Undergraduate / "The results for HIV are positive" - Issue of importance essay [5]

She can still hear the baby crying. Two hours of sleep, school in three and a research paper due in five more. She has yet to finish the rest of her homework and the baby has yet to stop crying. Five more minutes of sleep dreaming about the crying baby, the dirty dippers, and the mess of baby food; she think is all a bad dream. The baby daddy is out and about with zero responsibilities and her friends preparing for out of state college. "Wake up", she hears. Is her mother, "Baby Jayden is hungry and you have to get ready for school." Her breasts are sore, her head is pumping, and the baby is still crying. She wakes up, breast feeds, showers, and off to high school she goes. She is a good kid, a 17 year old teenage girl with straight A's and a future on hold. Her friends are preparing for college while she stays behind in high school one more year. Her parents are divorced and she never met her father. She was just looking for love, a male personality to guide her.

There is this other young lady, a sophomore in the same school. She is the trouble maker. She is known for her bad reputation and all the attractive guys behind her. She is sick, vomits every day. "Come in", the doctor said. "I am afraid I have bad news". "The results for HIV are positive; fortunately you came in time and there are many treatments nowadays." It has been two months since then. She feels exhausted. Her body hurts. The medications are too strong. She does not want to go to school any more. Her last boyfriend got it too and her friend is sick as well. They do not want to tell anybody. They are afraid. She has a couple of years left. She did not listen to the doctor, she did not care. She was depressed. No more school for her. Her hair is falling; she coughs, and vomits every day. Why didn't she use protection, why her?

We live in the 21st century and we have yet to come to a solution to pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy, and HIV. It can happen to anyone, the nerd of the class, the football quarter back, the singer from church. Sex is for everyone. What a controversial issue this is that people are still afraid to address it. Speak up. Parents talk to your teenagers about protection and consequences. Schools do the same. This is not a matter to keep to ourselves; this is a matter to the world.

How many more kids having kids do we need to take this issue into account? My best friend got pregnant at 15 years of age. My neighbor, 18 years old, has two baby boys. Half of my middle school classmates had a baby before graduating high school. 10% had a sexually transmitted disease. Another 20% did not finish high school or did not go to college. Most of them are house wives by the time they turn of legal age.

This is an important issue to me. It has a great impact in my career decision. I want to take part in helping individuals like these. I have seen friends struggle with this issue ever since I turned 15. It did not happen to me but it happened to my loved ones. I have baby sit for them and I know what a struggle it is to balance studies, work, and taking care of a baby. It is a full time job with endless responsibilities. This issue has been traveling with me all these years which is why I want to make a difference and prevent it. Stopping teenage pregnancy, HIV, and STDS, will make more leaders in the future. Preventive health will stop teenagers from being parents at a young age or dealing with deadly diseases and start leading teenagers into the work force. These teenagers could have been our future doctors, lawyers, nurses, or teachers. Why stop your life before you turn 18? Why not start it?

Thank you for reading my essay and giving me your feedback.

Undergraduate / "My ultimate goal is to save lives" - Ut essay A Statement of purpose [5]

Statement of Purpose

Essay:

As a 17 year old freshman in college I still had my doubts as to what I wanted out of life. I had no clue as to what my passion was. Persuaded by my father's dreams and my love for mathematics, I decided to choose the challenging major of Biomedical Engineering. I was determined to fulfill this profession with the thought of helping people and making the life of patients, doctors, and heath professionals much easier with new machinery. As freshman ...

I know it is a bit lengthy but i do not know what to omit and what to keep. If there is anything you have to say about it or you think i should completely change my direction do not feel afraid to say so.

Thank you for your feedback.

Undergraduate / Anorexia: (issue of importance) - Essay E Ut admission [6]

Personal Essay
Choose an issue of importance to you - the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope - and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

Essay:

Anorexia

Anorexia has been an issue for the world as well as for my family for many years. Fortunately, it was not me the one with the problem but two of my family members who were diagnosed with this disease. I have lived around this disease for as long as I can remember. Many may think that this eating disorder is a disease that can be cured by medicine, psychology, and nutrition. Well, my experiences have thought me otherwise. Anorexia is like alcoholism it stays with you for the rest of your life; whether you live a healthy life now or not, anorexia follows you around. It is a disease that one can learn to live with but never goes away completely. I have realized that my interest in medicine has plenty to do with this issue as well as other medical conditions. This problem has gone deep into my mind and my heart, which is why I am choosing this topic to explain to everyone around me how to cope with it, learn about it, and prevent it.

Anorexia nervosa as medicine calls it is an obsessive disease in which the individual stops eating to maintain a certain weight. This disease leads to the lack of the nutrients and energy the body needs to be healthy, which eventually leads to other severe diseases. This disease can be highly heritable. Anorexia can not only affect your children as they grow up to have this heritage but it can also lead to prenatal problems; your child can be born with diabetes, anemia, and other serious disorders as he or she is born. Anorexia is a real disease. Plenty of people do not take this problem seriously, but I think it is time for society to start coping with this issue. Anorexia as well as other eating disorders can cause brain damage, heart, lungs, and other organs to stop working properly, as mentioned before this disease leads to malnutrition which leads to your body malfunctioning because it is not retaining the proper nutrients and vitamins it needs.

I have a couple of experiences with this issue, as well as with the symptoms. I myself was about to start with this horrible habit of not eating to look "good". Yet, this is not about looking like the supermodel on television anymore this is about one's health and one's life. I am not being over-dramatic when I say anorexia can lead to death. It is true; anorexia can be as serious as cancer and other deadly diseases. First you think: "only for this week I am not going to eat or only for this week I am only drinking water, eating 2 fruits, and one sandwich," then it goes from that to only eating one fruit or one bar and that is it. Losing weight and staying healthy is possible. There is no need for over-exercising and not eating. There is no need for one meal a day and five hours of cardio. I have known people who also eat burgers and pizza once a day, but that is all they eat. Well, let me tell you that that Wendy's meal can have as much calories as you need in one whole day. I used to think the same thing, only one meal, only one drink, only six hours of exercise, this is only till I lose five pounds or six, but it is not only for this day or this week or this month, this leads to one year, two, or the rest of your life. I cannot communicate everything about this issue because I was not diagnosed with anorexia but thanks to the information I was given and the research I did on my own I found out that there are other ways to maintain a nice and slim body without jeopardizing your health.

I encourage you to take action and prevent this disease which can eventually lead to other generations to have it as well. Preventing and dealing with this disease is quite a challenge but it is not impossible. Looking for signs such as rapid and extreme weight loss, loss of appetite, constant colds or sickness, dizziness, and other uncommon changes in your body can help prevent anorexia. Talking with a psychologist about one's self-esteem and reaching out to a nutritionist or your family doctor can make a great asset to preventing this eating this order. We also count with plenty of anorexia-prevention institutions such as NEDA, National Eating Disorders Association, and Cedar Springs Austin Eating Disorders Treatment Center. Treating this problem with care and as much interest as treating other deadly disease can prevent severe consequences such as other diseases and even death. I encourage everyone to take action in this prevention; my interest comes from personal experience but do not wait for it to happen to you or your loved ones. Take action now and prevent low-self-esteem and other circumstances to get in the way of your health.

Thank you for taking your time to read my essay and analyze it!