Slow and Steady Wins the Race by Jose

Slow and Steady Wins the Race by Jose - April 2021 Scholarship Essay

Five years ago, I understood that I was not going to be accepted into dental school with my current grades and resume. Our Health Professions advisor, with a wooden but deferential tone made that perfectly clear to me. I knew that even if I applied early and “destroyed” the Dental Admissions Test, it would not be enough to compensate for my underwhelming science GPA. Five years before that, while in high school, I did not know if I would be able to finish college. Instead of giving up right there on the spot, I engaged in what some may describe as Pollyannaish behavior even though I had many obstacles stacked against me. Now as I am only one step away from dental school, I am grateful that I chose not to abandon my dreams there.

Five years ago, upon graduating college with a Bachelor’s in Biology, I decided to enroll in a Masters’ program and sought to make the most of my time. I continued my volunteer service in environmentalism, community clean ups, and disaster relief. I realized that being outside and ‘healing’ nature was personally rewarding. It helped me relief stress while simultaneously helping communities that were struck by major disasters such as floods and tornadoes. If I could advice myself now, I would tell myself to spend more time in nature and to continue my volunteering efforts because of how rewarding it truly is. The pandemic made it difficult to volunteer, but slowly as restrictions are being lifted and as a sense of normalcy returns, I can’t wait to participate in more disaster relief efforts. There are too may communities counting on people like us who can provide some much-needed help.

But the most important advice I would've given myself five years ago, as cliché’ as it sounds, is not to give up. And this goes for anyone pursuing difficult degree plans such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, and so on. They are extremely competitive, but if it matters to you that much, don’t give up. As Langstone Hughes wrote in “Dreams”, hold on to your dreams. There are alternative ways to stand out as an applicant and it is up to you to find those opportunities and make the most of it. So, my final advice to myself (and to the readers) is to stop procrastinating! Time passes by so fast that you forget to spend time with yourself. Don’t worry too much about the future, slowly but surely, you will get there.