In Pakistan, everyone believes in Nazar. Apparently, my little sister got Nazar when she fell off a van whilst trying to climb it. A few seconds went by and she began bleeding from her head. My cousin picked her up and ran towards my parents. There was no hospital nearby. However, my uncle coincidentally was a doctor. I watched him clean her head, wipe her tears, wrap a bandage around her head and calm her down. For me, that was the big epiphany of what I wanted my purpose in life to be. What increased my appetite even more for medical was the idea of how day-to-day activities like eating, drinking, and breathing were so easy.
They LOOK easy. The body is made up of complex mechanisms working continuously with the right amount of need which makes complex things look effortless. I was both eager and excited to learn more about medicine and what being a doctor is like. In order to broaden my knowledge I took the opportunity to shadow a doctor for 3 weeks. My role was mostly running errands and watch the doctor carry out exams. This was an eye-opening experience for me. When I was young I always thought that being a doctor is about check heartbeats, checking the temperature and diagnosing illnesses. However, I came to realize that this is just the surface. During my time at the hospital, I was able to observe and understand the importance of patient-physician relationship and the vital component of this relationship -communication and trust.
I familiarized myself with the structure of the hospital. I volunteered to read books for patients and help around to decorate the hospital for special events like Eid or Christmas. This allowed for extra time with the patients and the staff and helped me improve my communication and interaction skills. Looking back, my biggest take away from this experience was how it helped in self- growth. It taught me to be empathetic, affectionate, take responsibility for my actions and to appreciate al the people who sacrifice their time, use their skills and knowledge in looking after the wellbeing of another person. In order to spread awareness about breast cancer and diabetes, I aided in making ribbons and banners consisting of factual information (ways of reducing risk, what to do if you are diagnosed) in hopes to increase awareness, empathy and the dangers involved with these diseases all around the school.
127 our experts are availableright now
In order to help raise money, awareness and advocacy for autism spectrum disorder, I had participated in a walk for autism along with several of my classmates and got the chance to meet and observe children and their families living with this disorder. That day I learned something entirely new, I learned that there are many subtypes of autism and because of those subtypes each autistic person has a different set of strengths and difficulties to face. There are several activities apart from science or medicine that I’ve participated in that I believed have inculcated several important skills in me. I took part in a business skyline talent hunt, in which my team (consisting of 4 people) had to come up with an advertisement for a shampoo bottle.
That day I learned the importance of team work. Each one of us took separate tasks and got the advertisement done is less than 30 minutes. Delegating responsibilities to each team member, effective communication between the whole team to measure the progress of the advertisement, and time management took us to the finals. During the final years of my IGCSE’s, I had the honour of being a student council member and represent my class. finding the balance between Planning and carrying out school events and studying for my boards was something that I accepted as a challenge. I was more than happy to represent my class and bring forth new ideas for the school and methods of improving the school system suggested by my classmates at our student council meetings. I was able to successfully deliver information to and from the teachers and the students. Apart from being really fond of the human body, i am also really fond of the human brain and have developed an interest in psychology over the last few years. Last year our school had conducted its first ever psychology club.
For me, that was an excellent way to see how psychology and its tools work outside the textbook. I had volunteered almost every week and I was also the only 12th grader to conduct experiments (twice) in the club – one on memory and the amygdala and the other on different types of personalities. Additionally, I had also written multiple reports for the club. Furthermore, I also attended a psychology workshop in American University of Dubai which mostly dealt with consumer psychology in which we had to advertise a perfume Looking back at all these activities, I gained substantial knowledge about psychology and its research methods and most importantly how to use them when conducting experiments. I enjoyed compiling and analyzing my own work and scouring for reasons behind the results and justifying why a research did or did not support a particular theory.
Presenting and carrying out an experiment in front of three psychology teachers and students from year 7-11 sparked a heighted level of confidence in me, tested my ability to handle a whole club, my effectiveness in managing the club and answering difficult questions asked on the spot. Apart from academics, during my leisure time, I enjoy reading books mostly fiction to help me escape from reality for an hour of two. I enjoy playing badminton with my siblings during the evenings which helps me relieve stress and enjoy quality time with my family. During the past year, I even joined a yoga class which I attend after school to improve the status of my health and remain fit. My greatest desire is so make a difference. My willingness to help people, my ability to balance life and accept challenges only makes me more excited for this new chapter in my life. I’m confident that my skills and my experience within and outside the medical field will make me a very suitable candidate for this field.
