Personal Statement - Admission/Application Essay Example

It was a very nasty war that led to thousands of lives and homes being lost. The minute the war began, my father immediately booked us flights out of Lebanon for the very next day, but unfortunately for us, the following morning the airport was bombed and we became officially trapped in this war (Hanley 58). My father found a hotel located high up in the mountains of Beirut and decided to take us there since it was considered to be the safest location. The hotel was fully booked, but we were lucky: we bumped into a family friend there, and he allowed us to stay in his room until things settled down.

The hotel was so packed the following night that people even had to stay in the lobby and other public places, and this, in my opinion, was a disastrous scenario since many schools, hospitals, and shelters were destroyed throughout the war, with civilians migrating up to the mountains for safety. The hotel began to look more like a hospital, and I remember walking down the hallway from my room and seeing people walking in and out of this room like an ant pile being hit. When I walked into the room, I met an American physician from New Jersey helping anyone he could, and while the man was on vacation with his family, he did not even speak a word of Arabic, neither did he know much about the culture there, and yet he still wanted to help these people in need.

I remember him asking me whether I spoke Arabic fluently, and I told him that I did. Upon realizing this, he told me to follow him into the lobby where he began to help more people while I did the translating for him. I was not the kid who used to put on his cape anymore. Instead, I had become one that wanted to put on his lab coat and help people. I remember people looking at the American physician as if he was more than just some guy with a lab coat on, but one who gave relief and comfort, and suddenly, I realized that I wanted to be like him.

  Thankfully, we all returned later that summer safely back to our respective homes, and I still keep in touch with him occasionally. After returning home that summer, I enrolled in the pre-medical program at my high school, and since then I have done nothing but try to guide myself into the right path to get myself into medical school. I believe that our diverse cultural backgrounds played a significant role in the formation of the bonds of work and friendship which made our team such a success.

One of the greatest benefits that I personally reaped from being able to help the physician in translating is the confidence in my ability to do all the tasks that are assigned to me, most especially those concerned with health promotion principle and practices. This new confidence in myself has enabled me to think of a greater role for myself in the future than I had previously considered when I dreamed of being a hero. Moreover, through the team work that developed between us, I managed to see first-hand how the skills displayed by physicians are necessary for dealing with prospective issues concerning health promotion.

Indeed, it has been a privilege to work and share activities and experience with my fellow students at the pre-medical program because they are a group of people who were not only friendly, but have also supported me whenever I have experienced any problems. Moreover, all members of the group were willing