Lately I have been thinking about it very frequently. Not only in
classes like Academic Leadership, or IB Prep which we had last year, but at
home. The idea of choosing Medicine as a major came to me around seventh grade,
and until now it continues to interest me, and seems to grow more and more. To
be able to major in medicine, I would have to stay in Brazil and graduate from
college here, because if I went to the United States it would be too hard to
validate my degree in order for me to work here. When I was younger, I thought
I had to go to college in the United States, and my dream city was New York, I
was sure I would live there. But when I decided medicine was what I wanted to
work with, the dream of studying in New York was shattered. Whenever I told
someone what I wanted to study, they would always have an unnecessary comment,
for example: asking me if I was sure, telling me I’m going to have to study a
lot or telling me it was a good choice because doctors get paid well. First, no I am not sure, how can I be sure I
chose the right career if I was in seventh grade. Second, any major you chose
will make you study, and I hope you study a lot so we have trust worthy workers
in the future, and finally, no, I didn’t choose this career because I hope to
get a lot of money, that is not a good reason when picking a career, you are
supposed to choose something you love and hope to be successful with. Together with
the useless comments, there was always the heart breaking reminder, ‘You know
you will have to study here right?’ At first I was sure there was something I
could do to study there and work here, but after talking to several people, like
doctors and professors, I finally accepted the idea of studying here, since there
is the opportunity of having your residency in other places. After this amazing
discovery, I was almost sure that was what I wanted to do of my life, but there
is always that small fear, present in the back of our mind which makes me ask
myself if I’m not making the wrong decision, if I won’t change my mind since I’m
only a sophomore. This was not only present in my mind, but my parents were
also unsure. So, during my break between ninth grade and tenth grade, I visited
a college here in Brazil, called Universidade Positivo, and I was able to talk
to the course administrator of the medicine course and ask him about my doubts
and he explained to me how the course works. I was also able to visit the
university and see the classrooms and labs. After that visit I was in love. I
was they labs and surgery room where they practice techniques, I saw their
study space, a room all about medicine with books form topics starting at bones
and going all the way to each vein in your body. I was an amazing experience
and it helped me a lot, since I knew that was what I wanted to study. But my
biggest concern was if I was going to change my mind. This concern is still
present, but yesterday, it settled since we had a guest speaker at our school
that said something that was very significant. I thought it would be just
another speaker talking about how we should save the planet, but he told us how
he knew what he wanted to work with, and he said that the idea of becoming an
urban farmer came to him when he was eleven. The fact that this idea came to
him when he was young and he was able to grow up and become who he wanted to
become when he was eleven really inspired me and helped me realize that if I
really want something, just the fact that I am still young doesn’t mean that my
decision isn’t legitimate.
 |
| Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow. |
Since I won’t
be going to a university out of Brazil, there is no need to apply to college because
our system here is very different. But even though I won’t have to apply to
college it doesn’t mean I won’t use what I am learning about college application
and what recruiters are looking for. There are always job interviews, applying
to internships and residencies. When it comes to those opportunities, being an
academic leader will help me very much. Not only will it help me work with others,
which will be a great part of the career I chose. It will also help me before
in life, because after I graduate from school I will probably have to study
chemistry, since it a great part of the Vestibular of medicine, and in our
school it is not entirely covered. Being an academic leader will help me to
prepare myself to be able to deal with a year of studying for the vestibular,
in which I will be doing cursinho and studying chemistry on my own as well. This
would be another reason why I am sure I’ll be able to choose this career, or any
other, because I feel that I am being well prepared and when the time comes, I
will be able to succeed in any choice I make.
