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(Name
Withheld) (back to
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The truck bounced
along the rutted dirt path that passed for a road. I held
on to my seat and glanced at the sacks of millet in the
back of the truck. I knew that the people for whom the grain
was intended lived together in isolation from the rest of
society, most of them incapable of cultivating enough food
to sustain themselves. Soon the village came into sight.
Its residents—outcasts of society—began to emerge
from mud huts and gather at the sound of the arriving vehicle.
As I got out of the truck and caught a glimpse of their
hands without fingers and their arms and legs ending in
stubs, my first instinct was to keep my distance from these
people suffering from leprosy. I was afraid…
This trip to
a leprosy village took place in Cameroon. I had the opportunity
to travel to West Africa to visit some medical missionaries.
This gave me the chance to observe medical practice up close
and to see the interaction between a western physician and
impoverished Cameroonians. My initial fear of exposure to
leprosy quickly succumbed to the compassion roused within
me by the sight of those hungry, disabled people. I felt
unworthy to receive gratitude for grain that I had not purchased;
I was simply helping to carry the sacks. Yet to allow these
people to thank me in a language I could not understand
changed them as well as me. They knew that someone cared
about them. Looking into tear-filled eyes and holding withered
hands within my hands, I understood that true love overcomes
fear. Compassion allowed me to embrace those whom society
had cast out and to place their needs above my own.
My first real
exposure to medicine came while I was in junior high when
my mother was hospitalized. Despite the stress of the situation,
it was my first time to comprehend the unique capability
of medicine to profoundly impact people’s experience
of life. Throughout high school, medicine gained a sense
of mystery and power that appealed to me. This was a profession
that would bring me success in life. My perspective on this
career drastically changed as a result of a two-month summer
mission project before my senior year of high school. During
that summer I found that serving others brings genuine fulfillment,
and I realized that the majority of my life had been spent
living in pursuit of my pleasure and my success. I made
a commitment to live my life in service of others and in
service of God. A second mission trip the following summer
caused me to consider medical mission work as a possible
career for my future.
My reason for
wanting to enter the medical field is that it is an ideal
way to incorporate my interests and my strengths into a
means of serving others. I have compassion for people, especially
those living in underdeveloped and medically deprived parts
of the world. My own love for humanity can best be expressed
by working to improve individuals’ lives through medical
care.
These experiences
have supplemented my academic dedication in order to motivate
me toward a career in medicine. My plans for my senior year
include writing a thesis in the Honors Program concerning
cross-cultural medicine, a topic that both interests me
and may be useful in my future. Thus, I pursue medicine
as a way of achieving my highest goal in life: to serve.
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