For the longest time in high school I wanted to become an editor. I enjoyed writing, creating stories, and expressing myself through the art. I had a teacher who said she learned more about me through a few pieces of paper than a year’s worth of talking. Writing was my mode of communication and a passion. I didn’t know exactly what being an editor entailed, but I knew it was one of the highest ranking positions in regards to my interests, so that’s what I had to be. By the time I became a senior, I grew a great interest in chemistry, the science of atoms, molecules, and the reactions that make the world what it is. There was a short period when I wanted to become a chemist and go from there, but what the two interests had in common was a lack of direction. I wasn’t confident in my choices, how I could apply these interests, and had little understanding of the impact I could make in people’s lives. As I began to delve deeper into opportunities, especially those that had a flavor of chemistry in them, I started to research pharmacy.

At the surface, I saw it as an opportunity to study a field largely composed of subjects that interested me, it provided excellent pay, and it was a way I could apply everything I learned to help people. Friends and teachers thought it suited me because of my quiet nature, and my family was more than supportive. Reminiscing on these reasons, I learn how much I’ve changed and how my understanding of my future career has evolved. There’s a difference in asking why I chose to study pharmacy as compared to why I choose to study it. I went from having a decent reason to choose this practice, to being vocal about how pharmacy is a critical field of study. Pharmacists’ role in the lives and wellbeing of people, and the communities they live in, go far beyond what most people believe and definitely more than what I once thought when I originally made my decision.

I choose to study pharmacy because pharmacists are vital in the treatment of patients. Pharmacists are the last line of defense that approve of prescribed medications, confirm that they are safe considering the patient’s disease state(s) and current drug regimen, make recommendations on which medications are best, and a variety of other functions. I continue to study in this field because pharmacists are the go-to doctors that people can visit for advice and direction on their conditions and concerns; in many pharmacies, patients and pharmacists are friends that share a trust rarely seen in the healthcare field. It’s a field that needs to be revitalized with new pharmacists that look promote such interaction with patients, counseling them to ensure a smooth therapy and experience, and who genuinely care for the wellbeing of those they help treat. I pursue this career because I want to be a part of the movement that lets the public knows we are a group of drug experts that they can rely on for information and care. I want this degree because I can take so many different paths that all facilitate one goal, getting people the care they need.

While pharmacy is essential to keeping people alive and healthy, there continues to be a misperception of it. It is often confused with the avarice-fueled pharmaceutical industry, which can overlap, but are entirely different. The latter desires profit while the former does everything in its power to make living healthy both affordable and simple. I want to be a part of the former that actively opposes the greed that makes patients justly angry at the system. I want to be a part of the community of professionals that works more than they have to in order to ensure those in need have everything they need, understand the “what and why” to everything they need, and sometimes even save a life.

My plan as of now is to study as hard as I can to perhaps score a residency by the time a graduate and specialize in neuropsychiatric pharmacy so that I may help those with special needs due to mental diseases. That desire to be on the frontline and helping people is what drives me, many of my classmates, and countless others. I want to be a part of the revolution that gives all patients the respect they deserve so that perhaps one day, we will earn the same in return. That’s why I choose to continue chasing this career, to help make a better tomorrow for others and build the personal bonds necessary for successful health outcomes and genuine trust.