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Listen. Can you hear it?

The wondrous sound of kids clapping with joy. The sound of 700 butts dropping to the floor in unison. The sound of triumph beating against my head.

I sit down for the first time in 1800 minutes. The emotional and physical exhaustion is miniscule to what kids with disabilities and their families endure on a daily basis, but I am proud of what my mind and body have accomplished for them. The pleasure in my tired bones is great, but seeing the young faces around me fill with awe as the total is slowly revealed, number by number, is greater. $446,399.57, every cent benefiting the kids who have been cheering us on. The pediatric rehabilitation programs that Dance Marathon supports give these kids the opportunity to thrive and discover their potential. As Briggs Parry, a survivor with brain damage resulting from oxygen deprivation as an infant, enters the stage to perform on his xylophone, I start to cry. With each note he taps out to One Direction’s Story of My Life, my admiration for how strong these kids are intensifies. Despite being told their disability will limit their capabilities, they repeatedly prove those limits do not exist. Watching these kids dance, sing, and smile made me ready to stand another 30 hours for them. Ultimately I hope to do what these kids have been doing for years: to inspire. Their courage and strength are qualities I hope to emulate through a profession that allows me to directly affect individuals.

The kids and families I have come to know through Dance Marathon have shown me that small victories can be the most meaningful. From getting a child to smile through pain to calming anxious parents, I have seen small efforts have large impacts. Having volunteered as part of an Oncology care team, I understand medications are not always enough; without the humanistic quality of patient care, healing is limited. I regularly visited a woman who was battling brain cancer. She stayed at the hospital for weeks at a time to receive treatment, and though the doctors and nurses were able to develop a plan that was beating the cancer tremendously, it was not beating out the loneliness. After talking to her for just a few hours each week about places she had traveled to and funny situations she had encountered, I witnessed an incredible change in her mood. Simply giving her an ear let her rediscover and reflect on the positive qualities of her life and motivated her to prevent the cancer from flooding her life as the drugs were flooding her veins.

My desire to understand the individual is a strength that will allow me to provide quality patient care. From observing pediatric endocrinologists and neurologists who work closely with social workers, I have seen the difference listening can make. Taking the time to learn the details that can be crucial to the effectiveness of a treatment plan, such as living in unsafe home conditions or with negligent parents, is a challenge that I am ready to undertake. One of human’s greatest desires is to be heard; giving people that chance is the most genuine gift I can offer. As a young adolescent, I had mild depression, and for years I was afraid to admit that all I wanted was for someone to listen. I did not necessarily need someone to console me or to tell me how to fix my problems; I just wanted to reveal how isolated I felt to someone who cared enough to look me in the eye and understand my feelings as real. A fellow classmate, who was nothing more than a stranger to me at the time, messaged me on AIM asking me if I wanted to talk. She said she could not promise she would understand everything I was going through, but she promised to listen without judgment. Her patient ear allowed me to talk aloud and find my own way back to confidence and happiness. This trying period taught me the importance of compassion and I believe my commitment to becoming a compassionate physician enables me to impact medical care through trust and empathy.

Medicine is about more than just diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases; I believe it is first and foremost about the community, one that is made up of individuals who challenge and expand each other’s understanding of the world. Who we are is strongly shaped by the people we interact with and what we take away from those interactions. Through my community service and shadowing experiences, I have discovered a passion for learning from those who are different from me. Practicing medicine would allow me to connect with a diverse group of individuals. With differences comes the chance to educate and to be educated. The medical community encompasses not only patients and physicians, but also nurses, social workers, lab technicians, and researchers, who work together to provide individualized focused care. Forming relationships with people who push me to think critically and to develop my interests will help me more effectively contribute to society. Although the path to becoming a physician is a challenging and time-consuming one, I am sure of this ambition. Time is the most valuable thing one can give and I am ready to give mine to medicine.

Medical School Personal Statement

AMCAS

A personal essay that articulates why I want to be a physician and what has influenced that decision.

SOPHIA PENG

Writing 420 Capstone Portfolio
The act of writing is the act of discovering what you believe.
David Hare
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