<p>Hi. I'm new to this site but I wanted to see how people who don't know me view my essay. I am planning to apply to
the PLME program at Brown . Please give me you honest opinion about my essay. Thank you</p>
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<li> Most high school seniors are unsure about eventual career choices. What experiences have led you to consider medicine as your future profession? Please describe specifically why you have chosen to apply to the Program in Liberal Medical Education in pursuit of your career in medicine. Also, be sure to indicate your rationale on how the PLME is a “good fit” for your personal, academic, and future professional goals. (Please limit your response to this question to 500 words.) </li>
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<p>All it takes is a glance to change your future. I was always interested in medicine; human anatomy interested me beyond any other subject and therefore I believed that becoming a doctor was my fate. But early on, my whole perspective of that future changed. At 11-years old, I traveled to my father’s village of Princess Town in Ghana. Poverty was seen at every corner: muddied dirt roads, single-room clay houses, and children dressed in clothes that didn’t fit playing soccer with an empty coconut shell. As a spoiled American, there was nothing to do besides walk around the village. During each walk, small children would gather around pulling my arms to hold my hand while exclaiming “FRIEND!” with bright smiling faces and laughter that could mask their poverty. On one walk, I saw a boy. He was about four-years old wearing only shorts, which is how I noticed the large swell of his navel. He wasn’t running or playing, but just standing. I turned to my mother asking, “What’s wrong with him”. She looked at the child and replied, “He has an umbilical hernia.” I turned back only to find him staring up at me. His eyes were filled with a sadness I couldn’t comprehend; close up, tears began to form in his eyes. I remember my mother saying that I also had an umbilical hernia but it went away. I thought to myself, “he needed medical attention”. But then I realized what help could he get? The clinic was old and abandoned, while the closest hospital was four hours by car, which no one had. As a child myself, I felt so helpless. No matter how much I wanted to help I couldn’t. The boy walked away and I never saw him again. That moment remained in my mind even after I returned home. I pondered about other children who also need just as much help, but lacked access to proper treatment. They needed someone who could provide them with it, and who says that I can’t be that person? I thought that my dream to become a physician was fueled by my interest in the human anatomy alone. But now I realize that the want to help those in need is a stronger drive. I know it won’t be simple. But after seeing that boy in Africa, I want to make it my goal to give those who can't get proper medical attention the chance of a life free from disease and suffering. The opportunity to reach this goal is given by the PLME program. I can advance my education in cultural anthropology while preparing for medical school; eventually, these studies will play hand-in-hand with my aspirations. The PLME offers students the chance to study their interest, which leads to them to have a greater effect on the world around them. The world is waiting for students to change it, and I plan to be that student changing one country at a time. </p>