I gained strength from the villagers who I interacted with in India. As cliché as it may sound, I learned to believe in myself, have faith in the future, and pursue my dreams. During the past few months, I have learned so much about myself, and most importantly, have discovered my vocational calling.
I have decided to pursue a vocation in the field of medicine, and am grateful for all that I have learned about myself through the past three years, and particularly, because of this fellowship.
I was drawn to the fellowship because of my dream to make an impact on people’s lives, and do work in connection to humanity. During the past summer, I came to solidify my desire to help people and make meaningful improvements to the lives of those in need. I became attuned to the wonders of social entrepreneurship, and believe in the need for meaningful, innovative change to uplift families from poverty, and the conditions created by poverty.
I am most attracted to the sustainable nature of change that is made possible by social entrepreneurship. At the end of the day, social entrepreneurship makes lives more humane, more comfortable, and more convenient. And bettering peoples’ lives in this manner is what I have always been most attracted to.
I thoroughly enjoyed my summer in the field, and knowing that I was helping Rangsutra scale and make an impact to more people by developing its social impact sector was personally rewarding. Whenever I find myself drifting away in my thoughts, an image of the Rajasthani dessert flitters into my mind. That being said, I was missing the passion and sparks of wonderment and curiosity that I experience in my science classes, and while working with patients on EMT duty. I am dedicated and committed to helping advance the lives of others and create sustainable solutions and livelihood for families, but I believe that my personal calling is to do this in the field of health care and medicine.
As Global Social Benefit Fellows, we spent ten weeks learning about social entrepreneurship, the developing world and its needs, and business models for social enterprises while preparing our projects in the field. As a public health and biology student, this fellowship was really allowing me to branch out and learn about a whole new field of science and innovation, while building on my knowledge as a public health major. Around the same time, I was going through personal feelings of confusion because of the incongruence between passion and practicality that I felt my future faced.
Ever since I began my undergraduate career, I have had a passion for the field of medicine. I grew up learning the importance of health and wellbeing in a difficult manner, because of the history of cancer in my dad’s family. Most recently, in my sophomore year of college, I lost my dear 16-year old cousin after he faced a 21-month long battle with brain cancer. My sympathy for those suffering physically combined with my passion for dissection and the artistic connectivity of the human body drove my interest in health care and medicine.
Perhaps the practical side of my INFJ personality got the better of me, but around the latter half of my sophomore year and throughout my junior year, I began to question my future goals of wanting to go to medical school and be a physician. While kindness, passion, and variety of other personality traits equip one to be an excellent physician, I knew that pristine grades is another must-have. My academic record did not reflect the ranking that I had dreamed for, and from there, I began to worry that practically speaking, my dreams of going to medical school were simply too big for me.
I began to explore different career opportunities. I made numerous visits to the career center, reached out to my friends in different fields, spoke to professors, interviewed professionals, and more. I was so certain that practically speaking, my dreams of going to medical school had no future, and if I continued on the pre-med path, I would have no stability in my future. Before leaving for India, I even signed up to take a few business classes for the upcoming school year in order to start branching out, and make myself well fit for a more “stable,” “definite” career. Looking back at myself now, I chuckle, and ask myself what that actually meant.
This summer opened my eyes to what living an unstable, risky life actually was and it rekindled my desire to do good for humanity in the manner that I most enjoy—through the field of medicine. I was most attracted to social entrepreneurship because it enables sustainable and uplifting lifestyle changes, and creates a more humane life, and working with Rangsutra this summer helped me confirm that. However, I missed the complexity of medicine the human body, and the challenges and art it is capable of.
In many ways, I feel like I went a little astray—in the best possible way. I’m currently in an Introduction to Business class, and while it is interesting and I have learned a lot about business that will benefit me in any future career, I can tell that a job in the business field is not what is going to motivate me to get out of bed every morning. And thus, it isn’t the best fit for me. I’m happy that I allowed myself to explore different fields—social entrepreneurship, business, public health science, and lab research, because every opportunity taught me a little bit about myself, what I care about, and helped me realize why I have chosen the path that I have.
If there’s one thing I learned from the artisans in Barmer, it’s that if there is a will, then there is a way. Several of the stories we heard in the villages were inspiring, and the artisans tended to be goal-driven. A mother would work as many hours as possible in order to earn enough money to send her child to private school. A family would save as much money as possible in order to eventually build a new house for their family. Watching these artisans dream and think big has given me the strength to take risks and dream big as well.
I think my involvement with the Global Social Benefit Fellowship, Residence Life, and campus Emergency Medical Services have all given me valuable experiences that have been integral to my personal and professional growth, and will one day help me in my role as a physician. In order to improve my candidacy for medical school, I have prepared to commit myself to learning and improving my grades. I look forward to the next two quarters of my senior year to prove to myself that I have grown in my study skills, academic competencies, and knowledge. I hope to pursue a special master’s program after graduating in order to continue my pre-med education, and continued to be awed by the magic made possible by the human body.
I look forward to what the next adventure has in store for me.
As a result of this fellowship, I believe that I am capable of accomplishing my goal of ultimately going to medical school and becoming a physician—as ambitious as it may seem at the moment. I believe in the power of empowerment and innovation over charity, and I believe in creating a just and humane world by spreading love, spreading compassion and finding compassion for everyone, and by using individuals’ differences as a catalyst for learning. I am excited and ready for what lays ahead.