When I met one of my parents’ friends when I was younger, I dreaded the inevitable question:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Growing up in a household where both my parents were engineers, I was expected to follow their path. However, unlike my mom, I didn’t have a natural knack of designing and unlike my dad, I found building blocks of computer code monotonous. So, engineering quickly became out of question.
“I don’t know,” I would reply. “I just want to be happy.”
Fast forward three years, I had found a natural affinity for the sciences, specifically biology. When I told my parents’ my possible interest in healthcare, they were initially hesitant.
“You’ll be 35 when you start practicing.” “Do you really want to be studying for that long?”
Well. Not really. The student debt that doctors go through didn’t necessarily appeal to me. However, my mom, still knowing my possible interest in the medical field, decided to let me shadow one of her friends, an orthopedic surgeon.
Those few weeks spent in the hospital in India were life changing. I had the chance to observe intricate surgeries and the specific techniques used for each procedure. I also gained insight into the diseases that affect underprivileged communities and how the hospital worked to combat them. Most importantly though, I had the opportunity to share joy with families as they watched their loved ones’ promising recoveries.
When I came back home I was more than motivated to pursue a healthcare oriented field. I requested a schedule change to switch me into a healthcare oriented class. I began seeking more medicine volunteering experiences. As I found more medicine related communities, my slight hesitations about practicing medicine, specifically the time of education, quickly disappeared and my commitment to the field increased.
My introduction to the medical field wasn’t like others. No one in my family is a doctor. I didn’t have a life-altering experience with a medical professional. My path to finding my love to the medical field was on my own and that’s what made it special.
Now, when someone asks me what I see myself doing in the future, my answer is “nothing but medicine.”
