Impact on Children’s Personality, Essay Example

Parents are the first institution to have material impact on children’s personality whether positive or negative. As a child tries to make sense of the world, he watches his parents’ actions and also pays heed to their words because he doesn’t have the maturity or experience to make sense of the world on his own. I am really fortunate in this regard that my two immigrant parents might not have given me all the comforts of the world but they taught me values that continue to benefit me to this day and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

America is the land of opportunity but only for those who are willing to work hard and not be discouraged by the hurdles in their path. Moreover, when something has not been given to us for granted, we value it more. My immigrant parents didn’t have the opportunity to shape their future the way they wanted it in their home country. Thus, when they came to America, freedom and opportunity had much greater value for them than it had for those born in the country and for whom it was a granted right from day one.

One of the most vivid memories of my parents in my childhood is them leaving for work early and coming late though my mother would try to come before evening. Despite their hard work, they never thought of reaping the fruits of their hard work but instead their entire focus was on giving me and my siblings a bright future. My parentsdemonstrated to me the perfect example of selflessness which could only be explained by their love for their children.

Fortunately, my parents’ sacrifices didn’t escape my attention and even though I knew I could never repay them for everything they had done for me, I could at least try to do what they wanted from me. As a result, academics have always been my first priority and I have consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of my class throughout my academic career. I would be lying if I say my commitment to academics was not for my own sake but at the same time, I might not have been as dedicated to my studies if my parents’ sacrifices were not there as a reminder. My parents often tell me they would only consider their sacrifices to be successful if I am able to build a bright future. Now that I have come so close to realizing their dreams, my efforts will only intensify because everything my parents have dreamt about is in my hands.

I will be completing my high school career in May 2015 with an impressive GPA which will place me in the top 10 percent of my graduating class. But I also believe academics is not everything because one should also participate in sports and co-curricular activities since they yield certain benefits of their own. My participation in sports has not been as much as I would have preferred to due to my health limitations, thus, I compensated for it through greater involvement in co-curricular activities. As a result of my participation in high school club activities, I have learnt valuable skills of leadership, communication, teamwork, time management, and organization that will not only benefit me in college but will also prove valuable in the real world. I look forward to have some of the most productive years of my life in college and have no doubt that a bright future is waiting for me for which my parents and I have dedicated our entire lives.

We often discover our true self when we are put in challenging circumstances. This is why they saw exams are meant to discover what we are truly made of. I was only eight years old when I was discovered with juvenile diabetes which is now commonly referred to as Type 1 Diabetes. I might have been a very obedient child of my parents but diabetes even takes huge emotional toll on adults let alone an eight-year old child. There was nothing I dreaded in my life more than continuously being checked for blood glucose and being given insulin injections at regular intervals. But my family’s situation was not hidden to me and I was not oblivious to the fact that despite less-than-perfect circumstances, my parents had basically dedicated their entire lives to their children. Realizations like these helped me grow beyond my age and I eventually came to accept the fact that life is never perfect but the key to a happy and fulfilling life is to figure out how to live with the imperfections of life.

Type 1 Diabetes has also helped me value life more than I would have otherwise. When you realize life is only given once and could be taken soon, you work even harder to have the most influence on the world because you don’t have the same luxury of time others have. I believe life is not counted by how many seconds you have lived but byhow many lives you have touched. This is why I decided to pursue a career in which I will be able to make a positive difference on countless other lives. Given my own life experiences, endocrinologist seemed the most logical choices because the major priority of endocrinologists is to help patients restore normal balance of hormones in the body to have higher quality of life. Endocrinologists do not only work with patients who have diabetes but also many others who may have health issues as diverse as metabolic disorders, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, cholesterol disorder, hypertension, and endocrine gland cancer among others.

My goal is not only to treat patients but also to help them lead normal lives because people often lose the spirit to live due to psychological reasons. I will have certain credibility with patients that some of my professional colleagues may not have because I have personally experienced the challenges my patients may be going through. My personal experiences will also make me more sympathetic to my patients’ struggles and inspire me to work even harder to help them discover the joys of life.

I am a huge believer in the power of education, not only to achieve one’s professional dreams but also to help others improve their standards of living. Thus, one of my professional goals is to educate people on the challenges posed by medical conditions such as diabetesthrough public education campaigns. When the public is well-informed, they get better control of the health issues they may be faced with and it also increases their self-confidence. Similarly, public social and financial support is also required to promote research in these areas to discover even better treatments. In this regard, I have been really impressed by the efforts of Susan G. Komen Foundation in tackling breast cancer epidemic and I hope I will be instrumental in inspiring a similar effort to fight the epidemic of diabetes which affects a significant proportion of people both in America and the rest of the world.