Personal Statements
Thursday, May 12, 2011 - 1 pm - My house, Los Angeles
The thing I don’t like about personal statements is the angle. The angle in which you present yourself. There are countless numbers of ways you can package yourself on a single sheet of paper that you must present to and please the admissions committee. Some angles are more on target with who you are than others. It’s that nerve-wracking, mind-bending art of figuring out which angle the admissions committee will like best…. without losing your integrity.
I’ve mentioned a couple times in previous posts that I’m writing my med school personal statement --- and that I’m stressed out about it. G has given me a lot of peace in the past couple weeks fighting that stress and taking a strong stance against my fears.
I believe most pivotally, I had a random chance to eat lunch with a few Westerners (2 from England, 1 from the US, also "m's") in my last few days in China. Most of the time they were interested in finding out about me. Firstly, I don’t really enjoy talking about myself and will always try to steer the conversation to the other person. It works out great because most people love talking about themselves. Secondly, because of that, I’m not accustomed to talking about myself or expressing myself and my views. I tend to stumble a lot and have trouble putting my thoughts and feelings into words.
Anyways, in that seemingly long conversation about me (and learning some tidbits about them), I expressed to them my distress about writing my personal statement. It’s an issue that hasn’t just come into my head as I’ve begun writing my personal statement, it’s an issue that I’ve been thinking about for over a year: How should I balance my f and other motivations to pursue medicine in my essay?
That question in itself was a big mental block for me to start writing. Anyhow, I so valued their wisdom and guidance they provided for me. Sarah, one of the Brits, told me a story that happened in a company in England: A secretary had received a call that asked to speak to the boss. The boss told her “Tell them I’m not in.” She replied to the person on hold, “ One second, here is my boss.” And handed him the phone. The boss slammed the phone down on the receiver and said angrily, “Why did you do that?? I told you to tell them I wasn’t in!” The secretary responded, “If I can lie for you, I can lie to you.” The secretary had gained the boss’ respect and in a few years was on the executive board.
Sarah and her husband encouraged me that, “If you stand up for what you believe in, people will see that and respect you for it.”
This point of view sort of has a “Hell with them all!” “Stand up to The Man” feel to it. But more than anything, what speaks to me is this idea of integrity - a word and concept that G has put on my heart in the past few years.
I believe one of my mentors explained it to me brilliantly, “Integrity is like a block of cheddar cheese. Not matter which way you look at it. No matter which way you cut it, it will always look the same.”
So please p with me as I work out my personal statement. Playing this balancing act while staying true to myself and preserving my integrity. Specifically p for me as I work towards turning it in on June 1st. Thank you!