I hear other undergraduates say that they want to go to medical school to “help people.” That is great, but you can be in business and help people.

My reason for going into medicine is because I want to save lives. It is a difficult thing to lose sight of oneself in order that others can have better lives. It takes strong individuals – the kind that are weeded out through the undergraduate pre-med years, in medical school, and also in internships/residencies. The people who finally get to be called MDs or PhDs have gone through something amazing and they all say it is worth it.

As an undergraduate, I try to remember that those in medicine and science are great at what they do. They are not just anyone. They have the ability to be a physician or a great research scientist. They have trained themselves over many years and sacrificed themselves many times so that they could do something good. They are not only motivated, they are capable. You cannot be only motivated to be in medicine or science, you must have certain skill sets that other do not have. I hope I have what it takes to be in medicine and science, but I do not know yet. What I do know is that the people in medicine are saving lives and the people in research are making advances and that is just awesome.

I will openly say that I am worried about the future, but I also know that with some hard work and some luck, things will turn out great in the end and hopefully I will make a difference along the way.