Undergraduate / Even until this day, I still remember what some monk said once to me about success [6]

"Success is a journey, not a destination" said from a Vietnamese monk that I met three years ago while I was a volunteer at a temple which had changed the way I live my life. Three years ago, I was around 17 I was a lazy child I value my sleeps more than my studies. Although, I made honor roll from time to time, but it was nothing compare to other kids. My parents always ask me "How come you're not smart?", "Other people's kids study 10 hours a day and why you're only study for an hour?", and "How can you become a doctor when you value your sleeps more than your studies?" I replied "Well, let's pray for a miracle". My parents did nothing but shook their heads with disappointment. Living a lazy life with a dream but without a goal is a form of self-harm. A voice inside my head keep telling "when will stop living like this?" until I met this monk who changed my way of living.

During the Lunar New Year Festival at Tinh Luat temple, while taking my break from volunteering all day in the food court I saw this monk from Vietnam was writing calligraphy and sat down to have a chat with him. I asked him "Hello, I heard that most Buddhist monks in the Asian countries can do fortune telling by reading people's face... is that true? If it is true can you read mine?" even though I don't believe in these kind of things but I'm interested of his response. He looked at my face and said "Talent!" "What?" I asked "I said talent! You have talent, you are a very smart girl, you just don't know it yet" he responded. I was stunned for a moment because I never heard anything like that in my life before.

Ever since I came to America, I always have an inferiority complex I feel like I was never good enough, I always lose to the other kids because I don't know English and by that I couldn't do well in school . Even my parents said that I'm nothing compare to the other kids once in a while because of that I stop trying so hard and give up easily.

"Give me your right hand" he demanded I asked him "why?" and gave him my right hand. He looked at my right palm and said "The print on your palm tells me that you will stay in school for quite a while. I'm guessing you want to be a doctor? "How do you know I want to be a doctor?" I asked. The monk chuckled and said "It's my personal knowledge... Doctors are one of the most prestigious job with an outstanding income, and highly respected by the society in a word "success". However, the road to become a doctor is very challenging. Most people will think that if they become a doctor they will achieve success, but they are wrong. Success is a journey not a destination because there is no endpoint to it. You never stop, you will keep going forward" "Well then, where is the destination? How can a journey does not have a destination?" I asked. The monk smiled at me and continue with his statement "The destination is what you left behind and what you contribute to society, to life and most importantly to yourself". After hearing what the monk said, I went home and do research on how to become a doctor. I researched about different field in the medical industry and what class to take to meet the requirement for medical school.

During three months of summer after graduating high school, I reevaluated myself and my life. I remember what the monk told me and decided to start off my own journey at Lone Star Cy-fair Community College. Ever since, I started at Lone Star I never take a break I work hard to become a member of Phi Theta Kappa and getting into President's List. Recently, I just got accepted to Houston Methodist Hospital as a volunteer in the ER. I'm excited for my orientation in this September and start the volunteer. I am thankful that I met the monk at the temple because he had enlightened me. If it wasn't for him I would still be the same hopeless kids that I once was. Even until this day, I still remember what he said to me "Success is a journey not a destination" and therefore I will never stop my journey.

Scholarship / You've got a ticket in your hand. Where will you go? What will you do? [2]

help me with this essay for transfer scholarship! let me know what you think?

You've got a ticket in your hand. Where will you go? What will you do? What
will happen when you get there?

