was open only to upperclassmen, I applied and was accepted. I have taken honors classes in biology and have enjoyed the research work I've done.
Keeping in mind that my goal is ultimately to help people, I've also devoted a portion of my time to volunteer opportunities: I tutored math for high school students in my neighborhood and recently became a part-time volunteer at Memorial Hospital. It was terribly difficult for me to leave China and create a completely new life after the death of my grandmother.
She passed away in 2006 when I was a junior in high school. My family and I visited her every weekend at the nursing home. She disliked being at the nursing home away from her family. At the same time, it was the only way for her to be taken care of. She was paralyzed from her left side of the body from a stroke and diabetes. Also, she was a little heavy. Therefore, they were unable to lift her up and do the activities of daily living. Between her sons and daughters they all decided that her being in a nursing home is the best decision for her and everyone else.
My lifetime goal is helping others and I plan to use my career to fulfill it. The classes I’m taking right now and the ones I’m planning to take senior year are classes I believe will influence my decision in my college major/career as well as counting toward my GPA. This will help me get into schools who have medical programs that I’m considering. Also, taking AP classes can help me save money since I can earn college credit. I’m taking all AP classes, and the electives I’m taking have been classes that have helped me consider being in the medical field. I’ve found that over the years, science and math are what I’m doing better in versus history and english. I believe by being in the medical field, I can help others in the best way I can.
Most non-profit organizations’ purpose is to improve the local community and society. The purpose of a small business is to make a profit by providing a service or selling a product. This purpose is what drives the employees/volunteers and usually there is a difference in how we work when we are just earning a paycheck as compared to when we work toward a cause we believe in.
I wished I could have helped her more, if just to better her last moments on Earth. With all my hours in clinical shadowing or volunteering, with all my coursework as a graduate student in biomedical engineering—I was not preparred for this. I was not ready to cope with the sense of powerlessness I felt that day.
I am dedicated to helping out our community and school, because it warms my heart and soul. Seneca said in about 40 to 60 A.D. that you should “be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favors you have received.” In other words you should not boast about the numerous projects you have accomplished and how much physical work you executed, but rather pride yourself on how you helped people in community and school, and how you have affected their lives with positive means. I feel life is joyous and it should be the feeling everyone illustrates, and this is exactly what keeps me functioning in the stressful world today. I find comfort in helping others to make their lives a little more like heaven and this comfort motivates me to perform copious service projects to the best of my capability whenever I find the time. Time is fair to the rich, the poor, and to every race, because time is equal and gives everyone 24 hours daily to accomplish their required tasks. Because time is so valuable and I am occupied by difficult advanced placement and honor classes and juggle school, clubs, sports, and friends, I joined Key Club, a high school division of the adult service club, Kiwanis. Key Club opened new doors to make every extra minute count towards helping others.
I have participated in several volunteer opportunities as a Girl Scout, singing Christmas carols at a local hospital, picking up trash along the beach, working at a homeless shelter, leading events for younger Girl Scouts and much more. These opportunities have influenced me to become aware of the struggles within my
Along with all my extra-curricular activities, I still manage to find time to accomplish my homework and achieve a high grade point average. Currently, my GPA is a 97.889. I constantly work harder and harder to maintain my grades and continue to challenge myself every year by scheduling difficult classes. Even though travel soccer is all-year-round, I make it my priority to uphold my high grades. With many stresses over the overlap in soccer schedules and studying for school, I make a list of assignments and follow my schedule in order to have time to participate in both. As proof of my scholarly achievements, I have received Distinguished Varsity Scholar Awards for both my freshman and sophomore years. I persevere to progress and maintain my grades so that I can accomplish more when I go to college. My ambition is to become a doctor and I know that I can achieve this feat as long as I stay steadfast in my education. From my years of schooling, I have learned that achieving great things comes with hardships, perseverance, and
...continue my journey because of certain circumstances, I am relieved that I preserved despite all odds. In essence, I now know that volunteering at hospice enabled me to do my part and help others. Even if it is not major, just the ability to brighten the day of a lonely patient by making them holiday cards or speaking to their family members gave me much needed joy and fulfillment. Because of my involvement at Heartland Hospice, I have come to include community service as a necessary part of my life. Over a period of time, I have learned that volunteering isn’t just about clocking in hours but rather an obligation to do my best to help others and contribute to society in any way I can. I also feel that my love and compassion for people are strengths especially applicable to service, and that volunteering my time is the best way I can satisfy this calling.
developed a passion to emulate my grandmother’s desire to serve others. I volunteered at Church, visited
My mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the time, so when she became sick, I had to become her aid. Every day after school, I would have to do my homework and then tend to my ailing mother via giving her medicine ...
Growing up in a society where there are so many opportunities, I had no problem figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. I have always enjoyed helping others in any way that I was able too. From babysitting, raking leaves, serving as a volunteer for a number of organizations, no matter how big or small the need, I have always found it gratifying to help others. I ultimately recognized that I had to pursue a career in something that would allow me to help others, while positively giving back to the community. The heavy influence of wanting to help others comes from my very own personal life experiences, which have greatly impacted my career choices. These experiences include being an adopted child, volunteering within my community, serving as a resident assistant and
Forensic science has been in practice for centuries; the first textbook on forensic science was printed in China during the 1200's; in the early 1800's, a technique was developed the first test to identify arsenic in the blood stream; the early 1900's lead to the development of using fingerprinting to identify victims and suspects. While these discoveries where important in criminal investigation, they were only the beginning. Only recently has forensic science significantly refined its techniques and accuracy. Today scientists can locate, identify and trace the tiniest of particles, and identify victims and suspects, beyond a reasonable doubt through DNA analysis. This evolution in forensic science is a prosecutor's dream; while a defense attorney's nightmare. Forensic science has made great strides.
Non-profit organizations are unique business institutions whose primary focus is the fulfillment of an organizational mission. A non-profit organization is truly only identifiable from a for-profit business by observing the eventual flow of money. This difference can be seen in both the flow of money into the organization as well as the resulting outflow of profits. Not-for profit organizations typically receive their funds from operations, donors, and memberships while recycling any profits back into the organization.
In the future, I wish to obtain an occupation in the medical field. I would like to start out by working for a Biology major and working in a premedical field in college where I can use my interest in medicine and my curiosity for knowledge to gain insight that would be needed to become a helpful doctor in the medical field. As I move along in my career, I would like to work my way through the pathway so that I can expand my skills in healing others, such as diagnostic abilities, effectively giving treatment and so on. I want to learn as much as possible so I can fulfill my ultimate dream of helping others that need answers to their medical problems and so that more people can live happily and healthily in the world. I hope to bring happiness to others and allowing people to live comfortably.
At the age of 36, mom decided to return to college to obtain her nursing degree. This wasn’t a hard decision for her to make. In April before she enrolled in school, my great grandmother passed away. This major dilemma played a major role in mom’s return to school. She had taken care of my great grandmother for months before she passed away, and decided that she wanted to make an impact on the lives of geriatrics.