Growing up in a large family, we were taught to care for each other by our parents. Being the eldest daughter, I began at a very young age to learn to care for my siblings. For instance, I visited the hospital frequently with my younger sister who had Asthma. My sister's illness had been a painful experience to me in terms of care and medical expenses. However, as a child I loved the hospital environment, the nursing sister's eagerness to help, and the nice and ever smiling doctors who would listen to my mother attentively, showing relative empathy. The doctors treated my sister so lovingly that I was close to being envious of her! Also when I was admitted for an appendectomy at the age of 10, the hospital had shortage of doctors and the only available physician, an American, was attending to another critical patient. As I waited, the nurses constantly came to me, took my hands in theirs and reassured me. The nurses talked to my mother and kept telling me 'Benny, it's going to be fine' and my fears diminished. By the time the doctor attended to me, I was feeling much better. The doctor's and nurses' care fascinated me and when the procedure was over, I told my father I was someday going to give back such selfless love shown to me and my sister. I want to be remembered for what good I have done for humanity.
Consequently, I developed a great passion for life. I decided to seek a career in medicine because of this deep passion. I communicated my desire to my parents and teachers and every one of them encouraged me to pursue my heart's desire. I worked so hard and was accepted into the medical college at the end of my secondary education. I became interested in internal medicine during my first clinical rotation. I marveled at the way the internal medicine consultants and the residents could make accurate clinical diagnoses by listening to and performing a thorough physical examination on the patients.
