“Where do you see yourself in five years?

” It’s a common question, but that doesn’t

make it any easier to answer. Speculating about the future is difficult, but speculating about your

own​ future is even harder. The most we can do is consider various experiences and previous

habits to make a loose prediction about where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing. Now, I’d be

lying if I said I knew where I’d be in five years, but I do have some hopes that I believe will

influence my future choices.

I’m excited to say that I will be attending the University of Arizona Honors College in

the fall on a full-ride scholarship for academics in biochemistry. After reviewing all of my

acceptances (which among 16 others included Johns Hopkins University and Cornell

University), I decided that UA was the best decision both for myself and for my family. At UA I

have been offered paid research opportunities and plan to participate in these for all four years of

my academic career. I’ve also been invited to study abroad through UA Sciences and I plan to go

to Germany for either a semester or a full year. I’m currently studying German, and I’d like to

further my knowledge of the language by taking it during college. While at UA, I plan to work as

hard as I can to earn good grades in order to get scholarships and grants to pay for medical

school. That tuition is no joke! I plan to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in

Biochemistry and a minor in either Psychology or Cognitive Science.

After graduation, I plan to attend medical school with some scholarship. I’d like to study

at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford, or University of California San Francisco. Each of these

medical schools is renowned for having a phenomenal program and I’d like to be a part of them

in order to get the best education possible. During my medical school career, I plan to work

part-time to try and combat the massive issue that is student loans and educational debt. Five

years from now puts me toward the end of my first year of medical school. I expect that I’ll be

worrying about classes, the rigors that are customary of the medical school curriculum, and how
on earth I’m going to pay for it all. I’ll probably end up getting another job or working in a

hospital as a resident.

I hope to earn a residency in a nice location at a good hospital in pediatric endocrinology.

I have chosen pediatric endocrinology because I have an endocrine disorder and therefore am

very familiar with the specifics that come along with these disorders. I feel that because of my

past experience with these conditions, I could relate to my patients more than other doctors. I

also hope to be a role model for them. As most of them would be children, I think it would be

incredibly important for them to have someone who continued with their passion and their goal

despite facing the setback that is having an endocrine disability. It’s something I wish I’d had

when I was diagnosed. For me, because of what I've been through, the patients wouldn’t just be

pages in a textbook, they’d be actual people with emotions and livelihoods. I feel that I would be

able to treat them with more compassion than other, more impersonal doctors. It is my ultimate

goal to become a pediatric endocrinologist with a practice in the Central Valley. This is where

I’ve grown up, and it’s a wonderful community in dire need of medical professionals. I feel that I

would be able to make a big difference here and improve the lives of many people.

In all honesty, I don’t know where I will be five years from this moment. I hope that I

will be in my first year of medical school and looking for a pediatric endocrinology residency,

however, nothing is certain. I expect that I’ll learn a lot in college and these new revelations may

alter my trajectory slightly, perhaps toward a different major or just another branch of medicine.

Whatever happens in the next five years, I plan to embrace it with open arms and make the best

of my situation, no matter what it is. If I bring motivation and a good work ethic to my work, I

know I’ll be happy with whatever I do.