The Journey of My Life by Benjamin

The Journey of My Life by Benjamin - November 2020 Scholarship Essay

Four years ago, I knew I wanted to become a pastor. I had recently overcome severe burning pain in my mouth because of Celiac Disease. I had spent weeks going to different doctors hoping they would know why this burning pain in my mouth was happening. Every doctor I visited had no idea what was going on. Some said it was allergies while some said it was a virus. An ENT specialist told me that it was in my head because he could not see anything in my mouth to indicate a problem. All he did was shine a little flashlight into my mouth. He did not help much. Suffice to say, I was miserable. I cried every day because the pain in my mouth was excruciating. It felt like drinking scalding coffee, but the feeling would not go away. Nobody knew what was causing it either.
To make matters worse, my grandmother died during the period I was experiencing this pain. I felt like there was no hope left. Before this pain started, I was a happy, go-lucky guy, but at this point, it was hard to even crack a smile. I even told God that unless a solution provides itself to my pain, just end my life. I did not want to endure every single day in agonizing pain.
The next day, I went to a doctor, Dr. Dice, who diagnosed me with a rare disease called Burning Mouth Syndrome. This turned out to be the correct diagnosis. I rinsed my mouth out multiple times a day with Orajel Mouth Rinse, but it was not working. There had to be more going on than initially thought. Unfortunately, it was discovered that there was some underlying medical condition causing the Burning Mouth Syndrome. After two pages of tests and two vials of blood, it was revealed that I had Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is an allergy to wheat and gluten. The normal tTG levels, which stands for Tissue Transglutaminase Antibodiesis, are between 0 and 20. Any higher would indicate some sort of allergy to gluten. The doctors were shocked to see my results come back with a tTG of 4,000. They had never seen that high of levels before. Doctor Dice said that once my body had time to adapt to the new diet and eliminate all the gluten in my body, I should feel relief from the pain. Though it took quite a bit of time, I slowly felt my mouth calming down. It has been four years since the incident, and all the pain in my mouth is gone. While I can never eat gluten again as it would cause my mouth to hurt, I am still thankful that my days are not filled with unbearable pain.
I have learned a lot from this experience. What I went through helped me understand how others are feeling when they are going through pain. This made me want to pursue a job that would help others deal with their pain and cling onto hope. As I looked back on this experience, it was made clear that I should go into the ministry as a pastor of a Seventh-Day Adventist church. This job would give me the perfect opportunity to share what I learned to others feeling discouraged in life. I will achieve this goal by studying hard at college, doing community service wherever I am needed, and being a leader at my school and church. I will get a master’s degree in Theology at Andrews University where I will move on to becoming a pastor. My primary goal of attending school is to learn to help others in a qualified and professional way. I want to graduate college and help others through the training I received at Andrews University.
The point of me telling you this story is to show you where I am today. The aspect of my education I am most grateful for is the experience I am getting volunteering at different places like a fifth grade Sabbath School or a high school Bible group. Due to my experience with pain, I can appreciate the act of helping others because others have helped me out. I love to serve. Part of my class expectations is that I will get involved in the community. As a pastor, I want to be as connected as possible. I am grateful for my teachers setting me up to help in these groups. I know I will get more involved as I progress through my college years. My mouth pains started me on this journey to receive my education, but now I want to focus on community service. This will help qualify me to serve others. The in-classroom teaching and lectures are beneficial too; however, I most enjoy the hands-on work. This prepares me for life after college. That is why I am grateful for this aspect of my education.
This is an ongoing journey. Every day I wake up and work hard to make my goals a reality. If I win this scholarship, I will use the money to further my dream, pay for college, and work in my community. This money will help me accomplish my dreams. Then I can go out and make this world a better place. Rachel Corrie once said, “Follow your dreams, believe in yourself, and don’t give up.”