You can only be a Doctor
“This is the safest and the most secure profession,” my father said. Superlatives like “the safest” and “the most secure” rang a familiar tune to me as those were the same words I had always associated with Doctors. These were the Pediatricians to the Primary Care Doctors. The Physician Assistants to the Surgeons. Anything medical was given the thumbs up by my parents. And because of this, sciences are all what I had been able to experience and grow upon. I was an erudite student in mathematics, but I felt I always had to tug along all the sciences as well using logic and reasoning. I skimp on reading and writing, and evolved out from my love of history. It shows everywhere today: My SAT score, my choice of APs, my summer camps/ activities, and things I generally exceed in the academic atmosphere. The sacrifice for being a Doctor was to focus mainly on the sciences and applied mathematics, whether I was good at it or not. And while in the beginning I wasn’t the best in sciences compared to math, I started getting better and started to enjoy science and math equally.
But maybe there is some hidden truth my parents had. They always want the best for their children ,and I get it. No parents from Africa who worked their way up in America wants their child making less than them, or wasting an opportunity they laid down for us. It would be a disappointment for me to become a clown or a bar musician, when they have persuaded me to become a doctor and to attain the job security and compensation I deserve. No parents want to see their children struggling to get their next meal, and no children ever want to ask their parents for financial aid after they reach 18 years old ( ok, maybe 22 because college life isn’t cheap). And my dad has reasoning to why he thinks the way he does. “The value of the degree is basically the same price for any major. You just have to find the job that compensates for that and aids in paying it off.” “Can I be a lawyer?” I ask. “No, lawyers don’t have job security and may not always be shown in a good light,” he rebutted. I knew what he was getting at. His logic simplified to fight for cases and proving your worth and that lawyers = sharks/bloodsuckers.
This is the price I have to and should be required to pay regardless. My parents came here for one main reason: to get out of poverty. It should be my responsibility to see that goal come through in conclusion and provide my parents a good retirement and pass on wealth for the next generation. I am not saying working in medicine is not worth it. According to St.George’s University Think Beyond article, Is Being a Doctor Worth It? Physicians Tell All, working in medicine can be extremely satisfying, job security is immense, you will enjoy a good salary, and you will positively affect patients every day. Drawbacks? You will have to make sacrifices. So here is my sacrifice today with hopes of making it in the medical field as a doctor. And to my children and the next generation as a whole, choose a career where you feel comfortable making sacrifices achieving your goals or taking the burden to make it lighter on the next generation.
