Affirming My Lifelong Dream

I was born and grew up in an underdeveloped and underprivileged country.  As a child I was used to seeing a great many children on my village streets, sick and dirty, left by their mothers who had all gone to search for work in order to feed their families.

I used to pick up the children, one by one, to clean them up, wash them and remove their lice before returning them near their homes.  I believe it was an innate sense of compassion that led me to help them thus.  Furthermore, I consider this sense of compassion a gift from God.

Soon after I came to this country I took up the job of a nurses’ aid.  Needless to say, I immensely enjoyed the clinical floor exposure as it allowed me to attend to physically and emotionally afflicted individuals.  My sense of compassion had remained unchanged.

When I visited my native country a few years ago, where the healthcare system is virtually nonexistent and the need for healthcare workers is enormous as AIDS and tropical infectious diseases make rounds, I firmly decided to attain nursing education so as to become part of a helping team and advocate for the underprivileged in my own country whose suffering appears impossible to alleviate at present.

I am aware that there are plenty of individuals that have dreamt my dream.  Sooner or later, however, many of them have turned to selfish quests, forgetting all about the suffering of the children they had witnessed on the village streets in my country.

Then there are individuals such as Paul Farmer, a doctor who had been raised by a low socioeconomic class family, but who nevertheless made it to Duke University and Harvard University in search for a cure for all that are diseased.  Fortunately, I share Farmer’s desire to save lives and believe that it is possible to achieve my lifelong dream with the spirit of hope that he possesses and shares with me.

Indeed, Farmer is a messiah for the ailing folks around the world, especially the underprivileged people of countries such as Haiti and Peru.  By fighting for social justice in such nations, Farmer would like to set an example.  After all, geniuses are meant to inspire everyone.

Framer is no exception.  In fact, as an individual sharing the life calling of Framer, I believe it would be a delight to work with him.  Following the footsteps of this great man, I, too, desire not only to provide hands-on help to the ailing folks but also support programs to help eradicate poverty and improve accessibility of healthcare to those that need it most.

Significant Events and Influences that have Affected my Approach in Life:

People from around the world who are wealthier and better educated do experience better health than those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds who have both less wealth and less education.  As examples, smoking, poor nutrition, as well as physical inactivity are more prevalent in groups that are low in socioeconomic status.

Additionally, low socioeconomic groups have little or no access to preventive healthcare, for example, regular health checkups and screening programs.  These medical services are easily accessed by individuals from higher socioeconomic backgrounds alone.  What is more, financial barriers to healthcare are more likely to perpetuate the existing disparities in health among different socioeconomic groups.

Farmer has worked strenuously to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots by helping the latter access healthcare facilities in their times of need.  Even so, there are plenty of problems that the doctor has confronted, one of which is the inflexibility of governments run by high income officials that desire to maintain the status quo.

As mentioned before, I am a witness to the pain of inaccessibility to healthcare services that the poorest people of the world are confronting today.  Because I saw such individuals and their suffering day after day while growing up in my native country, I feel a strong need to provide help to them in all possible ways.

As a matter of fact, I believe that my observation of those poor children on the streets is perhaps the most significant influence to have affected my approach in life.

In 2005, shortly after I had returned from my native country, Ethiopia, my aunt who is like a second mother to me had a stroke.  At the same time she was fighting a severe case of infection as a result of the PEG tube.  I stayed with her in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where she spent six weeks to recover.

As I took care of my aunt, I made further observations about the nursing profession.  It is a profession of intensity, where hard work, stress, disappointments and joy all mingle toward the achievement of a single goal: to help the needy and the afflicted.

It was a significant experience of my life to have observed the profession thus.  Toward the end of the same year, I quit my job to return to school and pursue professional nursing with commitment, determination, and continuous prayer.

Reason for Choosing to Study at CBU:

As suggested previously, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds are unable to afford pricey heath services that may save their lives; and neither can they afford expensive health insurance that would cover the kinds of healthcare services that rich folks are using at present to fight the diseases they confront.

As compared to the rich people’s relatively successful struggles against diseases, the low socioeconomic groups have to bear a heavier burden of ailments.  Correspondingly, individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds have a greater need for adequate healthcare services.  I seek to fulfill this need for as many people as possible by attaining the skills I lack at present.

The foundation of my daily goal in life is the Great Commission, for the wellbeing of mankind, spiritually, physically, and emotionally, and to be a vessel for God’s purpose, and for the people of the world that He has created and loves.

 For this reason, I trust CBU to be the perfect place to get my education and attain the skills that would allow me to fulfill my goal.  At CBU, all those who would help me to become equipped to fulfill my goal are those who energize, inspire, and enable people to become better persons because they, too, are fortunate enough to desire to serve God and others.

This fact about CBU is acknowledged and proclaimed.  Thus, I am tremendously honored to have the opportunity to apply.  Moreover, at a personal level, it feels like coming home.  CBU is the place where I first experienced God’s wondrous grace and received extraordinary kindness from faculty members as well as colleagues.

I consider all those people God’s best friends, and expect them to share my goal to serve the underprivileged, which is the reason why I expect them to assist me best in achieving it.  Lastly, I believe all of us want to see those poor children on my village streets to smile, forevermore.