Sarah Johnson- Personal Essay

Born and raised in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, I have lived in the same house all eighteen years of my life. City kids have a fenced in backyard for recreation, but I have had the Smoky Mountains for my playground. I attended a small, rural elementary school comprised of nine grades and about 200 students. Determined to lead an exciting life, I anxiously anticipate the drastic change of pace in college. I hope to study across the country to build new perspectives to bring home to the mountains I love. When my family and I camp, my mother always reminds me to leave the campsite cleaner than when I found it. This is how I want to leave this world: a little bit better, but in order to do so, I need help.
My brother, born with Noonan’s Syndrome, a life-threatening genetic disorder, inspired me to become a nurse or doctor. Even with the help of family, friends, and specialists, learning to crawl, speak, and grow took months to accomplish. Also, at seven months my nephew contracted spinal meningitis and suffered from an accompanying stroke that evoked severe brain trauma that severely damaged his skills; it caused a physical barrier that stops him from even sitting up or rolling over. Furthermore, my four month-old niece suffered from a rare disease called Infantile Spasms; she too faces life handicapped due to subsequent brain damage. Through excellent teams of doctors and nurses, all of these precious ones are progressing. I want to be there to help someone else’s little brother, nephew, or niece. When all of the odds are stacked against them, I want to be the one holding their hands to help carry them through.
Reading also peaked my medical interest, beginning in English classes as an essential component of educational growth. I read mostly for pleasure because it is a phenomenal emotional outlet. Creating almost a “make believe” world, when I was young, I pretended I was the princess locked in a tower, a detective like Nancy Drew, or a nurse during WWII. Although I have outgrown these fantasies, one still claims my fancy. After reading about the ladies called to the nurse corps throughout American history, I am compelled to join these women in an effort to ease the burdens of my community and my country. Whether I opt to work in a hospital’s nursery or operate in an emergency room, I could make my childhood game into reality.
If this community will invest its support in me, I will perpetuate the service because I will reach my dream and in doing so, repay my community. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, summed up my attitude about the feasibility of my plan. He said, “God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, He will increase our capability!” I firmly believe that I can succeed. I will. I must.