Why I Want to Pursue a Dental Career Essay

Persistence is typically the key to attaining goals and in my case; it has been no exception considering the tough times I have passed through since I was a young child. My country of birth is Syria, and from a tender age, I got accustomed to experiences of unending civil war in various parts of the country, but fortunately, my family moved to the United States in 2005 when I was 11 years old and in 6th grade. In my birth country, the dreams of most individuals were shattered because there was no hope of working towards goals due to the turbulent situation. The only option left was to join the army, but most of the youths ended up being killed in the war. When I look back at the harsh experience back in Syria, I thank my parents for taking up the major decision of moving from the civil war-stricken country because staying there was only equivalent to me joining the army just like my cousins who eventually died or failing to achieve my major goal in life of taking up a dental career. We came to America with absolutely nothing in possession hence we had to start at zero but the zeal of being in a peaceful country, healthy, alive, and with high chances of pursuing my dreams was worth it all. After the death of my father who was the sole breadwinner in 2009 while in my freshman year of high school, I took up the responsibility of taking care of my family of 4, including my disabled grandmother hence I was forced to undertake extra jobs to make ends meet. I worked all through as a cashier in my uncle's liquor store till I joined college to pursue a bachelor's degree in biology in preparation for taking up a career in dentistry but due to the extensive work hours, my college stats began to decrease. The major reason behind me developing a keen interest in the field of dentistry is that back home in Syria, we had few dentists because the majority of middle-aged people joined the army hence the small number of available dentists could not give efficient care to everyone.

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Ever since I was a young child, my interest in dentistry was vivid, and during our periodic visits to the dentist, I would bombard the dentist with chains of questions concerning the field hence I promised myself that I would do everything I could to achieve the goal. The doctor would explain to me the varied departments in dentistry such as cosmetic procedures which are used to change the shape of a patient's mouth or basic teeth and oral maintenance procedures. Thus, when we moved to the United States, I vowed not to let any obstacle hinder my goal. Seeing the state of my family after the death of my father also fueled my vision more because I had to find a better way of sustaining my whole family as the breadwinner. Juggling between working as a cashier and taking up my classes was a big challenge when I transferred to CSUN to obtain a bachelor's degree in biology which I am still pursuing at the moment. On a daily basis, I have to ensure I make some money to take care of the family and also attend my classes, so I normally commute back and forth from Palmdale due to work which is roughly an hour to school. Knowledge of biology is quite crucial as it will help me build a strong foundation for pursuing my dream career. Since high school, I have had to endure the harsh conditions of juggling school and work because I want to take care of my family and scale higher to pursue my dental career.

Conclusion

Currently, I am still working and taking up my biology classes with my dream to join the field of dentistry still intact but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel because my mother just started earning some money which can be used to take proper care of my disabled grandmother while my sister would be old enough to work in the coming year. All that is a huge relief to me as I can finally lower down my work hours or stop working and get to focus on my school work and get to pursue my dream of becoming a dentist. Besides having to sustain family comfortably, studying dentistry as my career path will help me to diversify and specialize in different operations as well as gain various experiences and meet new people. Additionally, my acquired skills will be of great use in giving back to the society by holding free dental clinics in my birth country, Syria hence making up for the insufficient capacity of dentists in the majority of the regions. I will also be able to empower others and act as a role model to them by educating on the benefits of perseverance and persistence in working towards one's goals.