Undergraduate / Discussions on Youth-Common App A person who has had an influence on you [2]

Prompt: Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. I've probably read my essay about 100 times already and at this point all the words have jumbled up to form one big, indistinguishable mess. Thus, I would like the opinion of a third person. Be as harsh as possible in your critique. Thanks!

"Discussions on Youth"

Whenever my parents and I get in a heated discussion, the debate always ends with a sigh on both ends and with my parents telling me that I was never this stubborn as a child. With every hint of pedantry in my tone I reply, "Research suggests that the reason why teenagers become so intractable suddenly is because their brains are maturing and their pre-frontal cortexes have not yet developed". This suffices to put a smile on their face and they buy my credible excuse. While it is easy to blame all my teenage turmoil upon the adolescent brain, I believe that in reality, human character is more complex than neuroscience can define it. However, it is true that the teen years are marked with discord and role confusion. It was during this time that I met Dr. Daisaku Ikeda who created a profound impact on my life and connected with me when no one else did.

I feel obligated to mention that I use the word "met" loosely. Till this day I have never interacted with Dr. Ikeda or Sensei as I call him, either physically or by phone. Yet I use the word met because I interacted with him through his book, "Discussions on Youth". This book is a compilation of lectures that he targeted specifically for "The leaders of the future". While there was no physical confrontation, we shared an intellectual relationship through this book. We eliminated all the small-talk that occurs in a regular conversation and Sensei cut straight to the sophisticated conversations that influenced my life.

It was simply amazing how an 83 year old Japanese person could understand the problems of an American teenager and guide me through these problems. He was the guidance counselor that my school never offered and the answer to my problems (yes, I am still talking about the book). Whenever I was displeased with a situation, I could turn to this book and I would find a lecture that would pertain to my dilemma.

There is one quote in particular that completely changed my outlook: "Life is defined by how it concludes, not by how it begins. There are no irredeemable mistakes in youth". He explained that as one goes downstream a river, there are many rocks and waterfalls that will impede you. But if you trust the river and continue downward, the ocean will not be far.

I realized that everyone makes mistakes but my nature caused me to cower out of situations in the fear of committing mistakes. When I could not back out of a situation my fear of failure manifested itself in the form of a blunder that would hinder my success. However, this quote gave me courage of making blunders, to not be afraid of the fifty foot waterfall. Instead, I started looking forward to the ocean that lies ahead.

Undergraduate / To Be Understood- Essay about autism for Case Western University [NEW]

To Be Understood

It was the first day of high school. Like every other freshman, I was scampering about the school grounds trying to find my classes. Finding my sixth hour class (Choir 1-2: Men's Choir) was especially a problem and I reached class five minutes late but I made it. As I entered the classroom, I saw only eleven students. Ten of them were freshmen with frightened expressions sitting uncomfortably in their chairs. The reason for their fright was the eleventh student. He was 5'7, 250 pounds; he was stomping on the risers and shouting in a mad fit of rage. It seemed as though I was only minutes away from being crushed under his feet. Valuing my body, all 110 pounds of it, I took the chair closest to the exit door.

We all required an explanation for his behavior and thankfully, the teacher had one. He explained that this seemingly homicidal student was Aamro and he had autism. The teacher quickly added that that while Aamro is calm most of the time, there are some days where he becomes too energetic. Energetic was certainly a euphemism, but after hearing that Aamro was autistic, my opinions of him definitely changed.

In the subsequent days I realized that the teacher was right. Aamro was much calmer and even happier. Fear subsided and curiosity replaced it. I wanted to know more about him, understand him and his autism. Fortunately, my curiosity was shared by my classmates as well. We started conversing with Aamro but he would never answer back. I knew that autistic children had communication problems but I had faith that there was some way to reach Aamro. Soon, we realized that he responded to yes-or-no questions. However, even these responses were not always coherent because he would often answer yes to questions whose answers were no.

Somewhere along the way, trying to communicate with Aamro became a competition amongst our class. There was no prize at stake, no rules formed but there was an unstated pact made between us. For me, talking to Aamro was more than a competition, it became a mission. I started researching autism, in hopes of finding some clue. I wish I could boast that I won the "competition". It was mere coincidence that we saw Aamro writing on the board one day, which gave us the all important clue. We expected mere scribbles but Aamro wrote the word "choir" with a completely legible handwriting. All of us looked at each other in amazement. My friend went up to the board and wrote the question, "Does Aamro like choir?". Aamro verbally responded yes. Then my friend put forth another question, "Why Aamro? Write it on the board". Aamro followed the instruction and wrote, "Because of Tuxedo". We always wore tuxedos for our choir concerts and Aamro loved his tuxedo. When he would wear it, he would shout, "Tuxedo!" repeatedly with a bright smile on his face. His answer made complete sense.

