mike dat essay

 The life I have been blessed with has given me an opportunity to have time for volunteerism, for my family and friends and for the numerous activities with which I so enjoy being involved. Achieving this balance in my life, I believe equipped me to be the best person I can be thus enabling me to have a more positive affect on others.

Some of the young native children marching through the streets of Chimbote, Peru in protest against narcotics took a detour through the parish hall of the church in which I was inventorying the much needed medical supplies. The children knew of my church group's mission, being most grateful for our coming from the land of opportunity to help them in their poverty stricken city.  As I knelt down with my fellow church members to hug the children, I witnessed in their eyes a sense of hope that is difficult to put into words. The feeling of self satisfaction and gratification that I felt by being given the opportunity to work with these beautiful,  ever hopeful children was overwhelming. I had never felt like I had more purpose for being on earth than I had that day.

 After about the twelfth straight hour of being on my feet inside the University of Florida's O’Connell Center, I was starting to doubt whether or not I would be able to stand for another twenty hours. Soon afterwards, a little girl accompanied by her mother and father took the stage of the O'Connell Center. Both parents were brought to tears as they thanked all of the Dance Marathon participants for helping raise money for Children's Miracle Network. This organization provides Shand's hospital in Gainesville, Florida with much needed funds to purchase state of the art medical equipment required to provide their daughter as well as thousands of children throughout the state with the best technology has to offer to help these brave children beat the odds against life threatening and crippling  diseases.

In an attempt to make sure each participant raised as much money as possible  for this very worthy cause,  I watched  my fellow Marathoners encourage one another to give his all. Being part of such a goal oriented, community service team made it easier to remain standing ,  shuffling to various tunes for the remaining twenty hours. When the MC announced that the 2004 Dance Marathon Team had raised approximately $250,000, what a grand feeling I felt knowing my small contribution of  chairing one of the  Marathon’s  subcommittees, as well as dancing in the marathon  for over 32 hours straight aided in the success of this fundraiser.
           During my freshman and sophomore year in college, I volunteered to work with children at an alternative elementary school designed for students who had been removed from their regular school due to behavioral and emotional problems. When assigning me the child I would mentor, the Principal told me he hoped I was up for a challenge because this particular fourth grader had not lasted long with past mentors. Another words, he was giving me an excuse to not feel responsible or surprised if I could not relate to the child or help him improve. This warning of a possible unconquerable challenge, made me even more determined to get through to this young boy.

In all honesty, I had never been around such an unsocial, rudely behaved child, and initially I felt extremely tested in my attempts to help this student improve his study habits and behavior. However, I found myself appreciating all the ways I had heard my mother tell how sometimes she just tricked some of her 170 plus sixth graders into learning. By putting some of her techniques into place,  I was able gain this child’s confidence. The young student eventually was able to return to his regular elementary school. For the accomplishments I achieved with this young child, I received the Mentor of the Year Award. I appreciated the award but not nearly as much as the gratification I experienced from overcoming the challenge of getting this boy back on the track to success.
            Although volunteering in various areas  has provided me  with opportunities and challenges that have shaped my life,  my family’s  encouraging me to lead a very active life style has also had a great influence on my life choices that have also greatly shaped my life.. I have had the chance to ski down the slopes of Colorado and scuba dive in the clear waters of Belize. Being part of a very outdoor oriented family, I have gained a great passion for participating in a variety of sports even if it means being humbled by having my 75 year – old grandfather always coming in with a lower score than I on the golf course. But then I get to shine when I get to play a pickup basketball game ,shoot a game of pool  with friends, participate in soccer intramurals,  buddy dive with my brother as he spears his first fish or just be the hero as I  put together toys for my two much younger  brothers' and cousins' at birthdays and Christmas. These are just a few other areas in my life that make me feel like life could not get much better.

Having been an avid cross country runner in high school, I often pushed myself physically to the limits--- a little too much at times causing me to seek treatment for knee and leg injuries. Due to conversations I had with  my orthopedist concerning the proactive style of treatment he prescribed , plus discussing with him the different cases he treats throughout his typical day, I became more  intrigued with the mechanism and caring  of the human body . When I entered college , I initially I wanted to be a sports medicine doctor,  so I  continued to shadow multiple physicians as I had in high school, volunteered at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola and  Shand’s Hospital in Gainesville, and worked on research in ??????_______________..

However in the summer of 2003, I volunteered at the Operative Dentistry Clinic at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida . Even though I have two uncles who are dentist and a cousin who is an oral surgeon,  I never really thought of becoming a dentist. Through interactions I experienced with the dental students and the dental patients, I discovered the work of a dentist to be very fulfilling and of great interest to me.  The cordial atmosphere , the personal interaction I observed, plus being given the opportunity for hands on experience,  opened my eyes to a path I had never considered.  After working at the Dental Clinic in Gainesville, I took every opportunity I could to further   expose myself  to the profession of dentistry . I began to shadow and converse with  numerous dentists and dental specialists. These experiences reinforced and validated  my very positive impression of the dental profession.

               Shadowing and speaking with  these varied dentist made me even more committed to becoming a dentist. Each day a dentist goes to work, he or she gets to enjoy the self-fulfilling purpose of improving someone's quality of life in a unique manner. A dentist has the opportunity to tackle a variety of different patient scenarios of treatment throughout the day making his/her work day very challenging and interesting.  Each dentist I visited attended his patients on a very personal and caring  level. Being part of this  well respected  professional group , known for being well respected by their patients and their community, would be very self fulfilling for me.

. Finally, a dentist's work allows her/him a flexible schedule allowing him to achieve a balance in his life. A schedule that allows one to pursue a life outside of work to volunteer in one’s community , to enjoy various activities and to enjoy quality time with family and friends..  From what I have observed whether it was a pediatric dentist spending several minutes coaxing a nervous child into a chair , an orthodontist  as he rotated among his many patients positioned in a well –organized office allowing him to comfortably maneuver from patient to patient, or watching an endodontist perform a root canal, everyone of these dentist entered his/her office with a smile an  his face and ended the day existed his office  with the same positive grin..