I can distinctly remember having many different aspirations and goals as a child that were stemmed by one sole concept, helping people. For years when I was younger, I wanted to teach and spread my knowledge onto others. Then, I wanted to work in psychology and help alleviate people’s stressors with the power of support. Like every other fan of the crime-fighting show, “Criminal Minds,” I figured I’d find my way to the Federal Bureau of Investigation working with behavioral analysis in hopes of not only fighting crime, but changing ones’ life for the better. Needless to say, my career goals were all over the place. After many pros and cons lists, I finally decided to go into college as a Pre-Medicine student, with the esteemed hopes of graduating medical school one day and becoming a respected and trusted doctor. My first semester of college, I decided to take a career exploration class, appropriately titled “Future Physicians.” The first day of class, I looked around the lecture hall of about 200 students and smiled at the thought that these peers and I could be the next generation of physicians. After 50 minutes of the introductory lecture explaining the gist of the course material and why I should become a physician, after only the first day of class, I looked around again to realize that these peers would be the next generation of physicians, excluding myself.

Through several different career aspirations as a child and teenager, the unifying concept throughout all was the idea of helping others. I was raised by a nurse and a police officer, two careers that are centered around bettering the lives of others and maintaining a safe and healthy community. It was no surprise to my parents and self that I would follow in their footsteps, as a prominent lesson growing up was selflessness. I was taught to put others needs before my own and to always lend a helping hand. I admire my parents meticulously engraining this into my head, as I grew up primarily as an only child. As an only child, it was more difficult to learn socially acceptable behavior due to the fact I was not engaged with other children at home. However, I was able to learn the importance of responsibility, selflessness and respect via my parents, teachers, and pets (yes, I said pets). From both the inside and outside influences I had, I knew from the start that I wanted to help others. Not often can adults say that their current career is exactly what their kindergarten self aspired to be. Needless to say, it would take years full of online searching, job shadowing and interviewing to even come close to setting a goal before college came along. Once I had a grip on something that would satisfy the underlying concept of helping others, medicine, I felt extremely confident and motivated in my decision to pursue something I was so passionate about.

In a matter of 50 minutes, that confidence was gone. As a Pre-Medicine student, it was highly encouraged to take a two-semester long course titled "Future Physicians." You can ask my mother, father or friends, my excitement for this class was out of this world. The first day of this class is the only first day of any class that I remember solely because it changed my life, as cliché as it may sound. I sat in the sixth row on the inside seat next to the aisle and had a yellow notebook with my black ballpoint pen. I anxiously waited for the professor to begin lecturing, as “nerdy” as that portrays me. The two professors began by introducing themselves and the course material, covering exactly what we would be learning week by week. After the introductions and overwhelming amount of syllabus information, one of my respected and very knowledgeable professors asked us the simplest question a Pre-Med student could be asked, why do you want to be a doctor? She encouraged us to take a few moments to think to ourselves in silence, however, hands shot up within a blink of an eye. As the continuous answer of “maintaining the health of people” arose, I sat blankly, confused as to why I could not come up with an answer. After class wrapped up, I was taken back by the sudden realization I had that I did not want to help people in a conventional way. My parents asked how the class went, knowing how excited I was for it. When I responded with “fine,” they knew something was up. In a matter of 50 minutes, I was back to my kindergarten self at square one, knowing absolutely nothing about my career aspirations other than the desire of helping people.

First semester ended with only a few bumps in the road and a break from studying, school, and adult life was exactly what I needed to clear my head. My parents had sold the home I grew up in, so going home for winter break was exceptionally special. I got home and immediately started reminiscing about the memories in the house, good and bad, made over the years with friends and family. I avoided packing up my room until the end of break, denying the fact we were leaving my childhood home. I began rummaging through drawers of stuffed animals and came across a photo of my very first pet, a beautiful grey cat named Lucky, and sat there nostalgically for several minutes. As an only child, Lucky was my very first friend. And let me tell you, he was the best of friends. I remembered getting home after school as a kid and spending hours playing with him, petting him and forming an everlasting bond that to this day, cannot be matched by any other person. All of the sudden, it hit me. Lucky, my very first feline friend, not only taught me responsibility and care for another being, but taught me how to love and find companionship in others, which some people struggle to find. Lucky was the answer to all of my doubt and questioning, I would help people by helping the creatures that diminish the divide between human and nature.

Trisha McCagh, an international animal communicator, says that “Animals are the bridge between us and the beauty of all that is natural. They show us what’s missing in our lives, and how to love ourselves more completely and unconditionally. They connect us back to who we are, and to the purpose of why we’re here.” Animals have a higher power than humans do in a way where they love themselves without question. Animals were born the way they were and accept it, allowing them to radiate self-love onto humans. Think about it, when your dog excitedly greets you at the door or your cat nudges your face, what do you feel? You feel automatic warmth and compassion. The National Center for Health Research claims that when a child has no brothers or sisters, pets have the capability to help children develop greater empathy, higher self-esteem and increased participation in social and physical activities. Animals, ranging from cats to chickens, are being used for companionship worldwide. For example, seeing-eye dogs are commonly used for detecting seizures or speech therapy. Chickens are used as therapy animals for autistic children to help teach responsibility and routine. There are even cases of dolphins saving humans from sharks, calves saving humans from snakes and dogs saving military forces from bombs. Seemingly enough, animals do just as much saving as humans do. Animals are much more powerful than what they are given credit for and without them, the consequences would be detrimental to our wellbeing as humans.

More than often, animals are put on the back burner and their impact on human life is underappreciated. I think back to when my kindergarten friends would talk about their plans of playing with their older sister or younger brother after school. I would respond with, “Well, I have plans with my cat after school.” The idea of my first friend being an animal sounds somewhat uneasy, but what I gained from that friendship was clear and permanent. I knew I wanted to help people, but it took a simple picture of my cat and I to realize that I would indirectly be helping people by caring for their closest companions instead. Since I have decided to switch from Pre-Medicine to Pre-Veterinary Sciences, I have experienced no doubting, stressing or questioning over the path I chose to take. My love for animals and their love for us, their caretakers, overrules any disconnect between our life and theirs. To the autistic boy and his pet chicken, the blind man and his seeing-eye dog, and the little girl with her best friend cat, my goal is to help you take care of your pet in return of them taking care of you.