A single event in my life set me on the path to psychiatry. When I was in the first grade, my family moved from Salt Lake City to the small oil community of Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. In the subsequent years, I was shaped profoundly by a rigorous education, exposure to diverse cultures and poverty, and personal tragedy. This move instigated my evolution into an individual with well-placed desire to enter psychiatry, and one uniquely prepared to do so.
The course of my education was dramatically improved by the move to Saudi Arabia. In Utah, my reading abilities were limited to reciting Toad of the Road from memory, and school was simply a place to play. I was concerned that, at my new school, I might have to sit at a desk, rather than cross-legged …show more content…
I abruptly learned of poverty on our first vacation to Egypt, where legendary monuments were crowded by a combination of amused tourists, malnourished children and elderly beggars. I will never forget a boy who caked his head in feces to attract flies and charity. I saw the worst of gender inequality right at home. Women could not drive, they wore pitch black abayas in oppressive heat, and even on our insulated oil compound it was deemed “inappropriate” for them to work the registers at the commissary. As a child, such injustices frequently upset me to tears and left me feeling helpless. These feelings, however, were always short-lived. My mother was pleased by my sensitivity and encouraged my compassion, but also taught me that I was positioned to instill change. We sponsored small children in the impoverished nation of Mali, and when we traveled we handed out pencils to ecstatic children. My education became not about grades, but about demonstrating the potential of girls and increasing my ability to influence change. These acts gave me important sense of power and purpose. As I grew into young adulthood, I discovered science and medicine as avenues through which I might make an impact. I was driven to research medical cures and study medicine in low resource settings such as Kabale, Uganda. In my 3rd year of medical school, I was drawn to Psychiatry, in which I found myself working with the most marginalized individuals. I am now pursuing a psychiatry residency because I understand the havoc oppression wreaks on the mind and spirit, and I recognize that mental health is last addressed in underserved populations. As a psychiatrist, I will be a compassionate, nonjudgmental, and tireless advocate for patients both inside and outside of the
The course of my education was dramatically improved by the move to Saudi Arabia. In Utah, my reading abilities were limited to reciting Toad of the Road from memory, and school was simply a place to play. I was concerned that, at my new school, I might have to sit at a desk, rather than cross-legged …show more content…
I abruptly learned of poverty on our first vacation to Egypt, where legendary monuments were crowded by a combination of amused tourists, malnourished children and elderly beggars. I will never forget a boy who caked his head in feces to attract flies and charity. I saw the worst of gender inequality right at home. Women could not drive, they wore pitch black abayas in oppressive heat, and even on our insulated oil compound it was deemed “inappropriate” for them to work the registers at the commissary. As a child, such injustices frequently upset me to tears and left me feeling helpless. These feelings, however, were always short-lived. My mother was pleased by my sensitivity and encouraged my compassion, but also taught me that I was positioned to instill change. We sponsored small children in the impoverished nation of Mali, and when we traveled we handed out pencils to ecstatic children. My education became not about grades, but about demonstrating the potential of girls and increasing my ability to influence change. These acts gave me important sense of power and purpose. As I grew into young adulthood, I discovered science and medicine as avenues through which I might make an impact. I was driven to research medical cures and study medicine in low resource settings such as Kabale, Uganda. In my 3rd year of medical school, I was drawn to Psychiatry, in which I found myself working with the most marginalized individuals. I am now pursuing a psychiatry residency because I understand the havoc oppression wreaks on the mind and spirit, and I recognize that mental health is last addressed in underserved populations. As a psychiatrist, I will be a compassionate, nonjudgmental, and tireless advocate for patients both inside and outside of the