Med
Aug 13, 2014
Undergraduate / 'joining the fire department as an emergency medical technician' - meaningful experience [2]
Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? (650 words)
Throughout my life I would wish to be just like the cool kids, you know, the older and more mature kids in my neighborhood that had more freedom and a lot more responsibility. I would always be the one trying to take on more responsibility because it would make me feel like I meant something. My transition from childhood to adulthood was in the 10th grade and here's my story.
When I was young I had always wanted to grow up and be a doctor, although I didn't know what I wanted to specialize in, I knew that I wanted to have that special "M.D" after my name on my business card. To start the long journey into the life of physician, I began to volunteer Sibley Memorial Hospital in the District of Columbia. I met a ton of cool people and I learned a lot by shadowing E.R physicians and surgeons. I would say that the most important person that I met there had to be the secretary in the E.R. He noticed my passion for learned and asked me if I would be interested in joining the fire department as an emergency medical technician. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I heard about this wonderful opportunity, so I took down the information to apply, and that very night I decided to fill out my application. The application process was a tough one, however in the summer of 2013 I was accepted into the Germantown volunteer fire department, station 29. Soon after I began the process of studying to become an EMT. The class was six months long, with 2 sessions in the weekdays for 4 hours, and one weekend session for 8 hours. The class was not only tiresome but it also required the students to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time, however in January of 2014, I received notice that I passed the county and state tests and I was finally an EMT. This wasn't only a milestone in my life, but it only reinforced my love for medicine. This was the begging of a change from childhood to adulthood.
The jobs of an EMT vary from giving life saving CPR, to helping someone get up after a minor trip. At times, I had the responsibility of saving someone's life on my shoulders, however I would not let that get in the way of my goal, which was to provide superb patient care. Regardless of the type of call, it was still a call and it was still a chance for me to go out in the community and help my fellow people. Being the youngest member of the firehouse proved to be difficult at times. Patients wouldn't have faith in my skills as an EMT simply because of my age, however I quickly proved myself to the community. I began to be referred to as the "young hero" in the neighborhood, and it was at that point that I realized I was no longer a kid, but an adult. I could no longer make excuses for my actions, but I had to take responsibility for every single one of them. No longer could I say, "I forgot" or "I didn't know", because that could mean someone's life. Being an EMT changed me and still continues to change me for the better.
If there's one thing that I would want someone to take away from this essay, it's that regardless of what life event transformed someone from childhood to adulthood, that one should always remember that even though being an adult may be fun at times, there's a whole ton of responsibilities associated with it, as I learned. I'm ready for these responsibilities, and hopefully I can keep making a positive change in my community.
Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? (650 words)
Throughout my life I would wish to be just like the cool kids, you know, the older and more mature kids in my neighborhood that had more freedom and a lot more responsibility. I would always be the one trying to take on more responsibility because it would make me feel like I meant something. My transition from childhood to adulthood was in the 10th grade and here's my story.
When I was young I had always wanted to grow up and be a doctor, although I didn't know what I wanted to specialize in, I knew that I wanted to have that special "M.D" after my name on my business card. To start the long journey into the life of physician, I began to volunteer Sibley Memorial Hospital in the District of Columbia. I met a ton of cool people and I learned a lot by shadowing E.R physicians and surgeons. I would say that the most important person that I met there had to be the secretary in the E.R. He noticed my passion for learned and asked me if I would be interested in joining the fire department as an emergency medical technician. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I heard about this wonderful opportunity, so I took down the information to apply, and that very night I decided to fill out my application. The application process was a tough one, however in the summer of 2013 I was accepted into the Germantown volunteer fire department, station 29. Soon after I began the process of studying to become an EMT. The class was six months long, with 2 sessions in the weekdays for 4 hours, and one weekend session for 8 hours. The class was not only tiresome but it also required the students to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time, however in January of 2014, I received notice that I passed the county and state tests and I was finally an EMT. This wasn't only a milestone in my life, but it only reinforced my love for medicine. This was the begging of a change from childhood to adulthood.
The jobs of an EMT vary from giving life saving CPR, to helping someone get up after a minor trip. At times, I had the responsibility of saving someone's life on my shoulders, however I would not let that get in the way of my goal, which was to provide superb patient care. Regardless of the type of call, it was still a call and it was still a chance for me to go out in the community and help my fellow people. Being the youngest member of the firehouse proved to be difficult at times. Patients wouldn't have faith in my skills as an EMT simply because of my age, however I quickly proved myself to the community. I began to be referred to as the "young hero" in the neighborhood, and it was at that point that I realized I was no longer a kid, but an adult. I could no longer make excuses for my actions, but I had to take responsibility for every single one of them. No longer could I say, "I forgot" or "I didn't know", because that could mean someone's life. Being an EMT changed me and still continues to change me for the better.
If there's one thing that I would want someone to take away from this essay, it's that regardless of what life event transformed someone from childhood to adulthood, that one should always remember that even though being an adult may be fun at times, there's a whole ton of responsibilities associated with it, as I learned. I'm ready for these responsibilities, and hopefully I can keep making a positive change in my community.