Rough Draft - Personal Statement

[ssoltan1]

431 words. I intended to keep my personal statement short, but detailed enough that the reader would not be bored. Any critique would be appreciated. Thank you!

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“Be whatever you want to be as long as you are the best at it”. This quote from a relatively recent lesson from my father had changed my outlook on the prospects of my future.

 

Growing up as a first born second generation Iranian-American, there had seemed to be a struggle, more so a cultural limbo. Having the freedom of an American with the strict social constitutions as an Iranian, the ability to identify a concrete goal or to set it into action was shrouded and limited by indecisiveness. Where one would expect delight from nearing graduation, there I was at my desk glowering at the calendar, counting and dreading each day, knowing there was a sensation of being unprepared for the future. Unbeknownst to me, there he was. My father, a role model who I had strived to meet in terms of intellectual and professional success, had come to my side, hand on my shoulder, and consoled me. His words had managed to linger long enough to metastasize and alter my attitude into recognizing the restrictions I had placed upon myself.

 

Without these self-placed restrictions, my preceding interests in medicine and the improvement of the current health care system was reinforced. From assisting communities plagued with sex traffickers and drug addiction at a local safe house to flying over seas to Darién, Panama to provide medical and public health care to an impoverished community that could not afford even the simplest form of basic health care. Even as an emergency medical scribe for over the past sixteen months, observing the various methods of physician-patient interactions to medical decision making had become and craft that I would dissect and examine. However, what was most intriguing was the team-based system implemented within each of these experiences. Observing men and women from different backgrounds and professional training who were capable of working in parallel to each other’s strengths and weaknesses to provide the upmost quality of care was what made a career as a Physician Assistant attractive.

 

As I again sit at my desk contemplating my future that is now clear of any shadows of doubt, his words continue to echo louder and louder. Reflecting all that I have achieved and cultured, there has been nothing as satisfying until my father’s advice. From a simple father to son conversation there came to be a greater result. I had broken the chains of my own limits and gained a foundation to support myself from adolescent indecisiveness towards aspirations of achieving eminence while working in parallel within the health care system as a Physician Assistant.