The communication commenced and we learned more about our friend. We found that Aamro loved opera and Pavarotti. When he would start singing Ave Maria, there was no stopping him. He not only liked opera but he also had a talent for beat-boxing. For our last concert, we arranged a song specifically so that Aamro could beat-box to it. Aamro also had a peculiar proclivity towards pens and he would steal them from the classroom when no one was looking. More importantly, we found that there he was a child just like us.

Aamro led me to this epiphany. He taught me that autistic children were, after all, children. Because of Aamro, I learned more about autism. He gave me the hope that autism was a barrier that could be broken down. If a group of eleven teenagers could do it, then research scientists definitely could. Aamro had taught me so much and I wanted to repay the favor. I took responsibility of Aamro for the year. I saw to it that he was dressed properly for concerts; I pacified him when he was angry, and tried to help him out when he was lost in class. At the end of the year, I was proud that I made the initial determination to talk to Aamro that made this journey possible. It was not until I sat down to write this essay did I realize Aamro's impact on me. His influence caused me to fall in love with neuroscience and make it my goal to find other such Aamros and understand them for all they really needed was to be understood.

Undergraduate / Career in Medicine-WashU University Scholars Program essay [4]

TOPIC: Explain why you are interested in pursuing a career in medicine. Describe any life experiences that may have sparked this interest, as well as any personal attributes that make you especially suited for a medical career.

The limit is one page (it doesn't specify single or double spaced so I decided to do single). I'm over by three lines; I should be fine...right?

"Almost there...almost there", I whispered under my breath. As I waited nervously, I noticed that the deathly silence in the room was covered only by the ticking of the clock and the muffled commands being given in the adjacent room. My focus went back to the screen and as the procedure culminated into a successful ending I shouted, "Booyeah!"

My attention on that screen isolated me from the surroundings but as soon as that word escaped my lips, the setting of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab unfolded before me once more. I realized that I was cheering for a black and white image of a catheter that had successfully penetrated an artery but evaded the dangerously close Pulmonary Artery. As my mentor Steve Madden walked into the room he asked, "So I'm guessing you enjoyed that?" He clearly heard my shout of exhilaration. Embarrassment engulfed me and I managed to let out a faint "yes".

The very next meeting Mr. Madden introduced me to another nurse working at the Cath Lab. During our conversation, Mr. Madden mentioned, "Did you know that Mr. Anderson has manic depression?" I was taken aback. The stereotypical image of a bipolar patient waged a war with the very contradictory image of Mr. Anderson and I was perplexed.

"Doesn't look like it, huh? It's because of my treatment. Do you know what the treatment for a manic is?" he asked.

My knowledge from Brain Bee flowed into my mind and I hesitatingly replied, "Lithium tablets".

This time, Mr. Anderson was taken aback. He clearly did not expect me to know the answer to his apparently rhetorical question. "Why! We should make you a doctor right now!" he said and chuckled. Ever since that incident, Mr. Anderson endearingly called me doc and we struck a chord. I satisfied my intellectual curiosity and he took joy in spending time with a teenager brimming with questions.

Those two precise experiences, the words "Booyeah" and "Lithium tablets" revealed to me that medicine was my passion and I would never go wrong pursuing this passion. The fact that I screamed triumphantly for a long piece of metal string entering an artery proved to me that my love for science was not superficial. The fact that I struggle with remembering dates but somehow manage to remember lithium tablets without ever learning it in school proved that I had a knack for science. Shadowing under Steve Madden was just the beginning, the subsequent months shadowing under three other mentors and the subsequent summer learning pathology in the Osler Fellowship Program only strengthened my initial revelation.

When I began to realize this, a sad epiphany hit me. As a high school student, I can only learn about medical conditions, I can only observe the screen that stood in front of me. However, I want to be in the room helping. This is where my path lies and I am sure that the University Scholars Program in Medicine will help me get to my path. Thus, I am here writing this essay and waiting for to tread on that path which will lead me to several more Booyeahs...except this time, I will utter them after having completed a successful procedure myself.

Please feel free to be harsh! Thanks a lot!