Undergraduate / "aha!" moment - Intended Major: Biology - UC Transfer Prompt 1 [5]

Hi! I'm trying to get some feedback. Any help would be appreciated!

What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field - such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities - and what you have gained from your involvement.

As blood leaked out of the body, the sounds of a rapidly beeping electrocardiogram echoed throughout the operating room. Surgeons desperately tried to perform another heart bypass, but it was too late. The electrocardiogram flatlined and the patient had died. The words, "To be continued" appeared on the screen, that week's episode of ER ended, and my interest in biology began.

Growing up, there was one television show that I had always looked forward to seeing each week: ER. Every aspect of the show drew me in, but what had garnered my attention the most, however, was the human body. Whenever a patient was brought into the operating room, my eyes would be fixated onto the screen. I would catch glimpses, but due to the camera angles, I was never able to get a good look at what lay underneath the skin.

It was not until high school that I was able to formally immerse myself in the subject. In my senior year, I took physiology where I learned all about the body and its intricacies such as how the cardiovascular system transports nutrients throughout the body. I consumed every ounce of information, but I still hungered for more. I did not want to keep looking at pictures and diagrams. I wanted to see inside a real human body.

Determined, I reached out to my aunt, a surgeon, and asked if I could shadow her for a day. When her supervisor approved my request, I was overjoyed. As I walked into the operating room, the sight of the electrocardiogram and the neat array of surgical tools made me feel like I was in an episode of ER. I witnessed a total abdominal hysterectomy and the whole experience was so surreal. The surgeon made a transverse incision above the pelvic bone and then incised the subcutaneous fat. As blood oozed out, a warm, wet gauze pack was inserted into both sides of the iliac fossa. To facilitate the operation, the surgeon used kocher clamps to exert traction on the uterus. After securing the uterus with multiple clamps, the surgeon made one final incision and removed the uterus. I stood there frozen, not because of how grotesque the operation was, but because sight of the open body cavity had me utterly captivated.

It was then that I had my "aha!" moment. Biology seemed like something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. My childhood fixation had transpired into a deeper understanding of the many nuances of the human body. From it, I have not only strengthened my resolve to major in biology, but also solidified my aspiration to become a surgeon.