The stress of balancing extracurriculars, volunteering, shadowing, working, and extremely long nights of studying until the early hours of the morning will all pay off once I graduate medical school. Or at least that is what I told myself for the first two years of my college career. But the moment it will truly pay off is the day I save the life of a patient or touch their life or their families lives.

So, here's to my future patients:

I wonder what I will be specialized in. Will I be a cardiologist, saving people's lives after a major heart attack? Will I be a pediatrician, easing the worries of anxious parents while doing everything I can to help the tiny human in front of me? Will I be a general practitioner, treating the many cases of vast illnesses coming through my office? I wonder who you will be. Will you be a child? An elderly person? What will I be treating you for? A heart attack? The flu?

The most important thing about becoming a doctor isn't what you study in school. It's not about the medicine. The most important thing about becoming a doctor is patient care and establishing a trusting relationship with your patient. I want to be the doctor who makes you feel comfortable to be in their presence. I want to be the doctor who makes you feel as if I genuinely care about you and your wellbeing. Because nothing is more important to me than you and your health. I am here to make you the strongest and healthiest you that you can be. I am going to do everything in my power to make this happen.

I will be an advocate. I will be a friend. But, I won't just be any doctor. I will be your doctor.