Before my birthday party, I received a mysterious box then I opened it to see
what's inside. Inside that mysterious box it has a golden ticket said "Show Me
Your World" and one the back it has the direction of how to use it "Disclaimer:
This ticket is a magical ticket, it can take you to wherever you wanted to go
even travel in time." "Direction: Lay down and place the ticket in the middle
of your chest, then close your eyes use your imagination to picture the places
you want to go and who you want to meet, and get ready for an adventure". BOOM!
Just like that I traveled back in the 1900's and meet my role model Dr. Albert
Schweitzer, he inspired me on how to become a great doctor, a doctor who cares
about his/her patients. Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a French-German theologian,
organist, philosopher, and physician. Back in the middle of 1900s he known as
selfless, humanitarian physician. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. He used
his own wealth plus with many donation across the world to build hospitals that
provide treatments for patients.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer received his M.D. in 1913 at the age of 38; he later
hired me as his personal secretary to arrange his all meetings and clinic
hours. On a Friday of 1913, he and his wife Helene Bresslau decided set sail
with their own expenses traveled from Bordeaux to Africa. Once in Lambarene, he
established a small hospital that were set up by the Paris Commissioner
Society. It was about 200 miles away from the mouth of Ogooue River at Port
Gentil. During our first time in Africa, it was chaos due to lack of staff
members, I have to do majority of the work such as helping out Helene by
provide nursery for the patients, handing out prescribed medicine according to
the patient's chart, and setting up equipment for her to delivered anesthesia
to a patient whom Schweitzer will operate. During my time I stayed in Africa
with the two, I observed the patients Schweitzer treated were both horrific and
deadly. They are ranged from leprosy, dysentery, elephantiasis, sleeping
sickness, malaria, yellow fever, to wounds incurred by encounters with wild
animals and many common health problems to which the human body is subject. The
living conditions in Africa were extreme, hot days, cold nights, huge gust of
winds and animals. However, Schweitzer and his wife were managed to save 2000
patients. A few years later, Schweitzer had accepted three unpaid physicians,
seven nurses and thirteen volunteers for his hospital. By the time he reached
the age of 90, the hospital compromised 70 buildings, 350 beds and a leper
colony for two 200 patients.
Albert Schweitzer became famous for his concert lectures across Europe in order
to raised money for his hospital in Africa. His philosophy was often built on
principle of a "reverence for life" which is about moral values and ethic
imperatives of helping others. In the early of 1950's, the horror of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki finally sparked the world's conscience, Schweitzer joined forces
with Albert Einstein, Otto Hahn, Bertrand Russell, and many others to raised
awareness of using nuclear weapons. After years of working hard, Dr. Schweitzer
invited me to one of his lecture concert; I filled with joy. During his lecture
about it, he focused on "the problem of peace" he told his audience "The end of
further experiments with atom bombs would be like the early sunrays of hope
which suffering humanity is longing for". Suddenly, tears rolling down my eyes
I was touched by that statement. Then, I closed my eyes and think to myself
that nuclear weapon is the most dangerous weapon among all weapons if nuclear
weapon still exist the mankinds would still facing danger. A minute later, I
heard my mom was calling me "Truc! Wake up! Come down stair and celebrate your
birthday" I opened my eyes I noticed I was in my room. I finally realized, my
traveling experience was over and I'm back in the modern world.
In conclusion, Dr. Albert Schweitzer devoted more than half of a century to
practice medicine even in the most extreme location where only a few doctors
who would willing to visit to help those who are desperately needed medical
care. Even until today, there are some places in the world where people cannot
receive the medical care that they need such as Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan
because those places are war zone. There were only a very few doctors who
willing to go to these remote location to give out a helping hand. In the
modern society, there are not a lot of doctors like Schweitzer left because
most of them are drown in the glory of being a "doctor". The temptation of
getting an income of 300,000 or more per year is quite tempting. Many people
that came across my life that wanted to be a doctor because of the money and
the prestigious status that it can provide. However, those people most likely
give up at the end, because it was too difficult. Of course it should be
difficult that's what makes it great; if it's too easy everyone will doing it.
Being a doctor is like being on a journey without a destination because it is a
nonstop learning career. The only destination there is what ones left behind
and what they can contribute.
Again, if I have another ticket I will travel back to the 1900's to meet Dr.
Albert Schweitzer again and work for him again. There is a lot of things I want
to learn from him because he not only shown me how to be doctor but he had
shown me how to be a human as well. A good doctor can save his patients from
death, but a great doctors can heal his patients' spirits and soul, and restore
their hopes. In my eyes, Dr. Albert Schweitzer is a great doctor.